The Role of Phaeodarian Radiolarians in Antarctic BiologicalOceanic Processes

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Phaeodarian radiolarians are planktonic protozoans that play a role in oceanic carbon and silica cycles. Phaeodarians have been largely ignored in Antarctic waters because their distributions are so different from those of other protozoans. They have several characteristics that make them unique among protozoans and potentially important in the Southern Ocean. Phaeodarians consume a wide variety of foods from bacteria to small metazoans, especially siliceous cells and particles. When phaeodarians die, their siliceous skeletons are more susceptible to dissolution than polycystine skeletons. In Antarctic waters where large phaeodarians can be more abundant than in other oceans, a large phaeodarian below the euphotic zone represents a substantial amount of silica. Phaeodarians are also potential links between nanoplankton populations and macrozooplankton. Gowing will determine the abundance and distribution of phaeodarians and polycystines, and investigate the feeding biology of phaeodarians by vacule content analysis and measurement of feeding rates. These investigations will be the first steps in determining the importance of phaeodarians in Antarctic carbon and silica cycles and in food webs.