The dataset shows the orginal data based on which grazing rates of micro- and nanozooplankton and the growth rates of their prey, in austral autumn (April) close to the Antarctic Peninsula in the SO, were calculated in Böckmann et al. (2024). The data was measured by dilution experiments. Besides the, in such experiments classically investigated chlorophyll a, particulate organic carbon, particulate organic nitrogen, abundances of picoplankton and nanoplankton as well as bacterial abundances were measured at three stations in the Bransfield Strait, Drake Passage and Scotia Sea. Samples were taken during PS112 from a depth of 25 meters, using a polyethylene line connected to an ALMATEC membrane pump, by careful (laminar flow, 3-6 liters per minute, bubble free bottle filling) and trace metal clean techniques, successfully used since 2014. The data was collected to investigate the importance that nano- and microzooplankton grazers have for the carbon cycle in the Southern Ocean.

Fractions 1-4 represent an increasing size inside the picoeukaryote community.