Because they primarily drift with the currents, they are considered planktonic organisms. There are also marine plants in the Southern Ocean. In the intertidal areas of the southern islands, giant kelp form thick bands like forests that protect the shores from rough seas. Diatoms are a common example of these tiny, single-celled plants that are at the bottom of the ocean food chain. Diane is conducting research on diatoms.
Diatoms are also the organisms that turn the mud in our cores a green color.
Although we've already mentioned krill, I want to take a few minutes to make sure that you know what they are. Krill are the most important planktonic animal in the Southern Ocean. They feed on phytoplankton, and they are the prey of almost all the larger organisms in the sea . . . They can grow to be about two and a half inches long. Large swarms may involve several million tons of krill and have densities as high as 10,000 organisms per cubic meter.