Mesoscale oceanographic meanders influence protist community function and structure in the Southern Indian Ocean

Marine protists are key regulators drivers of oceanic biogeochemical pathways. In this study we aim to improve our knowledge of protist communities in the understudied environment of a Southern Indian Ocean mesoscale meander of the Subtropical Front. We used V9 18S metabarcoding to assesse protist composition and diversity, which has important implications for ocean geochemistry in the area. We further studied photosynthetic efficiency of the phytoplankton community as well as individual phytoplankton cells to understand how oceanic features impact protist physiology.