Characteristics of the thaliacean Salpa thompsoni population in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean in early spring

The pelagic tunicate Salpa thompsoni accounts for a large portion of the zooplankton in the Southern Ocean. This dataset contains information on S. thompsoni distribution, abundance, biomass, and biological characteristics (oral-atrial length, salp form, and stage of development) collected during Austral spring of 2022 in the Atlantic Sector of the Southern Ocean. In total, individual data are provided for 521 S. thompsoni specimens collected at 14 stations using tows of the Rectangular Midwater Trawl (RMT-8, mouth area 8 m², 4.5 mm mesh size) and the Isaacs-Kidd Midwater Trawl (IKMT, mouth area 2.5 m², 0.5 mm mesh size) in the top 600 and 200 m water layer, respectively.