| Xenophyophores, widespread giant deep-sea protists, dominate the megafaunal organisms visible on the seafloor in some areas. Owing to the extreme fragility of their tests (external part), little is known about them, and their diet is largely a matter of speculation. The extensive accumulation of fecal pellets (stercomes) within their tests attests to the degree to which xenophyophores feed on particulate matter. During the EUMELI 2 cruise, xenophyophores were recovered intact at the surface of box-cores from an abyssal mesotrophic site in the northeastern Atlantic. They were identified as Syringammina corbicula. In our study, we compare the lipid composition of xenophyophores collected at the top of cores with sediment from the same mesotrophic environment... |
