Geographic and vertical distribution patterns of living Radiolaria are closely related to the characters of the water column. We studied living Radiolaria in samples collected at closely spaced depth intervals in the waters surrounding Japan in order

Fluxes of living radiolarians collected in particle traps in the North Pacific central gyre ranged from 5.4 × 104 m−2 at 50 m (of which 52% resulted from individuals of colonial radiolarians) to 103 m−2 day−1 at 2000 m. The fluxex of total radiolarians

Four time-series sediment traps at two stations and three piston cores from the Okhotsk Sea were quantitatively examined for coarse-sized radiolarian shells (>63 μm). Traps were deployed at 300 m and 1550 m at Station M4 (53°01′N, 145°30′E) and at 300