Dataset 1 shows the dissolved iron (dFe) values of an iron release experiment performed in the Southern Ocean at the tip of the Western Antarctic Peninsula. Krill and salp fecal pellets (FP) were incubated in filtered seawater (FSW) and seawater with phytoplankton (SWP). After 48 hours of incubation the dFe concentrations were measured. Numbers marked in red have been recognized as outliers (due to contamination or analytic error) and have been excluded from statistical analysis. Dataset 2 shows the uptake of iron into Southern Ocean phytoplankton cells from the pre-incubated water. The uptake was measured using the radiotracer 55Fe into two size classes of plankton (0.2-2µm and >2µm). Total dFe uptake is the sum of the two size classes. Lines marked in orange have been excluded from statistical analysis because respective dissolved iron concentrations were not reliable. The data for both datasets was collected between 04/11/2018 and 04/14/2018 (campaign PS112) at the Western Antarctic Peninsula (60° 44.455 S 54° 30.477 W) from a depth of 25 m. The data was collected in order to compare the bioavailability of iron from salp and krill FP to a Southern Ocean plankton community. All sampling steps were performed in trace metal clean ways.