11 12Culture experiments were carried out with the planktonic foraminifer Orbulina universa under high and low light 13 levels in order to determine the influence of symbiont photosynthetic activity on the boron isotopic composition of 14 shell calcite. Under low light (reduced photosynthetic rates) the boron isotopic composition of the tests is 1.5x lower 15 compared to shells grown under high light (elevated photosynthetic rates). In terms of inferred pH, the lower boron 16 isotope values correspond to a reduction in pH of approximately 0.2 units. The boron isotopic composition of 17 Orbulina universa from plankton tows is similar to that of shells grown under low light conditions in the laboratory. 18 These data are consistent with reduced symbiont concentrations in recently secreted shells. In addition to laboratory 19 and field grown O. universa, we present the first data for a symbiont-barren foraminifer, Globigerina bulloides. Data 20 obtained for G. bulloides fall V1.4x below those of the field grown O. universa. Although the plankton tow results 21 are preliminary, they support the hypothesis that respiration and photosynthesis are the key physiological parameters 22 responsible for species-specific vital effects. , 1996Spivack et al., 1993).