Spatial dispersion of benthic Foraminifera in the abyssal central North Pacific 1

Bernstein, Brock B.; Hessler, Robert R.; Smith, Robert W.; Jumars, Peter A.

doi:10.4319/lo.1978.23.3.0401

Cited by 116 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(9 reference statements)

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“…Observations on population densities in the central North Pacific (Hessler & Jumars 1974, Bernstein et al 1978, Snider et al 1984 and in the Northeast Pacific at Stn M (Drazen et al 1998) have shown the numerical importance of benthic foraminifera among the sediment-inhabiting fauna in this region, indicating their important contribution to carbon cycling here. Especially monothalamous soft-walled foraminifera are important components of deep-sea sediments (Gooday 1994), in particular in oligotrophic areas and below the carbonate compensation depth with an assumed diet of refractory organic material and bacteria (Gooday et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Response of the benthic foraminiferal community to a simulated short-term phytodetritus pulse in the abyssal North Pacific

Enge

Nomaki

Ogawa

et al. 2011

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Foraminifera are an important faunal element of the abyssal ecosystem and largely depend on deposited particulate organic matter from the photic zone to sustain their metabolism for growth and reproduction. However, their role in the carbon cycle in deep-sea sediments is insufficiently studied. We investigated benthic foraminifera at Station M (4000 m depth) in the Northeast Pacific and assessed the response of individual species to a simulated phytodetritus pulse during an in situ feeding experiment. Sediments were incubated for 4 d with 13 C-labeled diatoms (Thalassiosira weissflogii) applied to the sediment surface. The living foraminiferal community (> 0.063 mm) of the upper 3 cm contained >100 species and was strongly dominated by a few taxa of soft-walled saccamminids. Population density of the entire living foraminiferal community was highest at the sediment surface (mean ± SD = 279 ± 72 ind. 10 cm −3 in background and 13 C-incubated cores) and decreased gradually with depth. Large differences were observed in the uptake of the algal material among species and between depth levels. During the experiment, 0.82 mg C m −2 were ingested, mainly by calcareous (~60%) and agglutinated (~40%) foraminifera. Uptake was highest at the sediment surface and 3 to 5 times less in deeper sediment horizons. Despite clear signs of vitality and a strong representation in the foraminiferal community, none of the soft-walled species showed a noticeable response to the offered algal material. We conclude that soft-walled foraminifera may not be important to the short-term phytodetrital matter cycling at the abyssal sea floor.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Response of the benthic foraminiferal community to a simulated short-term phytodetritus pulse in the abyssal North Pacific

Enge

Nomaki

Ogawa

et al. 2011

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…There were also some significant differences in the abundance and variance of species in the total populations (Tables 7 to 9). Patchy distributions of benthic foraminiferal populations are well documented in both shallow water (Buzas 1968, 1970, Lee et al 1969, Matera & Lee 1972, Bernhard 1987, Hohenegger et al 1989) and the deep-sea (Bernstein et al 1978, Bernstein & Meador 1979, Kaminski 1985. Such spatial heterogeneity may have contributed to at least some of the differences observed between the April and July assemblages.…”

Section: Phytodetritus Populationsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Influence of seasonally deposited phytodetritus on benthic foraminiferal populations in the bathyal northeast Atlantic. the species response

Gooday¹,

Lambshead²

1989

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

228

105

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Cores were obtained with a multiple corer at a bathyal site (1320 to 1360m depth) in the Porcupine Seabight during April and July 1982. In July (but not April) the sediment surface was overlain by a layer of phytodetritus, material rapidly sedlmented from the euphotik zone following the spring bloom. The phytodetrital fraction of samples (0 to 1 cm layer of subcores; 3.46 cm2 surface area) removed from the July cores harboured dense, low-diversity populations of benthic foraminifers which resembled the phytodetritus-dwelling assemblages already described from the much deeper (4550 m) BIOTRANS site in the northeast Atlantic. Our new observations consolidate the view that phytodetritus is a microhabitat for some deep-sea benthic foraminiferal species. The bathyal populations were dominated by Alabaminella weddellensis (75 '70 of total) and also included Episton~inella exigua and Tinogullmia sp. nov. These 3 species occurred also in the BIOTRANS phytodetrital assemblages. The April san~ples and the total July samples (phytodetritus plus sediment fractions) yielded diverse foraminiferal populations of similar density and species richness. However, there were some important taxonomic dfferences. In particular, the 8 species consistently present in the phytodetritus were significantly more abundant in the July san~ples, while the most common species in the April sanlples (01.dmrnina sp. nov. A ) was entirely absent during July. We argue that the infhtence of phytodetritus, rather than spatial variability (patchiness), was responsible for some of the differences in species abundances. Other species, however, maintain more stable populat~on densities. Our results suggest that deep-sea benthic foraminifers, like those living in shallow water, probably display a variety of life-history strategies and populdtion dynamics. INTRODUCTIONThe delivery of organic material to the food-limited deep-sea benthic ecosystem is a central topic in biological oceanography (Angel 1984, Fowler & Knauer 1986, Bruland et al. 1989) One potentially important pathway is provided by rapidly sedimented phytoplankton blooms (Takahashi 1986) which accumulate during the spring and early summer on the sea-floor as a layer of 'phytodetritus'. This material was first reported in sediment cores and bottom photographs taken at depths of 1000 to 4500m in the Porcupine Seabight (an area centred around 51°30'N; 13'00' W) and on the adjacent abyssal plain (Billett et al. 1983, Lampitt 1985, Rice et al. 1986). Elsewhere in the northeast Atlantic it has been observed in the Rockall Trough (Barnett et al. 1982), the northern Bay of Biscay (Sibuet 1984, p. (Gardner et al. 1984). Phytodetritus is known to be ingested by deposit-feeding echinoderms (Billett et al. 1988) and other inegabenthic animals (Thiel et al. in press). Evidence from the BIOTRANS site (4550m depth) indicates that it is also degraded rapidly by deep-sea bacterial populations (Lochte & Turley 1988) and colonised and eaten by small benthic foraminifers (Gooday 1988a). The presen...

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“…Habitat partitioning --A number of studies have suggested microhabitat partitioning as an important factor for the maintenance of diversity in deep sea benthic communities (Jumars, 1975;Bernstein et al, 1978). Under equilibrium conditions, species which do not share the same microhabitat do not compete with one another, and the diversity of the community can be maintained at high levels.…”

Section: Panama Basin Aii 112 Spade Core 9 Live/dead Individualsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cenozoic deep-water agglutinated foraminifera in the North Atlantic

Kaminski¹

1987

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Cenozoic (predominantly Paleogene) "flysch-type" agglutinated foraminiferal assemblages and their modern analogs in the North Atlantic and adjacent areas have been studied to provide an overview of their spatial and temporal distribution and utility for paleoenvironmental analysis. Over 200 species of agglutinated foraminifera have been recognized in Paleogene sediments from North Atlantic and Tethyan basins. This unified taxonomic data base enables the first general synthesis of biostratigraphic, paleobiogeographic and paleobathymetric patterns in flysch-type agglutinated assemblages from upper Cretaceous to Neogene sediments in the North Atlantic. The majority of taxa are cosmopolitan, but latitudinal, temporal and depth-related trends in diversity and species composition are observed among flysch-type assemblages.Modern deep-sea agglutinated foraminiferal faunas provide an analog to fossil flysch-type assemblages and serve as models for paleoecologic studies. Core-top samples from the Panama Basin, Gulf of Mexico and Nova Scotian continental rise were examined in order to determine the habitats of modern species of agglutinated foraminifera. The ecology of modern taxa provides constraints on the paleoenvironmental significance of fossil agglutinated assemblages in the North Atlantic, and their utility for paleoceanography.Towards this end, spade core samples from a 3912 m deep station in the Panama Basin were studied to determine abundance and microhabitat partitioning among living agglutinated foraminiferal populations and the preservation of dead assemblages. The genera Dendrophrya, Cribrostomoides and Ammodiscus have epifaunal habitats and the genus Reophax is predominantly infaunal. Species of Reophax are probably responsible for fine reticulate burrows observed in xradiographs. An experiment using recolonization trays in the Panama Basin was designed to identify opportunistic species of benthic foraminifera, and to assess the rate at which a population can colonize an abiotic substrate. The most successful colonizer at this site is Reophax, while Dendrophrya displays the lowest capability for dispersal. After nine months the abundance of living individuals in sediment trays was one-tenth to one-third that of background abundance, but the faunal diversity did not differ greatly from control samples. Recolonization by benthic foraminifera is more rapid than among macrofaunal invertebrates.Modern agglutinated assemblages from the Louisiana continental slope were examined to determine changes in species composition associated with hydrocarbon seeps. Organic-rich substrates are characterized by a decrease in astror--iihizids and an increase in trochamminids and textulariids. Highly organicenriched substrates with chemosynthetic macrofauna are dominated by Trochammina glabra and Glomospira charoides.The biostratigraphy of fossil agglutinated foraminifera in the North Atlantic is based on detailed analysis of 670 samples from 14 wells and one outcrop section, and examination of additional picked faunal...

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Spatial dispersion of benthic Foraminifera in the abyssal central North Pacific 1

Cited by 116 publications

References 19 publications

Response of the benthic foraminiferal community to a simulated short-term phytodetritus pulse in the abyssal North Pacific

Response of the benthic foraminiferal community to a simulated short-term phytodetritus pulse in the abyssal North Pacific

Influence of seasonally deposited phytodetritus on benthic foraminiferal populations in the bathyal northeast Atlantic. the species response

Cenozoic deep-water agglutinated foraminifera in the North Atlantic

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