Survival and life strategy of the foraminiferan Globobulimina turgida through nitrate storage and denitrification

Piña-Ochoa, Elisa; Koho, Karoliina A.; Geslin, Emmanuelle; Risgaard-Petersen, Nils

doi:10.3354/meps08805

Cited by 66 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Being able to perform respiration by denitrification in the absence of oxygen was first observed for two benthic species by RisgaardPetersen et al (2006). This surprising ability to accumulate nitrate and its respiration to dinitrogen gas was later confirmed in benthic foraminifera in OMZ sediments off the Chilean coast (Hogslund et al, 2008) and demonstrated in laboratory experiments (Pina-Ochoa et al, 2010). However, in at least one species, symbiotic bacteria appear to be responsible for respiring the nitrate, not the foraminifera (Bernhard et al, 2012).…”

mentioning

confidence: 80%

Uptake of phytodetritus by benthic foraminifera under oxygen depletion at the Indian margin (Arabian Sea)

Enge

Witte

Kučera³

et al. 2014

Biogeosciences

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Abstract. Benthic foraminifera in sediments on the Indian margin of the Arabian Sea, where the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) impinges on the continental slope, are exposed to particularly severe levels of oxygen depletion. Food supply for the benthic community is high but delivered in distinct pulses during upwelling and water mixing events associated with summer and winter monsoon periods. In order to investigate the response by benthic foraminifera to such pulsed food delivery under oxygen concentrations of less than 0.1 mL L −1 (4.5 µmol L −1 ), an in situ isotope labeling experiment ( 13 C, 15 N) was performed on the western continental slope of India at 540 m water depth (OMZ core region). The assemblage of living foraminifera (> 125 µm) in the uppermost centimeter at this depth is characterized by an unexpectedly high population density of 3982 individuals 10 cm −2 and a strong dominance by few calcareous species. For the experiment, we concentrated on the nine most abundant taxa, which constitute 93 % of the entire foraminiferal population at 0-1 cm sediment depth. Increased concentrations of 13 C and 15 N in the cytoplasm indicate that all investigated taxa took up labeled phytodetritus during the 4 day experimental phase. In total, these nine species had assimilated 113.8 mg C m −2 (17.5 % of the total added carbon). Uptake of nitrogen by the three most abundant taxa (Bolivina aff. B. dilatata, Cassidulina sp., Bulimina gibba) was 2.7 mg N m −2 (2 % of the total added nitrogen). The response to the offered phytodetritus varied largely among foraminiferal species with Uvigerina schwageri being by far the most important species in short-term processing, whereas the most abundant taxa Bolivina aff. B. dilatata and Cassidulina sp. showed comparably low uptake of the offered food. We suggest the observed species-specific differences are related to species biomass and specific feeding preferences. In summary, the experiment in the OMZ core region shows rapid processing of fresh phytodetritus by foraminifera under almost anoxic conditions. The uptake of large amounts of organic matter by few species within four days suggests that foraminifera may play an important role in short-term carbon cycling in the OMZ core region on the Indian margin.

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mentioning

confidence: 80%

Uptake of phytodetritus by benthic foraminifera under oxygen depletion at the Indian margin (Arabian Sea)

Enge

Witte

Kučera³

et al. 2014

Biogeosciences

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“…Small changes in near-saturated oxygen conditions are not expected to impact survivorship of aerobic foraminifera. Previous studies indicated that Globobulimina can live in a low-oxygen environment and is able to survive short periods of anoxia (Corliss, 1985(Corliss, , 1991RisgaardPetersen et al, 2006;Piña-Ochoa et al, 2010;Koho et al, 2011). The ability of G. turgida to survive such conditions depends, at least partly, on denitrification, using nitrate stored in an internal pool within its cytoplasm (Piña-Ochoa et al, 2010;Koho et al, 2011).…”

Section: Survivorshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sediments from the 125-500-µm size fraction were picked for G. turgida. Individual specimens of G. turgida that had green/brown coloration, indicating algal uptake (Piña-Ochoa et al, 2010;Koho et al, 2011), were deemed alive and introduced to the experimental setup. In total ~650 individuals were selected, and divided among the 6 treatments in this experiment (Table 2; ~100-110 specimens per treatment).…”

Section: Sedimentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Globobulimina turgida (Bailey) is a benthic foraminiferal species that produces a calcium carbonate test, the congeners of which are commonly reported in the literature to have a deepinfaunal sediment habitat (Corliss, 1985(Corliss, , 1991Risgaard-Petersen et al, 2006;Piña-Ochoa et al, 2010;Koho et al, 2011). These habitats are often characterized by low pH and low [O 2 ], as a result of the microbial decomposition of sedimentary organic matter (e.g., Emerson and Bender, 1981;Hales et al, 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These habitats are often characterized by low pH and low [O 2 ], as a result of the microbial decomposition of sedimentary organic matter (e.g., Emerson and Bender, 1981;Hales et al, 1994). Globobulimina Cushman species thus live in oxygen-depleted, low pH environments, and can survive periods of no oxygen (anoxia) due to their ability to perform 6 complete denitrification (Risgaard-Petersen et al, 2006;Piña-Ochoa et al, 2010;Koho et al, 2011). Thus, we hypothesize that G. turgida may be insensitive to certain aspects of climate change (i.e., hypoxia, acidification).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A SHORT-TERM SURVIVAL EXPERIMENT ASSESSING IMPACTS OF OCEAN ACIDIFICATION AND HYPOXIA ON THE BENTHIC FORAMINIFERGLOBOBULIMINA TURGIDA

Wit¹,

Davis²,

McCorkle³

et al. 2016

Journal of Foraminiferal Research

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The oceans are absorbing increasing amounts of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) as a result of rising anthropogenic atmospheric CO 2 emissions. This increase in oceanic CO 2 leads to the lowering of seawater pH, which is known as ocean acidification (OA). Simultaneously, rising global temperatures, also linked to higher atmospheric CO 2 concentrations, result in a more stratified surface ocean, reducing exchange between surface and deeper waters, leading to expansion of oxygen-limited zones (hypoxia). Numerous studies have investigated the impact of one or the other of these environmental changes (OA, hypoxia) on a wide variety of marine organisms, but few experimental studies focus on the simultaneous effects of these two stressors. Foraminifera are unicellular eukaryotes (protists) that live in virtually every marine environment and form an important link in the benthic food web. Here we present results of a short-term (3.5 week) study in which both CO 2 (OA) and O 2 (hypoxia) were manipulated to evaluate the influence of these parameters on the survival of the benthic foraminifer Globobulimina turgida. Elevated CO 2 concentrations did not impact short-term survivorship of this species, and furthermore, G. turgida had higher survival percentages under hypoxic conditions (0.7 ml/l) than in well-aerated water, regardless of CO 2 concentration.3

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Potential foraminiferal nitrate transport in sediments in contact with oxic overlying water

Liu

Ning

2021

Limnology & Oceanography

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Sedimentary denitrification accounts for more than half of the global marine fixed nitrogen loss, but this removal is often restricted by nitrate diffusive supply in sediments. The results of this study showed that foraminiferal nitrate transport may supply nitrate below the nitrate penetration depth and promote nitrogen removal in sediments in contact with oxic overlying water. Six dominant foraminiferal species in the Yellow Sea sediments accumulated high concentrations of intracellular nitrate (25–68 mM), which is 1000 times higher than the maximum pore water nitrate concentration. Notably, this is the first time that Protelphidium tuberculatum, the most dominant species at almost all stations, is reported to have elevated intracellular nitrate. P. tuberculatum contributes 45% to 92% of the foraminiferal intracellular nitrate pools and plays an important role in foraminiferal nitrate transport. The potential foraminiferal denitrification rates below the nitrate penetration depth induced by foraminiferal nitrate transport ranged from 4 to 117 μmol N m−2 d−1 and contributed 3% to 81% of sedimentary denitrification. The intensity of foraminiferal nitrate transport showed a negative correlation with the nitrate penetration depth and positively correlated with the chlorophyll a (Chl a) and chloroplastic pigment equivalent concentrations, which indicate that shallower redox depth (nitrate penetration depth) and increased food supply (Chl a, chloroplastic pigment equivalent) may promote foraminiferal nitrate transport. The trophic oxygen model was modified by adding the pore water nitrate to explain foraminiferal nitrate transport in various marine environments, and this modified trophic oxygen model predicts the observed high foraminiferal nitrate transport intensity.

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Survival and life strategy of the foraminiferan Globobulimina turgida through nitrate storage and denitrification

Cited by 66 publications

References 44 publications

Uptake of phytodetritus by benthic foraminifera under oxygen depletion at the Indian margin (Arabian Sea)

Uptake of phytodetritus by benthic foraminifera under oxygen depletion at the Indian margin (Arabian Sea)

A SHORT-TERM SURVIVAL EXPERIMENT ASSESSING IMPACTS OF OCEAN ACIDIFICATION AND HYPOXIA ON THE BENTHIC FORAMINIFERGLOBOBULIMINA TURGIDA

Potential foraminiferal nitrate transport in sediments in contact with oxic overlying water

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