The Natural Laboratory of Algal Symbiont-Bearing Benthic Foraminifera: Studying Individual Growth and Population Dynamics in the Sublittoral

Hohenegger, Johann; Briguglio, Antonino; Eder, Wolfgang

doi:10.1007/978-4-431-54388-6_2

Cited by 8 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…However, development under culturing conditions can only be an estimate compared to development under in-situ conditions because environmental factors, e.g. tides and lunar cycles were not simulated [ 75 , 76 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Invasion of the Symbiont-Bearing Foraminifera Pararotalia into the Eastern Mediterranean Facilitated by the Ongoing Warming Trend

et al. 2015

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The eastern Mediterranean is a hotspot of biological invasions. Numerous species of Indo-pacific origin have colonized the Mediterranean in recent times, including tropical symbiont-bearing foraminifera. Among these is the species Pararotalia calcariformata. Unlike other invasive foraminifera, this species was discovered only two decades ago and is restricted to the eastern Mediterranean coast. Combining ecological, genetic and physiological observations, we attempt to explain the recent invasion of this species in the Mediterranean Sea. Using morphological and genetic data, we confirm the species attribution to P. calcariformata McCulloch 1977 and identify its symbionts as a consortium of diatom species dominated by Minutocellus polymorphus. We document photosynthetic activity of its endosymbionts using Pulse Amplitude Modulated Fluorometry and test the effects of elevated temperatures on growth rates of asexual offspring. The culturing of asexual offspring for 120 days shows a 30-day period of rapid growth followed by a period of slower growth. A subsequent 48-day temperature sensitivity experiment indicates a similar developmental pathway and high growth rate at 28°C, whereas an almost complete inhibition of growth was observed at 20°C and 35°C. This indicates that the offspring of this species may have lower tolerance to cold temperatures than what would be expected for species native to the Mediterranean. We expand this hypothesis by applying a Species Distribution Model (SDM) based on modern occurrences in the Mediterranean using three environmental variables: irradiance, turbidity and yearly minimum temperature. The model reproduces the observed restricted distribution and indicates that the range of the species will drastically expand westwards under future global change scenarios. We conclude that P. calcariformata established a population in the Levant because of the recent warming in the region. In line with observations from other groups of organisms, our results indicate that continued warming of the eastern Mediterranean will facilitate the invasion of more tropical marine taxa into the Mediterranean, disturbing local biodiversity and ecosystem structure.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Invasion of the Symbiont-Bearing Foraminifera Pararotalia into the Eastern Mediterranean Facilitated by the Ongoing Warming Trend

et al. 2015

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“…Based on the published laboratory investigations, mean chamber building rates (CBR) were estimated to study time-dependence (Hohenegger, Briguglio & Eder, 2014). These CBRs have been used to estimate growth oscillations in different nummulitid LBF, among those H. depressa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For studying population dynamics of larger benthic foraminifera, factors like the timing of reproduction, maximum life expectancy and growth rates are important to investigate the effects of seasonal and instantaneous environmental fluctuations on cell growth. As stated by Hohenegger, Briguglio & Eder (2014), population dynamics of LBF living in the eulittoral and uppermost sublittoral can be carried out easily (Fujita, Nishi & Saito, 2000; Hohenegger, 2006; Muller, 1974; Sakai & Nishihira, 1981; Zohary, Reiss & Hottinger, 1980). Investigations on species of the deeper sublittoral become more complex due to technical issues (e.g., sampling procedure) or extreme weather conditions (e.g., tropical cyclones).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the study of reproduction timing, growth and life expectancy of LBF under natural conditions, the ‘natural laboratory’ (Hohenegger, Briguglio & Eder (2014) has been developed. This methodology has been already applied on some porcelaneous eulittoral species (e.g., Peneroplis antillarum , Hohenegger, 2006) and the sublittoral P. venosus (Kinoshita et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Growth estimation of the larger foraminifer Heterostegina depressa by means of population dynamics

Eder

Woeger

Kinoshita

et al. 2019

PeerJ

Self Cite

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In Heterostegina depressa, the flagship species of laboratory investigations of larger benthic foraminifera (LBF) since the 70’s, the timing of reproduction, longevity and natural chamber building rates are still understudied. A recently developed method, the natural laboratory (sensu Hohenegger), has been applied on H. depressa populations from Sesoko Jima, NW Okinawa, Japan. An averaged chamber building rate and longevity of H. depressa were calculated based on 17 monthly samplings at fixed stations. All samples were collected at 20 and 50 m water depths using SCUBA. Live populations were dried and investigated by microCT. The monthly frequency distributions of chamber numbers and test diameters have been decomposed in normally distributed components. For each month, mean and standard deviations of the components were used to calculate the maximum chamber number and maximum test diameter. Based on these values, the natural chamber building rate (CBR) or diameter increase rate (DIR) could be estimated using the Michaelis-Menten function. CBR and DIR were inverted to estimate the ‘birthdate’ of all investigated individuals. Based on frequencies of these ‘birthdates’, main reproduction events could be detected and compared to the reproduction timing of other subtropical and tropical LBF taxa. Furthermore, peaks in reproduction could be linked to monsoon wet seasons (=“rainy seasons”) and winter rains.

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“…Furthermore, a foraminiferal shell recovered during an expedition may record the mean of an environmental parameter over its growth period of days to months (e.g. Saraswat et al, 2011;Keul et al, 2013;Hohenegger et al, 2014), whereas the water mass measurement during that cruise and at that particular site is just a snapshot. Especially at high latitudes (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel high-pressure culture experiments on deep-sea benthic foraminifera — Evidence for methane seepage-related δ13C of Cibicides wuellerstorfi

Wollenburg

Raitzsch

Tiedemann

2015

Marine Micropaleontology

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In field studies of active hydrocarbon seeps the carbon isotopic composition of Rose Bengal stained benthic foraminiferal tests (δ 13 C test ) and bottom water DIC (δ 13 C DIC ) deviates from their normal marine ratios. This circumstance led to ongoing discussions on whether aerobic foraminifers like Cibicides wuellerstorfi are capable of living at seepage sites and, more importantly, if their tests reflect the low δ 13 C values of emanating methane. To evaluate the discrepancy between δ 13 C DIC and δ 13 C test , we conducted methane seepage-emulating culture experiments on undepressurized sediments from the Håkon Mosby Mud Volcano, a modern methane seepage structure that hosts living C. wuellerstorfi with distinct negative δ 13 C values. The collected sediments were cultured at a site-alike pressure and mean bottom water methane concentration using newly developed high-pressure aquaria. Over an experimental period of 5 months our novel technology enabled a successful reproduction of all calcareous deep-sea benthic foraminiferal species living at that site, notably the first C. wuellerstorfi cultured in the laboratory. To show the influence of methane on δ 13 C test , we ran parallel experiments with N 99% 12 C-and 99% 13 C-methane in the experimental "bottom water". During the experimental running time methanotrophs in the water column obviously converted the experimentally added methane source to δ 13 C-enriched and -depleted DIC, respectively. Since whole sediment cores were cultured, it was impossible to keep δ 13 C DIC constant over the 5-month duration, which is reflected in a variability of δ 13 C test in foraminiferal shells. Irrespective of that, the methane source is reflected in δ 13 C test of foraminiferal shells, and for the natural seep-conditions simulating 12 C-experiment the mean δ 13 C DIC and δ 13 C test in C. wuellerstorfi were equal. Although for future culturing experiments improvements of the experimental conditions are advisable, our first results are evidence that persistent methane emanation impacts the carbon isotopic composition of deep-sea benthic foraminifera.

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The Natural Laboratory of Algal Symbiont-Bearing Benthic Foraminifera: Studying Individual Growth and Population Dynamics in the Sublittoral

Cited by 8 publications

References 22 publications

Recent Invasion of the Symbiont-Bearing Foraminifera Pararotalia into the Eastern Mediterranean Facilitated by the Ongoing Warming Trend

Recent Invasion of the Symbiont-Bearing Foraminifera Pararotalia into the Eastern Mediterranean Facilitated by the Ongoing Warming Trend

Growth estimation of the larger foraminifer Heterostegina depressa by means of population dynamics

Novel high-pressure culture experiments on deep-sea benthic foraminifera — Evidence for methane seepage-related δ13C of Cibicides wuellerstorfi

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