Benthic foraminiferal patchiness – revisited
<p>Many benthic organisms show aggregated distribution patterns due to the spatial heterogeneity of niches or food availability. In particular, high-abundance patches of benthic foraminifera have been reported that extend from centimetres to metres in diameter in salt marshes or shallow waters...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Journal of Micropalaeontology |
| Online Access: | https://jm.copernicus.org/articles/42/171/2023/jm-42-171-2023.pdf |
| _version_ | 1827773544844492800 |
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| author | J. Schönfeld N. Glock I. Polovodova Asteman A.-S. Roy M. Warren J. Weissenbach J. Wukovits |
| author_facet | J. Schönfeld N. Glock I. Polovodova Asteman A.-S. Roy M. Warren J. Weissenbach J. Wukovits |
| author_sort | J. Schönfeld |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Many benthic organisms show aggregated distribution patterns due to the spatial heterogeneity of niches or food availability. In particular, high-abundance patches of benthic foraminifera have been reported that extend from centimetres to metres in diameter in salt marshes or shallow waters. The dimensions of spatial variations of shelf or deep-sea foraminiferal abundances have not yet been identified. Therefore, we studied the distribution of <i>Globobulimina turgida</i> dwelling in the 0–3 cm surface sediment at 118 m water depth in the Alsbäck Deep, Gullmar Fjord, Sweden. Standing stock data from 58 randomly replicated samples depicted a log-normal distribution of <i>G. turgida</i> with weak evidence for an aggregated distribution on a decimetre scale. A model simulation with different patch sizes, outlines, and impedances yielded no significant correlation with the observed variability of <i>G. turgida</i> standing stocks. Instead, a perfect match with a random log-normal distribution of population densities was obtained. The data–model comparison revealed that foraminiferal populations in the Gullmar Fjord were not moulded by any underlying spatial structure beyond 10 cm diameter. Log-normal population densities also characterise data from contiguous, gridded, or random sample replicates reported in the literature. Here, a centimetre-scale heterogeneity was found and interpreted to be a result of asexual reproduction events and restricted mobility of juveniles. Standing stocks of <i>G. turgida</i> from the Alsbäck Deep temporal data series from 1994 to 2021 showed two distinct cohorts of samples of either high or low densities. These cohorts are considered to represent two distinct ecological settings: hypoxic and well-ventilated conditions in the Gullmar Fjord. Environmental forcing is therefore considered to impact the population structure of benthic foraminifera rather than their reproduction dynamics.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:24:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-45e4796f0a544c1798663e72c361d7fb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0262-821X 2041-4978 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:24:23Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Micropalaeontology |
| spelling | doaj.art-45e4796f0a544c1798663e72c361d7fb2023-11-03T08:45:10ZengCopernicus PublicationsJournal of Micropalaeontology0262-821X2041-49782023-11-014217119210.5194/jm-42-171-2023Benthic foraminiferal patchiness – revisitedJ. Schönfeld0N. Glock1I. Polovodova Asteman2A.-S. Roy3M. Warren4J. Weissenbach5J. Wukovits6GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel, Wischhofstrasse 1–3, 24148 Kiel, GermanyInstitute for Geology, University of Hamburg, Bundesstraße 55, 20146 Hamburg, GermanyDepartment of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, P.O. Box 461, 40530 Gothenburg, SwedenGerman Marine Research Consortium, Ludewig-Meyn-Str. 10, 24118 Kiel, GermanyDepartment of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Division Genetics, University of Pretoria, Private Bag x 20, Hatfield 0028, South AfricaCentre for Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems, Linnaeus University, Universitetsplatsen 1, 39231 Kalmar, SwedenDepartment of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Geozentrum, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria<p>Many benthic organisms show aggregated distribution patterns due to the spatial heterogeneity of niches or food availability. In particular, high-abundance patches of benthic foraminifera have been reported that extend from centimetres to metres in diameter in salt marshes or shallow waters. The dimensions of spatial variations of shelf or deep-sea foraminiferal abundances have not yet been identified. Therefore, we studied the distribution of <i>Globobulimina turgida</i> dwelling in the 0–3 cm surface sediment at 118 m water depth in the Alsbäck Deep, Gullmar Fjord, Sweden. Standing stock data from 58 randomly replicated samples depicted a log-normal distribution of <i>G. turgida</i> with weak evidence for an aggregated distribution on a decimetre scale. A model simulation with different patch sizes, outlines, and impedances yielded no significant correlation with the observed variability of <i>G. turgida</i> standing stocks. Instead, a perfect match with a random log-normal distribution of population densities was obtained. The data–model comparison revealed that foraminiferal populations in the Gullmar Fjord were not moulded by any underlying spatial structure beyond 10 cm diameter. Log-normal population densities also characterise data from contiguous, gridded, or random sample replicates reported in the literature. Here, a centimetre-scale heterogeneity was found and interpreted to be a result of asexual reproduction events and restricted mobility of juveniles. Standing stocks of <i>G. turgida</i> from the Alsbäck Deep temporal data series from 1994 to 2021 showed two distinct cohorts of samples of either high or low densities. These cohorts are considered to represent two distinct ecological settings: hypoxic and well-ventilated conditions in the Gullmar Fjord. Environmental forcing is therefore considered to impact the population structure of benthic foraminifera rather than their reproduction dynamics.</p>https://jm.copernicus.org/articles/42/171/2023/jm-42-171-2023.pdf |
| spellingShingle | J. Schönfeld N. Glock I. Polovodova Asteman A.-S. Roy M. Warren J. Weissenbach J. Wukovits Benthic foraminiferal patchiness – revisited Journal of Micropalaeontology |
| title | Benthic foraminiferal patchiness – revisited |
| title_full | Benthic foraminiferal patchiness – revisited |
| title_fullStr | Benthic foraminiferal patchiness – revisited |
| title_full_unstemmed | Benthic foraminiferal patchiness – revisited |
| title_short | Benthic foraminiferal patchiness – revisited |
| title_sort | benthic foraminiferal patchiness revisited |
| url | https://jm.copernicus.org/articles/42/171/2023/jm-42-171-2023.pdf |
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