Chapter Seven Paleoceanographical Proxies Based on Deep-Sea Benthic Foraminiferal Assemblage Characteristics
01 Jan 2007-Vol. 1, pp 263-325
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the paleoceanographic proxies based on deep-sea benthic foraminiferal assemblage characteristics, and present the following three proxy relationships that are promising: those between BFR faunas and BFR oxygenation, export productivity, and deep sea water mass characteristics.
Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the paleoceanographical proxies based on deep-sea benthic foraminiferal assemblage characteristics, and presents the following three proxy relationships that are promising: those between benthic foraminiferal faunas and benthic ecosystem oxygenation, export productivity, and deep-sea water mass characteristics. Under most circumstances the composition of deep-sea benthic foraminiferal assemblages is controlled by a rather limited number of environmental factors. The available proxies based on benthic foraminiferal assemblage composition show that they have major potential, but further research is needed to add or improve the quantitative aspects. In many cases, such as bottom water oxygenation, and Corg flux to the ocean floor, it can be done by significantly increasing the size of existing databases. In other cases such as periodicity of the organic flux, time series observations are necessary. A major obstacle is insufficient knowledge of the differences between recent and fossil faunas due to taphonomical alterations. This phenomenon, of importance for all paleoceanographic proxies, can to some extent be solved relatively easily in the case of foraminiferal assemblages by detailed studies of their vertical succession in sediments deposited in the last 5,000 years, when environmental conditions were probably rather invariable in many areas. Proxies based on foraminiferal assemblage composition are fundamentally different from all geochemical proxies, and thus may provide independent reconstructions of essential oceanographic parameters.
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TL;DR: Large areas of low oxygen persist seasonally or continuously beneath upwelling regions, associated with the upper parts of oxygen minimum zones (SE Pacific, W Africa, N Indian Ocean), and support a resident fauna that is adapted to survive and reproduce at oxygen concentrations.
Abstract: . Coastal hypoxia (defined here as Hypoxia alters both the structure and function of benthic communities, but effects may differ with regional hypoxia history. Human-caused hypoxia is generally linked to eutrophication, and occurs adjacent to watersheds with large populations or agricultural activities. Many occurrences are seasonal, within estuaries, fjords or enclosed seas of the North Atlantic and the NW Pacific Oceans. Benthic faunal responses, elicited at oxygen levels below 2 ml L−1, typically involve avoidance or mortality of large species and elevated abundances of enrichment opportunists, sometimes prior to population crashes. Areas of low oxygen persist seasonally or continuously beneath upwelling regions, associated with the upper parts of oxygen minimum zones (SE Pacific, W Africa, N Indian Ocean). These have a distribution largely distinct from eutrophic areas and support a resident fauna that is adapted to survive and reproduce at oxygen concentrations
606 citations
01 Jan 2007
TL;DR: In this article, the extinction of deep-sea benthic foraminifera was linked to a global feature of the end-Paleocene environmental change, i.e., rapid global warming.
Abstract: Deep-sea benthic foraminifera live in the largest habitat on Earth, constitute an important part of its benthic biomass, and form diverse assemblages with common cosmopolitan species. Modern deep-sea benthic foraminiferal assemblages are strongly infl uenced by events affecting their main food source, phytoplankton (a relationship known as bentho-pelagic coupling). Surprisingly, benthic foraminifera did not suffer signifi cant extinction at the end of the Cretaceous, when phytoplankton communities underwent severe extinction. Possibly, bentho-pelagic coupling was less strong than today in the warm oceans of the Cretaceous‐Paleogene, because of differences in the process of food transfer from surface to bottom, or because more food was produced chemosynthetically on the seafl oor. Alternatively, after the end-Cretaceous extinction the food supply from the photic zone recovered in less time than previously thought. In contrast, deep-sea benthic foraminifera did undergo severe extinction (30%‐50% of species) at the end of the Paleocene, when planktic organisms show rapid evolutionary turnover, but no major extinction. Causes of this benthic extinction are not clear: net extinction rates were similar globally, but there is no independent evidence for global anoxia or dysoxia, nor of globally consistent increase or decrease in productivity or carbonate dissolution. The extinction might be linked to a global feature of the end-Paleocene environmental change, i.e., rapid global warming. Cenozoic deep-sea benthic faunas show gradual faunal turnover during periods of pronounced cooling and increase in polar ice volume: the late Eocene‐early Oligocene, the middle Miocene, and the middle Pleistocene. During the latter turnover, taxa that decreased in abundance during the earlier two turnovers became extinct, possibly because of increased oxygenation of the oceans, or because of increased seasonality in food delivery. The Eocene-Oligocene was the most extensive of these turnovers, and benthopelagic coupling may have become established at that time.
252 citations
Cites background from "Chapter Seven Paleoceanographical P..."
...Even now, however, we are still ignorant of much of their biology and ecology, and paleoceanographic interpretation of deepsea benthic assemblages remains diffi cult (e.g., van der Zwaan et al., 1999; Murray, 2001; Jorissen et al., 2007)....
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...Benthic foraminiferal proxies, many of which were reviewed by Gooday (2003) and Jorissen et al., 2007, include bathymetry (e.g., Hayward, 2004), organic matter fl ux, and oxygen concentrations in bottom and pore waters (e.g., Loubere, 1991, 1994, 1996; Kaiho, 1994b, 1999; Schmiedl et al., 1997,…...
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...…related parameters, the fl ux of organic matter (food) to the seafl oor and the oxygen concentrations in bottom water and pore waters (e.g., Jorissen et al., 1995, 2007; Ohga and Kitazato, 1997; Schmiedl et al., 2000; Moodley et al., 1998; Gooday and Rathburn, 1999; Loubere and Fariduddin,…...
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TL;DR: Foraminifers (especially calcareous forms), nematodes, copepods, and ostracods have been used for predicting global changes as discussed by the authors, and taxonomic groups are used to find model organisms that help predict the future of life on our planet.
Abstract: Our planet is changing, and one of the most pressing challenges facing the scientific community revolves around understanding how ecological communities respond to global changes. From coastal to deep-sea ecosystems, ecologists are exploring new areas of research to find model organisms that help predict the future of life on our planet. Among the different categories of organisms, meiofauna offer several advantages for the study of marine benthic ecosystems. This paper reviews the advances in the study of meiofauna with regard to climate change and anthropogenic impacts. Four taxonomic groups are valuable for predicting global changes: foraminifers (especially calcareous forms), nematodes, copepods and ostracods. Environmental variables are fundamental in the interpretation of meiofaunal patterns and multistressor experiments are more informative than single stressor ones, revealing complex ecological and biological interactions. Global change has a general negative effect on meiofauna, with important consequences on benthic food webs. However, some meiofaunal species can be favoured by the extreme conditions induced by global change, as they can exhibit remarkable physiological adaptations. This review highlights the need to incorporate studies on taxonomy, genetics and function of meiofaunal taxa into global change impact research.
194 citations
Cites background from "Chapter Seven Paleoceanographical P..."
...Benthic foraminifera, particularly species with calcareous tests, have a superb fossil record and are widely used by micropaleontologists to reconstruct conditions in the historical and geological pasts (Gooday 2003; Jorissen et al. 2007; Gooday et al. 2009a; Schönfeld et al. 2012)....
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...For nematodes, trawling has been shown to have either a positive (Pranovi et al. 2000; Liu et al. 2009, 2011), negative (Schratzberger et al. 2002; Hinz et al. 2008) or minor impact on community structure (Schratzberger et al. 2002; Lampadariou et al. 2005)....
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TL;DR: A variety of biological and geochemical indicators (proxies) derived from sediment cores have been used to reconstruct the development of eutrophication and hypoxic conditions over time as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: . Under certain conditions, sediment cores from coastal settings subject to hypoxia can yield records of environmental changes over time scales ranging from decades to millennia, sometimes with a resolution of as little as a few years. A variety of biological and geochemical indicators (proxies) derived from such cores have been used to reconstruct the development of eutrophication and hypoxic conditions over time. Those based on (1) the preserved remains of benthic organisms (mainly foraminiferans and ostracods), (2) sedimentary features (e.g. laminations) and (3) sediment chemistry and mineralogy (e.g. presence of sulphides and redox-sensitive trace elements) reflect conditions at or close to the seafloor. Those based on (4) the preserved remains of planktonic organisms (mainly diatoms and dinoflagellates), (5) pigments and lipid biomarkers derived from prokaryotes and eukaryotes and (6) organic C, N and their stable isotope ratios reflect conditions in the water column. However, the interpretation of these indicators is not straightforward. A central difficulty concerns the fact that hypoxia is strongly correlated with, and often induced by, organic enrichment caused by eutrophication, making it difficult to separate the effects of these phenomena in sediment records. The problem is compounded by the enhanced preservation in anoxic and hypoxic sediments of organic microfossils and biomarkers indicating eutrophication. The use of hypoxia-specific proxies, such as the trace metals molybdenum and rhenium and the bacterial biomarker isorenieratene, together with multi-proxy approaches, may provide a way forward. All proxies of bottom-water hypoxia are basically qualitative; their quantification presents a major challenge to which there is currently no satisfactory solution. Finally, it is important to separate the effects of natural ecosystem variability from anthropogenic effects. Despite these problems, in the absence of historical data for dissolved oxygen concentrations, the analysis of sediment cores can provide plausible reconstructions of the temporal development of human-induced hypoxia, and associated eutrophication, in vulnerable coastal environments.
151 citations
TL;DR: The evidence for long-term changes both in biologically driven, sedimented, deep-sea ecosystems (e.g. abyssal plains) and in chemosynthetic ecosystems that are partially geologically driven, such as hydrothermal vents and cold seeps is assessed.
Abstract: Societal concerns over the potential impacts of recent global change have prompted renewed interest in the long-term ecological monitoring of large ecosystems. The deep sea is the largest ecosystem on the planet, the least accessible, and perhaps the least understood. Nevertheless, deep-sea data collected over the last few decades are now being synthesised with a view to both measuring global change and predicting the future impacts of further rises in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. For many years, it was assumed by many that the deep sea is a stable habitat, buffered from short-term changes in the atmosphere or upper ocean. However, recent studies suggest that deep-seafloor ecosystems may respond relatively quickly to seasonal, inter-annual and decadal-scale shifts in upper-ocean variables. In this review, we assess the evidence for these long-term (i.e. inter-annual to decadal-scale) changes both in biologically driven, sedimented, deep-sea ecosystems (e.g. abyssal plains) and in chemosynthetic ecosystems that are partially geologically driven, such as hydrothermal vents and cold seeps. We have identified 11 deep-sea sedimented ecosystems for which published analyses of long-term biological data exist. At three of these, we have found evidence for a progressive trend that could be potentially linked to recent climate change, although the evidence is not conclusive. At the other sites, we have concluded that the changes were either not significant, or were stochastically variable without being clearly linked to climate change or climate variability indices. For chemosynthetic ecosystems, we have identified 14 sites for which there are some published long-term data. Data for temporal changes at chemosynthetic ecosystems are scarce, with few sites being subjected to repeated visits. However, the limited evidence from hydrothermal vents suggests that at fast-spreading centres such as the East Pacific Rise, vent communities are impacted on decadal scales by stochastic events such as volcanic eruptions, with associated fauna showing complex patterns of community succession. For the slow-spreading centres such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, vent sites appear to be stable over the time periods measured, with no discernable long-term trend. At cold seeps, inferences based on spatial studies in the Gulf of Mexico, and data on organism longevity, suggest that these sites are stable over many hundreds of years. However, at the Haakon Mosby mud volcano, a large, well-studied seep in the Barents Sea, periodic mud slides associated with gas and fluid venting may disrupt benthic communities, leading to successional sequences over time. For chemosynthetic ecosystems of biogenic origin (e.g. whale-falls), it is likely that the longevity of the habitat depends mainly on the size of the carcass and the ecological setting, with large remains persisting as a distinct seafloor habitat for up to 100 years. Studies of shallow-water analogs of deep-sea ecosystems such as marine caves may also yield insights into temporal processes. Although it is obvious from the geological record that past climate change has impacted deep-sea faunas, the evidence that recent climate change or climate variability has altered deep-sea benthic communities is extremely limited. This mainly reflects the lack of remote sensing of this vast seafloor habitat. Current and future advances in deep-ocean benthic science involve new remote observing technologies that combine a high temporal resolution (e.g. cabled observatories) with spatial capabilities (e.g. autonomous vehicles undertaking image surveys of the seabed).
149 citations
Cites background from "Chapter Seven Paleoceanographical P..."
...As a result, an extensive body of literature exists regarding fluctuations in the abundance of foraminiferal (e.g., Gooday, 2003; Jorissen et al., 2007) and ostracod (e....
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...As a result, an extensive body of literature exists regarding fluctuations in the abundance of foraminiferal (e.g., Gooday, 2003; Jorissen et al., 2007) and ostracod (e.g.,Yasuhara and Cronin, 2008; Yasuhara et al. 2008) species over time, particularly during the Quaternary....
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...Mediterranean sapropels also yield high resolution records of foraminiferal responses to declining oxygen concentrations (Schmiedl et al., 2003; Jorissen et al., 2007)....
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References
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Book•
01 Jan 1983
TL;DR: In this Section: 1. Multivariate Statistics: Why? and 2. A Guide to Statistical Techniques: Using the Book Research Questions and Associated Techniques.
Abstract: In this Section: 1. Brief Table of Contents 2. Full Table of Contents 1. BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 A Guide to Statistical Techniques: Using the Book Chapter 3 Review of Univariate and Bivariate Statistics Chapter 4 Cleaning Up Your Act: Screening Data Prior to Analysis Chapter 5 Multiple Regression Chapter 6 Analysis of Covariance Chapter 7 Multivariate Analysis of Variance and Covariance Chapter 8 Profile Analysis: The Multivariate Approach to Repeated Measures Chapter 9 Discriminant Analysis Chapter 10 Logistic Regression Chapter 11 Survival/Failure Analysis Chapter 12 Canonical Correlation Chapter 13 Principal Components and Factor Analysis Chapter 14 Structural Equation Modeling Chapter 15 Multilevel Linear Modeling Chapter 16 Multiway Frequency Analysis 2. FULL TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction Multivariate Statistics: Why? Some Useful Definitions Linear Combinations of Variables Number and Nature of Variables to Include Statistical Power Data Appropriate for Multivariate Statistics Organization of the Book Chapter 2: A Guide to Statistical Techniques: Using the Book Research Questions and Associated Techniques Some Further Comparisons A Decision Tree Technique Chapters Preliminary Check of the Data Chapter 3: Review of Univariate and Bivariate Statistics Hypothesis Testing Analysis of Variance Parameter Estimation Effect Size Bivariate Statistics: Correlation and Regression. Chi-Square Analysis Chapter 4: Cleaning Up Your Act: Screening Data Prior to Analysis Important Issues in Data Screening Complete Examples of Data Screening Chapter 5: Multiple Regression General Purpose and Description Kinds of Research Questions Limitations to Regression Analyses Fundamental Equations for Multiple Regression Major Types of Multiple Regression Some Important Issues. Complete Examples of Regression Analysis Comparison of Programs Chapter 6: Analysis of Covariance General Purpose and Description Kinds of Research Questions Limitations to Analysis of Covariance Fundamental Equations for Analysis of Covariance Some Important Issues Complete Example of Analysis of Covariance Comparison of Programs Chapter 7: Multivariate Analysis of Variance and Covariance General Purpose and Description Kinds of Research Questions Limitations to Multivariate Analysis of Variance and Covariance Fundamental Equations for Multivariate Analysis of Variance and Covariance Some Important Issues Complete Examples of Multivariate Analysis of Variance and Covariance Comparison of Programs Chapter 8: Profile Analysis: The Multivariate Approach to Repeated Measures General Purpose and Description Kinds of Research Questions Limitations to Profile Analysis Fundamental Equations for Profile Analysis Some Important Issues Complete Examples of Profile Analysis Comparison of Programs Chapter 9: Discriminant Analysis General Purpose and Description Kinds of Research Questions Limitations to Discriminant Analysis Fundamental Equations for Discriminant Analysis Types of Discriminant Analysis Some Important Issues Comparison of Programs Chapter 10: Logistic Regression General Purpose and Description Kinds of Research Questions Limitations to Logistic Regression Analysis Fundamental Equations for Logistic Regression Types of Logistic Regression Some Important Issues Complete Examples of Logistic Regression Comparison of Programs Chapter 11: Survival/Failure Analysis General Purpose and Description Kinds of Research Questions Limitations to Survival Analysis Fundamental Equations for Survival Analysis Types of Survival Analysis Some Important Issues Complete Example of Survival Analysis Comparison of Programs Chapter 12: Canonical Correlation General Purpose and Description Kinds of Research Questions Limitations Fundamental Equations for Canonical Correlation Some Important Issues Complete Example of Canonical Correlation Comparison of Programs Chapter 13: Principal Components and Factor Analysis General Purpose and Description Kinds of Research Questions Limitations Fundamental Equations for Factor Analysis Major Types of Factor Analysis Some Important Issues Complete Example of FA Comparison of Programs Chapter 14: Structural Equation Modeling General Purpose and Description Kinds of Research Questions Limitations to Structural Equation Modeling Fundamental Equations for Structural Equations Modeling Some Important Issues Complete Examples of Structural Equation Modeling Analysis. Comparison of Programs Chapter 15: Multilevel Linear Modeling General Purpose and Description Kinds of Research Questions Limitations to Multilevel Linear Modeling Fundamental Equations Types of MLM Some Important Issues Complete Example of MLM Comparison of Programs Chapter 16: Multiway Frequency Analysis General Purpose and Description Kinds of Research Questions Limitations to Multiway Frequency Analysis Fundamental Equations for Multiway Frequency Analysis Some Important Issues Complete Example of Multiway Frequency Analysis Comparison of Programs
53,113 citations
"Chapter Seven Paleoceanographical P..." refers background or methods in this paper
...An additional problem is the fact that in order to be robust, the multivariate statistical methods need many more data (samples) than variables (taxa) (e.g., Tabachnick & Fidell, 1983), and at present the size of the analysed datasets is small in comparison with the number of species....
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...First, multiple regression analyses ideally need about 20 times more samples than variables in order to be reliable (Tabachnick & Fidell, 1983)....
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4,094 citations
3,369 citations
"Chapter Seven Paleoceanographical P..." refers background in this paper
...Such a maximum abundance may be very high for opportunistic species, but very low for highly specialised K-selected taxa (e.g., Levinton, 1970; Pianka, 1970; Dodd & Stanton, 1990). b) Resource parameters, such as the quality and quantity of the organic matter flux that directly influence the amount…...
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...Such a maximum abundance may be very high for opportunistic species, but very low for highly specialised K-selected taxa (e.g., Levinton, 1970; Pianka, 1970; Dodd & Stanton, 1990)....
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TL;DR: Pore water profiles of total CO 2, pH, PO 3−4, NO − 3 plus NO − 2, SO 2− 4, S 2−, Fe 2+ and Mn 2+ have been obtained in cores from pelagic sediments of the eastern equatorial Atlantic under waters of moderate to high productivity as mentioned in this paper.
3,045 citations
"Chapter Seven Paleoceanographical P..." refers background in this paper
...…picture of the extent of organic matter degradation, including mineralisation under anaerobic conditions, vertical profiles of important redox species (e.g., nitrate, manganese, reactived iron-oxides and sulphate) are measured in the superficial sediment and pore waters (Froelich et al., 1979)....
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..., nitrate, manganese, reactived iron-oxides and sulphate) are measured in the superficial sediment and pore waters (Froelich et al., 1979)....
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TL;DR: The primary production in the oceans results from allochthonous nutrient inputs to the euphotic zone (new production) and from nutrient recycling in the surface waters (regenerated production) as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Primary production in the oceans results from allochthonous nutrient inputs to the euphotic zone (new production) and from nutrient recycling in the surface waters (regenerated production). Global new production is of the order of 3.4−4.7 × 109 tons of carbon per year and approximates the sinking flux of paniculate organic matter to the deep ocean.
2,439 citations
"Chapter Seven Paleoceanographical P..." refers background or methods in this paper
...Since the late 1970s, sediment trap data have been used to develop equations describing the downward organic flux through the water column (e.g., Eppley & Peterson, 1979; Suess, 1980; Betzer et al., 1984; Martin, Knauer, Karl, & Broenkow, 1987; Pace, Knauer, Karl, & Martin, 1987; Berger, Smetacek,…...
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...More recent data, however, suggest that many other parameters may interfere: Several authors (e.g., Eppley & Peterson, 1979; Berger et al., 1989; Berger & Wefer, 1990) have suggested that the organic flux to the ocean floor constitutes a higher percentage of total productivity in unstable settings,…...
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