Distribution of foraminifera and sediments, Peru-Chile trench area

doi:10.1016/0011-7471(64)90951-9

Deep Sea Research and Oceanographic Abstracts

Volume 11, Issue 5, October 1964, Pages 817-826, IN5-IN16, 827-837

https://doi.org/10.1016/0011-7471(64)90951-9 Get rights and content

Abstract

Eighteen trawl samples, one Petersen grab, and thirteen Phleger cores were collected between depths of 179 and 6250 m in the Peru-Chile Trench area off the west coast of South America. Sediments are mainly olive-green silt, clay and colloidal material; however, four cores contain significant amounts of either sand-sized foraminifera or shale fragments, and one of these cores is mainly white volcanic ash. Values for organic carbon and nitrogen are much higher in the bathyal than in the abyssal zone. Sediment grain sizes do not exihibit definitive trends with either depth or distance from shore.

Calcium carbonate contents decrease sharply below 3500 m, reflecting reduced quantities of calcareous foraminifera in the Trench. Radiolarians are usually more than twice as abundant as foraminifera deeper than 1500 m. Foraminifera larger than 0·5 mm were concentrated in the trawl samples and are mainly arenaceous types below 1000 m. Among the smaller foraminifera, calcareous forms predominate down to 2000 m; at greater depths calcarenus-arenaceous ratios fluctuate extremely. Tests of planktonic foraminifera are most abundant in the bathyal zone.

Bathymetric foraminiferal zonation is based upon upper limits of occurrence for both the larger live foraminifera from the trawls and the smaller foraminifera from the cores. Maximum size of the larger foraminifera is usually between 1 and 10 mm. The zonation is:

Trawls	Cores
1. 179 M Valvulineria inflata Group
2. 878 M Cibicides wuellerstorfi and	796 M Epistominella pacifica smithi Group
Reophax scorpiurus Groups
1171 M Cyclammina cancellata Group	1171 M Uvigerina peregrina dirupta Group
4 1863 M Alveolophragmium subgloobosum and	1932 M Eponides tumidulus-Uvigerina
Reophax nodulosus Groups	Hispida Group
5. 2489 M. Hormosina ovicula Group	2489 M Nonion pompilioides Group
6. 3149 M Planispirinoides bucculenta Group	M Stilonstomella antieea Group
7. 3404 M Recurvoides turbinatus-Bathysiphon
Group

Estimates of the total volumes of material caught by each trawl range 2 to about 43 kg, dry wt. Species restricted to deep water appear to have evolved from depth-tolerant ancestors.

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In coastal upwelling ecosystems, understanding of environmental factors regulating the structure of benthic foraminiferal communities is fundamental to enhance our knowledge of their ecology and to validate their use in palaeoceanographic studies. In this study, we assess the influence of organic matter (quantity/quality) and subsurface oxygenation on living (stained) calcareous benthic foraminifera inhabiting a coastal upwelling ecosystem influenced by Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) off Inglesa Bay, Northern Chile. Benthic foraminifera and their environment (i.e. biochemical/elemental sediment composition and subsurface water column oxygenation) were sampled along a transect perpendicular to the coastline consisting of three stations (30, 70 and 120 m) and covering two seasons (winter and summer). The geochemical composition of surface sediments and subsurface oxygenation reveal a typical pattern of marine ecosystems associated with coastal upwelling centers influenced by OMZ. Forty-seven species of living calcareous benthic foraminifera were identified, in which Bolivinella seminuda, Buliminella elegantissima, Bulimina marginata, and Nonionella miocenica were found as the most abundant species. Total abundance increases remarkably with depth while taxonomic richness and evenness decrease. Multivariate analyses show three benthic foraminiferal associations strongly linked to nutritive organic matter and subsurface oxygenation, regardless of the sampling period. Assemblages “A” (22 species, 4 dominant) and “C” (5 species, 1 dominant) are associated with the shallow (30 m) and deep (120 m) station, and present contrasting subsurface oxygenation and organic matter content. Assemblage “B” (19 species, 3 dominant) is associated with the intermediate station (70 m) characterized by mixed subsurface oxygenation and organic matter content. Our results suggest that local environment conditions (i.e. OMZ intensity, organic matter quality/quantity) govern the structure and composition of the living calcareous benthic foraminiferal assemblages of Inglesa Bay. Such assemblages have similarities and differences with other benthic foraminifera assemblages found in other coastal upwelling ecosystems impinged by an OMZ.
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2021, Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers
Citation Excerpt :
Foraminiferal taxonomy and ecology were based on several studies (e.g. Loeblich and Tappan, 1964; Clark and Patterson, 1993; Revets, 1996; 2005; Bornmalm, 1997; Holbourn and Henderson, 2002). Foraminiferal reports in the Panama Basin were also used (Lalicker and McCulloch, 1940; Bandy and Arnal, 1957; Smith, 1963; 1964; Bandy and Rodolfo 1964; Golik and Phleger, 1977; Gualancañay, 1986; Kaminski et al., 1988; Betancur and Martinez, 2003; Patarroyo and Martinez, 2013a-b; Ballesteros, 2018). Additional information from other basins in NW Europe and the Pacific/Indian Oceans were also considered (Rathburn and Corliss, 1994; Ohkushi et al., 2000; Heinz et al., 2008; Sarkar et al., 2009; De and Gupta, 2010; Murray et al., 2011; Cardich et al., 2015; Erdem and Schönfeld, 2017; Tetard et al., 2017; Uchimura et al., 2017).
Environmental controls affecting the composition and distribution of deep sea benthic foraminifera were analyzed in the Panama Basin (Eastern Equatorial Pacific). For this study, results of the analysis of a new set of 33 core-top samples from the upper-lower slope (714–3819 mbsf) were integrated with previous data from this area.
The composition of the foraminiferal assemblages resembles a typical deep sea association, illustrating a close relationship with dissolved oxygen at the seafloor and indirectly with surface productivity. Low oxygen content and organic matter influx, as inferred in the eastern Panama Basin, are connected to terrigenous supply and seasonal upwelling on the Panama Bight and southern Costa Rica. Buliminids, bolivinids, and Epistominella spp. are common elements of the continental slope. In addition, physiographic aspects such as the type of substrate, turbidity fluxes, and bottom currents also exert control over some of the described taxa and defined morphogroups. A broad exploration of the infaunal/epifaunal relationships in the basin does not suggest a clear relationship with dissolved oxygen content. However, there are fluctuations in the proportion of some of the defined epifaunal morphogroups and selected taxa (e.g. Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi, Chilostomella oolina, and Hoeglundina elegans, among others) along the Carnegie Ridge. These changes are explained by the variable physiographic features (surface upwelling, strong bottom currents) that coalesce in this part of the Panama Basin.
Furthermore, re-evaluation of the foraminiferal morphogroups in two deep sea cores that comprised the last 25 ky, indicate that some taxa of the recent samples (Cassidulina spp. and Siphouvigerina peregrina, among others) reacted to paleoproductivity and bottom current fluctuations at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum and the Younger Dryas.
Despite the lack of ecological data in the foraminiferal assemblages for a large proportion of the Panama Basin, the application of selected taxa or morphogroups as proxies for paleoceanographic conditions is promising.
Late quaternary sea bottom conditions in the southern Panama basin, Eastern Equatorial Pacific
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Citation Excerpt :
The retained material was dried and all the benthic foraminifera per sample (100–200 specimens) were counted to obtain statistically relevant populations (Fatela and Taborda, 2002; Forcino, 2012). The taxonomic identification of the benthic foraminiferal assemblages was based on: (1) taxonomic keys (e.g. Boltovskoy and Gualancañay, 1975; van Morkhoven et al., 1986; Clark and Patterson, 1993; Revets, 1996; Loeblich and Tappan, 1964; Seiglie, 1969; Bornmalm, 1997; Holbourn and Henderson, 2002; Revets, 2005), (2) foraminiferal reports from the EEP (e.g. Lalicker and McCulloch, 1940; Cushman and McCulloch, 1942; Bandy and Arnal, 1957; Smith, 1963, 1964; Bandy and Rodolfo, 1964; Golik and Phleger, 1977; Gualancañay, 1986; Betancur and Martínez, 2003), (3) foraminiferal reports from selected deep sea settings worldwide (e.g. Douglas, 1973; Matoba and Yamaguchi, 1982; Thomas, 1985; Kaiho, 1992; Akimoto, 1990; Resig, 1990; Kaiho and Nishimura, 1992; Nomura, 1992; Rathburn and Corliss, 1994; McDougall, 1985; Schönfeld and Spiegler, 1995; Ohkushi et al., 2000; Szarek et al., 2005; Sarkar et al., 2009; De and Gupta, 2010). Both, the list of genera and their counts (percentage and total) are in Appendixes 1 and 2.
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Rapid and major coastal subsidence during the late Miocene in south-central Chile
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Sedimentological and paleontological studies, including foraminifera, ostracodes, gastropods, and trace fossils, were carried out on Neogene sedimentary successions and offshore boreholes of south-central Chile (∼33°–45°S). Sedimentology shows the occurrence of a thin, shallow marine, basal conglomerate overlain by a succession that includes the following facies: massive sandstones, conglomerates, interbedded siltstones and sandstones showing Bouma cycles, parallel-laminated sandstones, synsedimentary breccias, slides, slumps, diamictites, and massive siltstones. These facies were deposited by gravity flows, with turbidity currents and sandy debris flows as the main modes of deposition. Paleontology indicates the occurrence of trace fossils assigned to the Zoophycos ichnofacies and deep-water (∼2000 m) benthic foraminifers, ostracodes, and gastropods. Sedimentology and paleontology indicate that deposition took place on a slope apron during a period of rapid and major forearc subsidence. Planktic foraminifers indicate ages ranging from the late Miocene to the early Pliocene (zones N16–N19) for these successions. We attribute this episode of major Neogene subsidence to an important event of subduction erosion that would have removed the underside of the upper continental plate and caused its thinning.
'Live' benthic foraminifera at an abyssal site in the equatorial Pacific nodule province: Abundance, diversity and taxonomic composition
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Replicate sediment samples were obtained from 3 closely spaced stations in the Kaplan East (KE) area of the abyssal eastern Equatorial Pacific (∼15°N, 119°W; ∼4100 m water depth), just below the carbonate compensation depth. At each site, 2 (Stns 827, 838) or 3 (Stn 824) complete cores (57 mm i.d.) were subsampled using 2–3 cut-off syringes of 6.6 cm³ cross-sectional area. The 0–1 cm sediment layers (>32 μm fraction) of these 20 subsamples together yielded 12,513 small, rose-Bengal stained benthic foraminifera dominated by agglutinated taxa, most of them morphologically simple monothalamous types or komokiaceans. Almost two-thirds (65%) of specimens were either obvious fragments, mainly of komokiaceans and tubular foraminifera, or single chambers or small groups of chambers believed to be fragments of very fragile komokiaceans. The remaining 4438 specimens (35%) were considered to be complete individuals. Most (78%) of these complete tests were indeterminate agglutinated spheres (termed ‘psammosphaerids’) that constituted 27.6% of all specimens (complete plus fragments). Complete individuals that could be assigned to either described or undescribed species accounted for 983 specimens (22% of complete tests=7.6% of all specimens); only 26 specimens (0.59% of complete individuals) were calcareous and these had invariably lost their tests through dissolution. Some groups exhibited considerable spatial heterogeneity. For example, 45% of the 3455 indeterminate psammosphaerids and 45% of the 3087 Komokiacean-like chambers occurred in single subcores. A total of 252 morphospecies was recognised; 168 were represented by complete individuals and 84 by fragments. There are clear differences between these Pacific assemblages and those from other oceans; in particular, psammosphaerids and isolated komokiacean chambers appear to be much more prevalent in the Pacific compared to the Atlantic Ocean. Some morphospecies present in Kaplan samples are known from the Atlantic but many are not. Such species may either (1) be ubiquitous but undersampled because they are rare or (2) have geographically patterned distributions. Without further sampling, there is no way to distinguish between these 2 possibilities. Fossilisable tests represent a very small component of the KE assemblage. Many of the delicate, monothalamous species that have little fossilisation potential, including the komokiaceans, accumulate stercomata (waste pellets) and may consume organic material and bacteria associated with sediment. Because of their enormous abundance at abyssal depths, these poorly known taxa probably play a substantial role in carbon cycling over vast areas of the Pacific seafloor.
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Surface sediment samples collected from the fjord region of southern Chile (47° to 54° South) were analyzed for benthic foraminifera. A total of 175 species were identified including agglutinated and calcareous benthic taxa. Hierarchical cluster analysis of the foraminiferal data resulted in the recognition of three distinct biofacies: inner-fjord, intermediate fjord and channel, and oceanic biofacies, geographically controlled by relative position between the Pacific Ocean and fjord heads. Similarity percentage (SIMPER) analysis identified key taxa in the definition of the biofacies that include Globocassidulina rossensis, Cassidulina laevigata and Bulimina notovata. Principal components analysis resulted in two principal components representing sediment size, and bottom water temperature and salinity.
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^☆: This work supported by NSF Grant No. G-19497, a part of the U.S. Antarctic Research Programme of the National Science Foundation.

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Distribution of foraminifera and sediments, Peru-Chile trench area☆

Abstract

Deep-Sea Res.

Deep-Sea Res.

Deep-Sea Res.

Ecology and paleoecology of some California foraminifera: Pt. 1 - The frequency distribution of Recent foraminifera off California

J. Paleont.

General correlation of foraminiferal structure with environment

Int. Geol. Cong. Repts.

The geologic signifance of coiling ratios in the framinifer Globigerina pachyderma (Ehrenberg)

J. Paleont.

Distribution of foraminifera, radiolaria, and diatoms in sediments of the Gulf of California

Micropaleontology

Larger living foraminifera of the continental borderland of souther California

Contrib. Cushman Found. Foraminiferal Res.

Distribution of Recent foraminifera off west coast of Central America

Bull. Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol.

Concepts of foraminiferal paleoecology

Bull. Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol.

Antarctic foraminifera zonation

Antarctic Res. Series, Amer. Geophys. Union

Depth-temperature evaluation of selected bathyal foraminifera common to California and the Mediterranean Sea

Int. Geol. Cong.

Taxonomic notes on species figured by H. B. Brady in his report on the foraminifera dredged by H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873–1876, accompanied by reproduction of Brady's plates

Soc. Econ. Paleontol. and Mineral., Spec. Publ.

Chemical analysis methods.

Scripp Inst. Oceanogr. Ref. 52–58

The backbone of the Americas—tectonic history from pole to pole, a symposium

Mem., Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol.

Recent foraminifera from off the west coast of America

Recent foraminifera from the west coast of South America

A report on some arenaceous foraminifera

Allan Hancock Pacific Exped.

Some Nonionide in the collections of the Allan Hancock Foundation

Allan Hancock Pacific Exped.

Some Vigulininae in the collections of the Allan Hancock Foundation

Allan Hancock Pacific Exped.

The species of Bulimina and related genera in the collections of the Allan Hancock Foundation

Allan Hancock Pacific Exped.

Some Lagenidae in the collections of the Allan Hancock Foundation

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