Living (Rose-Bengal-stained) benthic foraminiferal faunas along a strong bottom-water oxygen gradient on the Indian margin (Arabian Sea)

Rose-Bengal-stained foraminiferal assemblages (> 150 μm) were analysed along a five-station bathymetric transect across the core and the lower part of the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) on the Indian margin of the Arabian Sea. Sediment cores were collected using the manned submersible Shinkai 6500 during the RV Yokosuka cruise YK08-11 in the post-monsoon season (October 2008) at water depths ranging from 535 to 2000 m, along a gradient from almost anoxic to well-oxygenated (0.3 to 108 μM) bottom waters. Stained benthic foraminifera were investigated from two different size fractions (150–300 μm and > 300 μm). Stained foraminiferal densities were very high in the core of the OMZ (at 535 and 649 m) and decreased at deeper sites. The faunas (> 150 μm) were dominated (40–80 %) by non-calcareous taxa at all stations. These were mainly species of Reophax and Lagenammina but also included delicate monothalamous taxa (organic-walled "allogromiids", agglutinated saccamminids, psammosphaerids and tubular forms). These new data from the Indian margin are compared to previous studies from the Murray Ridge, the Pakistan margin and the Oman margin. The fact that similar species were found at sites with comparable bottom-water oxygen concentrations but with very different surface water productivity suggests that, within the strongly developed Arabian Sea OMZ, bottom-water oxygen concentration, and not the organic flux to the sea floor, is the main factor controlling the species composition of the foraminiferal communities. Several foraminiferal species (e.g. Praeglobobulimina sp. 1, Ammodiscus sp. 1, Bolivina aff. dilatata) were confined to the core of the OMZ. These species are presently known only from the Arabian Sea. Because of their association with extremely low oxygen concentrations, these species may be good markers for very low oxygen concentrations, and could be used to reconstruct past OMZ variability in the Arabian Sea

Giant protists (xenophyophores, Foraminifera) are exceptionally diverse in parts of the abyssal eastern Pacific licensed for polymetallic nodule exploration

Xenophyophores, giant, fragile, agglutinated foraminifera (protists), are major constituents of the abyssal megafauna in the equatorial Pacific Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a region where seabed mining of polymetallic nodules may occur in the future. As part of a baseline study of benthic communities we made extensive collections of xenophyophores in two areas (UK-1 and OMS) licensed for exploration by the International Seabed Authority. Based on test morphology, we distinguished 36 morphospecies (34 new to science) among 130 specimens. Twenty of these morphospecies yielded 184 DNA sequences, a 14-fold increase in genetic data for xenophyophores that confirms their high diversity in the eastern CCZ. A further 15 morphospecies (8 new to science) were recognised in samples from two other areas (APEI-6 and Russian exploration license area) within or adjacent to the CCZ. This large number of species confirms that the CCZ is a focal area for xenophyophore diversity. More broadly, it represents an unprecedented increase in the known global diversity of xenophyophores and suggests that many species remain undiscovered in the World's oceans. Xenophyophores are often sessile on nodules in the CCZ, making these delicate organisms particularly vulnerable to mining impacts. They can also play a crucial role in deep-sea ecosystems, providing habitat structures for meiofaunal and macrofaunal organisms and enhancing the organic content of sediments surrounding their tests. The loss of xenophyophores due to seabed mining may therefore have wider implications for the recovery of benthic communities following major human disturbances on the abyssal seafloor

Giant protists (xenophyophores, Foraminifera) are exceptionally diverse in parts of the abyssal eastern Pacific licensed for polymetallic nodule exploration

Giant protists (xenophyophores, Foraminifera) are exceptionally diverse in parts of the abyssal eastern Pacific licensed for polymetallic nodule exploratio

Live (Rose Bengal stained) foraminiferal faunas from the northern Arabian Sea : faunal succession within and below the OMZ

Live (Rose Bengal stained) benthic foraminifera from the Murray Ridge, within and below the northern Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), were studied in order to determine the relationship between faunal composition, bottom water oxygenation (BWO), pore water chemistry and organic matter (organic carbon and phytopigment) distribution. A series of multicores were recovered from a ten-station oxygen (BWO: 2–78 μM) and bathymetric (885–3010 m depth) transect during the winter monsoon in January 2009. Foraminifera were investigated from three different size fractions (63–125 μm, 125–150 μm and >150 μm). The larger foraminifera (>125 μm) were strongly dominated by agglutinated species (e.g. Reophax spp.). In contrast, in the 63–125 μm fraction, calcareous taxa were more abundant, especially in the core of the OMZ. On the basis of a principal components analysis, three foraminiferal groups were identified and correlated to the environmental parameters by canonical correspondence analysis. The faunas from the shallowest stations, in the core of the OMZ (BWO: 2 μM), were composed of "low oxygen" species, typical of the Arabian Sea OMZ (e.g. Rotaliatinopsis semiinvoluta, Praeglobobulimina sp., Bulimina exilis, Uvigerina peregrina type parva). These taxa are adapted to the very low BWO conditions and to high phytodetritus supplies. The transitional group, typical for the lower part of the OMZ (BWO: 5–16 μM), is composed of species that are tolerant as well to low-oxygen concentrations, but may be less critical with respect to organic supplies (e.g. Globocassidulina subglobosa, Ehrenbergina trigona). Below the OMZ (BWO: 26–78 μM), where food availability is more limited and becomes increasingly restricted to surficial sediments, cosmopolitan calcareous taxa were present, such as Bulimina aculeata, Melonis barleeanus, Uvigerina peregrina and Epistominella exigua. Miliolids were uniquely observed in this last zone, reflecting the higher BWO and/or lower organic input. At these deeper sites, the faunas exhibit a clear succession of superficial, intermediate and deep infaunal microhabitats, which can be linked to the deeper oxygen and nitrate penetration into the sediment.Peer reviewe

Live (Rose Bengal stained) foraminiferal faunas from the northern Arabian Sea : faunal succession within and below the OMZ

Live (Rose Bengal stained) benthic foraminifera from the Murray Ridge, within and below the northern Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), were studied in order to determine the relationship between faunal composition, bottom water oxygenation (BWO), pore water chemistry and organic matter (organic carbon and phytopigment) distribution. A series of multicores were recovered from a ten-station oxygen (BWO: 2–78 μM) and bathymetric (885–3010 m depth) transect during the winter monsoon in January 2009. Foraminifera were investigated from three different size fractions (63–125 μm, 125–150 μm and >150 μm). The larger foraminifera (>125 μm) were strongly dominated by agglutinated species (e.g. Reophax spp.). In contrast, in the 63–125 μm fraction, calcareous taxa were more abundant, especially in the core of the OMZ. On the basis of a principal components analysis, three foraminiferal groups were identified and correlated to the environmental parameters by canonical correspondence analysis. The faunas from the shallowest stations, in the core of the OMZ (BWO: 2 μM), were composed of "low oxygen" species, typical of the Arabian Sea OMZ (e.g. Rotaliatinopsis semiinvoluta, Praeglobobulimina sp., Bulimina exilis, Uvigerina peregrina type parva). These taxa are adapted to the very low BWO conditions and to high phytodetritus supplies. The transitional group, typical for the lower part of the OMZ (BWO: 5–16 μM), is composed of species that are tolerant as well to low-oxygen concentrations, but may be less critical with respect to organic supplies (e.g. Globocassidulina subglobosa, Ehrenbergina trigona). Below the OMZ (BWO: 26–78 μM), where food availability is more limited and becomes increasingly restricted to surficial sediments, cosmopolitan calcareous taxa were present, such as Bulimina aculeata, Melonis barleeanus, Uvigerina peregrina and Epistominella exigua. Miliolids were uniquely observed in this last zone, reflecting the higher BWO and/or lower organic input. At these deeper sites, the faunas exhibit a clear succession of superficial, intermediate and deep infaunal microhabitats, which can be linked to the deeper oxygen and nitrate penetration into the sediment.Peer reviewe

Stratification of surface waters during the last glacial millennial climatic events: a key factor in subsurface and deep-water mass dynamics

The last glacial period was punctuated by abrupt climatic events with extrema known as Heinrich and Dansgaard–Oeschger events. These millennial events have been the subject of many paleoreconstructions and model experiments in the past decades, but yet the hydrological processes involved remain elusive. In the present work, high-resolution analyses were conducted on the 12–42 ka BP section of core MD99-2281 retrieved southwest of the Faeroe Islands, and combined with analyses conducted in two previous studies (Zumaque et al., 2012; Caulle et al., 2013). Such a multiproxy approach, coupling micropaleontological, geochemical and sedimentological analyses, allows us to track surface, subsurface, and deep hydrological processes occurring during these rapid climatic changes. Records indicate that the coldest episodes of the studied period (Greenland stadials and Heinrich stadials) were characterized by a strong stratification of surface waters. This surface stratification seems to have played a key role in the dynamics of subsurface and deep-water masses. Indeed, periods of high surface stratification are marked by a coupling of subsurface and deep circulations which sharply weaken at the beginning of stadials, while surface conditions progressively deteriorate throughout these cold episodes; conversely, periods of decreasing surface stratification (Greenland interstadials) are characterized by a coupling of surface and deep hydrological processes, with progressively milder surface conditions and gradual intensification of the deep circulation, while the vigor of the subsurface northward Atlantic flow remains constantly high. Our results also reveal different and atypical hydrological signatures during Heinrich stadials (HSs): while HS1 and HS4 exhibit a "usual" scheme with reduced overturning circulation, a relatively active North Atlantic circulation seems to have prevailed during HS2, and HS3 seems to have experienced a re-intensification of this circulation during the middle of the event. Our findings thus bring valuable information to better understand hydrological processes occurring in a key area during the abrupt climatic shifts of the last glacial period

Carbon and nitrogen uptake of calcareous benthic foraminifera along a depth-related oxygen gradient in the OMZ of the Arabian Sea

Foraminifera are an important faunal element of the benthos in oxygen-depleted settings such as Oxygen Minimum Zones (OMZs) where they can play a relevant role in the processing of phytodetritus. We investigated the uptake of phytodetritus (labeled with 13C and 15N) by cal-careous foraminifera in the 0-1 cm sediment horizon under different oxygen concentrations within the OMZ in the eastern Arabian Sea. The in situ tracer experiments were carried out along a depth transect on the Indian margin over a period of 4 to 10 days. The uptake of phy-todetrital carbon within 4 days by all investigated species shows that phytodetritus is a rele-vant food source for foraminifera in OMZ sediments. The decrease of total carbon uptake from 540 to 1100 m suggests a higher demand for carbon by species in the low-oxygen core region of the OMZ or less food competition with macrofauna. Especially Uvigerinids showed high uptake of phytodetrital carbon at the lowest oxygenated site. Variation in the ratio of phytodetrital carbon to nitrogen between species and sites indicates that foraminiferal carbon and nitrogen use can be decoupled and different nutritional demands are found between spe-cies. Lower ratio of phytodetrital carbon and nitrogen at 540 m could hint for greater demand or storage of food-based nitrogen, ingestion or hosting of bacteria under almost anoxic condi-tions. Shifts in the foraminiferal assemblage structure (controlled by oxygen or food availabil-ity) and in the presence of other benthic organisms account for observed changes in the pro-cessing of phytodetritus in the different OMZ habitats. Foraminifera dominate the short-term processing of phytodetritus in the OMZ core but are less important in the lower OMZ bounda-ry region of the Indian margin as biological interactions and species distribution of foraminif-era change with depth and oxygen levels