Edgar, Kirsty M; Bohaty, Steven M; Gibbs, Samantha J; Sexton, Philip F; Norris, Richard D; Wilson, Paul A (2013): Planktic foraminiferal sieve size specific δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values and maximum test diameter from ODP sites 171-1051 and 120-748 [dataset publication series]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.853878, Supplement to: Edgar, KM et al. (2013): Symbiont 'bleaching' in planktic foraminifera during the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum. Geology, 41(1), 15-18, https://doi.org/10.1130/G33388.1
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Abstract:
Many genera of modern planktic foraminifera are adapted to nutrient-poor (oligotrophic) surface waters by hosting photosynthetic symbionts, but it is unknown how they will respond to future changes in ocean temperature and acidity. Here we show that ca. 40 Ma, some fossil photosymbiont-bearing planktic foraminifera were temporarily 'bleached' of their symbionts coincident with transient global warming during the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO). At Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 748 and 1051 (Southern Ocean and mid-latitude North Atlantic, respectively), the typically positive relationship between the size of photosymbiont-bearing planktic foraminifer tests and their carbon isotope ratios (d13C) was temporarily reduced for ~100 k.y. during the peak of the MECO. At the same time, the typically photosymbiont-bearing planktic foraminifera Acarinina suffered transient reductions in test size and relative abundance, indicating ecological stress. The coincidence of minimum d18O values and reduction in test size-d13C gradients suggests a link between increased sea-surface temperatures and bleaching during the MECO, although changes in pH and nutrient availability may also have played a role. Our findings show that host-photosymbiont interactions are not constant through geological time, with implications for both the evolution of trophic strategies in marine plankton and the reliability of geochemical proxy records generated from symbiont-bearing planktic foraminifera.
Project(s):
Ocean Drilling Program (ODP)
Coverage:
Median Latitude: 0.554953 * Median Longitude: -24.572410 * South-bound Latitude: -58.441000 * West-bound Longitude: -76.357830 * North-bound Latitude: 30.053080 * East-bound Longitude: 78.998100
Date/Time Start: 1988-03-14T07:30:00 * Date/Time End: 1997-01-27T02:00:00
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC-BY-3.0)
Size:
3 datasets
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Datasets listed in this publication series
- Edgar, KM; Bohaty, SM; Gibbs, SJ et al. (2013): (Table S2) Planktic foraminiferal sieve size specific δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O ratios from ODP Hole 120-748B. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.853876
- Edgar, KM; Bohaty, SM; Gibbs, SJ et al. (2013): (Table S1) Planktic foraminiferal sieve size specific δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O ratios from ODP Holes 171-1051A and 171-1051B. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.853875
- Edgar, KM; Bohaty, SM; Gibbs, SJ et al. (2013): (Table S3) Maximum test diameter of selected species of planktic foraminifera from ODP Holes 171-1051A and 171-1051B. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.853877