Calcification intensity in planktonic Foraminifera reflects ambient conditions irrespective of environmental stress 1,2 F. G.Weinkauf ,Tobias
Manuel
1 Moller , Mirjam
3 C. Koch , and
2 Kučera
Michal
1Eberhard–Karls-Universität, Fachbereich
Geowissenschaften, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany;
[email protected] 2MARUM, University Bremen, Leobener Str., 28359 Bremen, Germany 3Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Institut für Geowissenschaften,Altenhöferallee 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Introduction
20°
Planktonic Foraminifera (Protista) are important marine calcifiers, but the influence of environmental perturbation on their ability to precipitate shell calcite is widely unknown. Such understanding is crucial, however, since an impact of the ongoing anthropogenic increase in pCO2 on the calcification of planktonic Foraminifera could have a significant influence on the oceanic carbon cycle. Especially, it remains to be established whether the calcification intensity of their shells reflects just the ambient physical and chemical properties of the water column, or whether it also involves a physiological stress reaction of the organism.
25°
KS205
35°
M51−3/SL104 ODP 971A/C
Ambient conditions
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–All species investigated calcified stronger than in modern reference samples before sapropel onset and less strongly after sapropel onset. This trend is consistent among all species, disregarding different dwelling depths when considering normalized data (p
