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Colonisation and bioerosion of experimental substrates by benthic foraminiferans from euphotic to aphotic depths (Kosterfjord, SW Sweden)

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Abstract

In the cold-temperate setting of the Swedish Kosterfjord area, experimental carbonate and PVC substrates were deployed for a 6, 12 and 24-month duration along a transect from euphotic to aphotic depths in order to study bioerosion and carbonate accretion patterns. Among the organisms that contribute to the latter by secreting calcareous skeletons, epibenthic foraminiferans represent a major component, both in terms of diversity (a dozen species) as well as in the number of individuals (exceeding 50,000 individuals per m2 at certain depths). The by far dominating species were found to be Cibicides lobatulus and the agglutinating Lituotuba lituiformis, along with smaller numbers of Planorbulina mediterranensis, Tholosina vesicularis and Nubecularia lucifuga. The foraminiferal distribution exhibits a pronounced abundance maximum in shallow waters at 7 and especially 15 m and a maximum in diversity at 15-50 m water depth. Some of the foraminiferans encountered, such as Cibicides lobatulus and the rare Gypsina vesicularis, were found to contribute also to the bioerosion of the calcareous substrates by etching shallow attachment scars. These prominent traces witness the former presence of benthic foraminiferans on fossil to Recent hardgrounds, inferring a potential applicability as an in situ proxy where tests are not preserved. Estimated minimum carbonate production rates for the dominant Cibicides lobatulus reach a maximum of 0.326 g/m2/year with the highest rates occurring at 7 to 30 m water depth. Carbonate production rates are up to two magnitudes higher on the PVC (0-0.326 g/m2/year) than on the carbonate substrates (0-0.010 g/m2/year) and are considerably higher than estimates previously reported from the western Baltic.

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Acknowledgements

First of all, we would like to express our sincere thanks to Elisabeth Alve (Oslo) and Gerhard Schmiedl (Leipzig) for their valuable and competent reviews as well as Joachim Schönfeld (Kiel) for his constructive criticisms. We gratefully acknowledge the TMBL staff for their logistic and scientific support, especially Tomas Lundälv and Hans G. Hannsson. We are indebted to André Freiwald for initiating the Kosterfjord experiment and for his valuable comments and suggestions on an earlier draft of the manuscript. This work is financially supported by the German Research Council (DFG-FR 1134/5)

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  1. Institute of Palaeontology, Loewenichstr. 28, 91054, Erlangen, Germany

    Max Wisshak

  2. Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften, IFM-GEOMAR, Wischhofstr 1-3, 24148, Kiel, Germany

    Andres Rüggeberg

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Correspondence to Max Wisshak.

Appendices

Appendix 1—Data matrix

Table 3
Full size table

Appendix 2—Faunal reference list

  • Cassidulina obtusa Williamson = C. obtusa Williamson, 1858. Hald and Steinsund (1992: Pl. 2, Fig. 3), Jones (1994: Pl. 54, Fig. 5), Gooday and Hughes (2002: Pl. 2, Fig. d)

  • Cibicides lobatulus (Walker and Jacob) = Nautilus lobatulus Walker and Jacob, 1798. Feyling-Hanssen et al. (1971: Pl. 9, Figs. 9–14), Thies (1991: Pl. 17, Fig. 4: Pl. 18, Figs. 1–20), Struck (1992: Pl. 5, Fig. 1), Jones (1994: Pl. 92, Fig. 10; Pl. 93, Figs. 1, 4–5; Pl. 115, Figs. 4–5), Schönfeld (2002: Pl. 1, Figs. 2–3)

  • Elphidium incertum (Williamson) = Polystomella umbilicatula var. incertum Williamson, 1858. Alve and Nagy (1986: Pl. 4, Figs. 19–20), Gustafsson and Nordberg (1999: Fig. 3.1–2)

  • Epistominella vitrea Parker = E. vitrea Parker, 1953. Murray (2003: Fig. 7.11–13)

  • Gypsina vesicularis (Parker and Jones) = Orbitolina concava var. vesicularis. Parker and Jones, 1860. Jones (1994: Pl. 101, Figs. 9–12 as Discogypsina vesicularis)

  • Lituotuba lituiformis (Brady) = Trochammina lituiformis Brady, 1879. Jones (1994: Pl. 40, Figs. 4–7)

  • Nubecularia lucifuga Defrance = N. lucifuga Defrance, 1825. Jones (1994: Pl.1, Figs. 13–14), Cann et al. (2000: Pl. 2, Figs. 1–2), Langer (1993: Pl. 1, Fig. 13)

  • Planorbulina mediterranensis d’Orbigny = P. mediterranensis d’Orbigny, 1826. Jones (1994: Pl. 92, Fig. 1), Ribes et al. (2000: Pl. 1, Fig. 5)

  • Rosalina anomala Terquem = R. anomala Terquem, 1875. Alve and Murray (1999: Pl. 1, Figs. 5–7)

  • Textularia truncata Hoglund = T. truncata Höglund, 1947. Murray (2003: Fig. 3. 17, 18)

  • Tholosina vesicularis (Brady) = Placopsilina vesicularis Brady, 1879. Jones (1994: Pl. 35, Figs. 18, 19)

  • Tritaxis fusca (Williamson) = Rotalina fusca Williamson, 1858. Jones (1994: Pl. 49, Fig. 13)

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Wisshak, M., Rüggeberg, A. Colonisation and bioerosion of experimental substrates by benthic foraminiferans from euphotic to aphotic depths (Kosterfjord, SW Sweden). Facies 52, 1–17 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-005-0033-1

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