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Benthic Foraminifera and Diatoms as Ecological Indicators

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Modern Trends in Diatom Identification

Part of the book series: Developments in Applied Phycology ((DAPH,volume 10))

Abstract

Ecology can be defined as the study of causes that govern the distribution and abundance of organisms and their relation to the environment. Among benthic microorganisms (10 μm–500 mm), diatoms and foraminifera are of great importance in aquatic ecosystems worldwide because (1) their species react in a rapid and sensitive way to environmental changes in water bodies, and (2) they preserve in sediments for a long time due to their shells, which are made of silica (diatoms) or calcium carbonate or cemented detrital material (foraminifera). In shallow coastal ecosystems (coastal lagoons, marshes), these attributes make foraminifera and diatoms extremely valuable for both ecology and geology because modern communities indicate the dynamic transition between terrestrial and marine habitats, and fossil assemblages record past sea-level changes. While many other works provide specific information on the taxonomy, biology, and ecology of foraminifera and diatoms independently, this chapter aims to provide a comprehensive joint perspective of the applications and uses of these two groups of organisms for environmental studies in coastal habitats. Given the ongoing and future threats associated with sea-level rise and water scarcity, and the lack of long-term monitoring data to assess ecosystems’ deviation from natural baseline conditions, palaeoecological applications of foraminifera and diatoms are also discussed in the context of environmental and restoration policies.

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Acknowledgments

The writing of this manuscript was supported by the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC), under funding received from the US NSF DBI-1639145.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC), University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Xavier Benito

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  1. Xavier Benito
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Correspondence to Xavier Benito .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Optica (CSIC), Madrid, Spain

    Gabriel Cristóbal

  2. Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Gestión Ambiental, Universidad de León, Laboratorio de diatomología y calidad de aguas, Instituto de Investigación de Medio Ambiente, Recursos Naturales y Biodiversidad, León, Spain

    Saúl Blanco

  3. VISILAB, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real, Spain

    Gloria Bueno

Illustration Plates of Foraminifera

Illustration Plates of Foraminifera

Binocular stereomicroscope plates of characteristic foraminiferal taxa from the Ebro Delta habitats (NW Mediterranean). Taxa are arranged by wall structure and alphabetically. Scale bar represents 100 μm (Plates 15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5, 15.6, 15.7, 15.8, and 15.9). Adapted from [64]

Plate 15.1
figure 6

Living foraminiferal tests. (1, 2) Ammotium cf. morenoi (Acosta, 1940); (3, 4) Arenoparella mexicana (Kornfeld, 1931), (3)—spiral view, (4)—umbilical view; (5) Eggerelloides scaber (Williamson, 1858); (6) Haplophragmoides wilberti (Anderson, 1953); (7, 8) Entzia macrescens (Brady, 1980), (7)—spiral view, (8)—umbilical view; (9, 10) Miliammina fusca (Brady, 1980); (11) Nodulina dentaliniformis (Brady, 1844); (12) Scherochorella moniliformis (Siddall, 1886); (13, 14) Trochammina inflata (Montagu, 1808), (13)—umbilical view, (14)—spiral view; (15, 16) Undetermined Textularid

Full size image
Plate 15.2
figure 7

Living foraminiferal tests. (1) Adelosina longirostra (d’Orbigny, 1939); (2) Cornuspira incerta (d’Orbigny, 1939); (3–5) Quinqueloculina jugosa (Cushman,1944); (6) Quinqueloculina seminula (Linneaus, 1758); (7, 8) Undetermined Miliolid

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Plate 15.3
figure 8

Living foraminiferal tests. (1–4) Ammonia tepida (Cushman, 1926), (1, 3)—spiral view, (2, 4)—umbilical view; (5) Bolivinellina pseudopunctata (Höglund, 1947); (6, 7) Bolivina subaenariensis (Cushman, 1922), (6, 7)—general view; (8) Bolivina spathulata (Williamson, 1858); (9) Bolivina striatula (Cushman, 1922); (10, 11) Cribroelphidium excavatum (Terquem, 1875), (10, 11)—general view; (12) Elphidium oceanense (d’Orbigny in Fornasini, 1904); (13–15) Cribroelphidium selseyense (Heron-Allen and Earland, 1911), (13)—general view (C. cf. selseyensis), (14, 15)—general view

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Plate 15.4
figure 9

Living foraminiferal tests. (1, 2) Cribroelphidium sp.1, (1, 2)—general view; (3) Cribroelphidium williamsoni (Haynes, 1973); (4, 5) Elphidium advenum (Cushman, 1922), (4, 5)—general view; (6) Stainforthia cf. fusiformis (Williamson, 1858); (7) Haynesina germanica (Ehrenberg, 1840); (8) Hopkinsina pacifica (Cushman, 1933); (9, 10) Nonionella opima (Cushman, 1947), (9, 10)—general view; (11–12) Rosalina globularis (d’Orbigny, 1826), (11)—dorsal view, (12)—ventral view; (13, 14) Trichohyalus aguayoi (Bermudez, 1935), (13)—spiral view, (14)—umbilical view; (15, 16) Pseudononion japonicum (Asano, 1936), (15, 16)—general view

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Plate 15.5
figure 10

Dead foraminiferal tests. (1, 2) Ammosphaeroidina sp.1, (1, 2)—general view; (3) Ammotium cf. morenoi (Acosta, 1940); (4) Eggerelloides scaber (Williamson, 1858); (5–7) Haplophragmoides wilberti (Anderson, 1953), (5, 6)—general view, (7)—edge view; (8, 9) Entzia macrescens (Brady, 1870), (8)—umbilical view, (9)—spiral view; (10) Miliammina fusca (Brady, 1870); (11, 12) Trochammina inflata (Montagu, 1808), (11)—spiral view, (12)—umbilical view

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Plate 15.6
figure 11

Dead foraminiferal tests. (1) Cornuspira incerta (d’Orbigny, 1939); (2, 3) Quinqueloculina seminula (Linneaus, 1758), (4, 5) Undeterminated Miliolid; (6, 7) Quinqueloculina seminula (Linneaus, 1758), (6, 7)—general view, pyritized test; (8, 9) Quinqueloculina schlumbergeri Wisner, 1923, (8)—general view, (9)—oblique view; (10, 11) Adelosina dubia d’Orbigny in Fornasini, 1905, (10, 11) general view; (12, 13) Triloculina sp. 1, (12)—general view, (13)—apertural view

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Plate 15.7
figure 12

Dead foraminiferal tests. (1–6) Ammonia tepida (Cushman, 1926), (1, 3)—Ammonia tepida, spiral view, (2, 4)—Ammonia tepida, umbilical view, (5)—Ammonia beccarii (Linneaus, 1758), spiral view, (6)—Ammonia beccarii (Linneaus, 1758), umbilical view; (7, 8) Aubignyna perlucida (Heron-Allen and Earland, 1913), (7)—spiral view, (8)—umbilical view; (9) Bolivina dilatata (Reuss, 1850); (10) Bolivina variabilis (Williamson, 1859); (11) Bulimina gibba (Fornasini, 1902); (12, 13) Cancris auricula (Fichtel and Moll, 1798); (14) Cribroelphidium excavatum (Terquem, 1875); (15) Elphidium oceanense (d’Orbigny in Fornasini, 1904); (16) Cribroelphidium cf. poeyanum (d’Orbigny, 1839); (17) Cribroelphidium selseyense (Heron-Allen and Earland, 1911)

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Plate 15.8
figure 13

Dead foraminiferal tests. (1, 2) Cribroelphidium sp.1; (3, 4) Cribroelphidium williamsoni (Haynes, 1973), (3)—general view, pyritized test, (4)—general view; (5) Elphidium advenum (Cushman, 1922); (6) Elphidium crispum (Linneaus, 1758); (7) Fissurina lucida (Williamson, 1858); (8, 9) Gavelinopsis praegeri (Heron-Allen and Earland, 1913); (10, 11) Haynesina depressula (Walker and Jacob, 1798), (10)—dorsal view, (11)—edge view; (12, 13) Haynesina germanica (Ehrenberg, 1840), (12)—dorsal view, (13)—edge view; (14) Hopkinsina pacifica (Cushman, 1933); (15) Lagena sulcata (Walter and Jacob, 1798)

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Plate 15.9
figure 14

Dead foraminiferal tests. (1, 2) Rosalina globularis (d’Orbigny, 1826), (1)—spiral view, (2)—umbilical view; (3–5) Rosalina irregularis (Rhumbler, 1906), (3)—spiral view, (4)—edge view, (5)—umbilical view; (6, 7) Trichohyalus aguayoi (Bermudez, 1935) (6)—spiral view, (7)—umbilical view; (8, 9) Valvulineria bradyana (Fornasini, 1899) (8)—spiral view, (9)—umbilical view; (10) Planktonic form (cf. Globigerina sp.)

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Benito, X. (2020). Benthic Foraminifera and Diatoms as Ecological Indicators. In: Cristóbal, G., Blanco, S., Bueno, G. (eds) Modern Trends in Diatom Identification. Developments in Applied Phycology, vol 10. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39212-3_15

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