Abstract
An assessment of modern benthic foraminiferal species occurrences was carried out in the coral reefs environment of Bidong Island, Terengganu. Foraminiferal samples were collected by SCUBA divers at 12 transects around the island. Rose Bengal dye was mixed into formalin (10%) during the preservation process. It was used to distinguish living specimens from empty tests in the samples. There were 32 species of benthic foraminifera found in the study area. These species belong to two orders (Rotaliida and Miliolida), ten families and 15 genera. Amphistegina was the most dominant genus that occurred in all sampling stations. This study is the first record of benthic foraminiferal occurrence in Bidong Island, Terengganu. Fossil benthic foraminifera are used as proxies in interpreting past environments especially in the fields of paleobathymetry, paleoenvironment and paleoclimate. Modern benthic foraminiferal assemblages are useful in aiding the interpretations of past environments using these proxies. Modern benthic foraminifera can also be applied as bioindicators in environmental monitoring studies.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the laboratory technicians (Syed Ahmad Rizal Tuan Nek and Syed Shahrul Afzan Syed Bidin) and research assistants (Nur Syazwani Hashim and Muhammad Izzat Afiq Azizan) for assistance during field work. We are also thankful to Norita Abdul Shukor from INOS for assisting us with the scanning electron images. This project was funded under the Talent and Publication Enhancement Research Grant (TAPE-RG) vote no. 55178.
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Jaafar, N.A.A. et al. (2022). Modern Benthic Foraminifera in the Coral Reefs of Bidong Island, Terengganu. In: Chuan, O.M., Martin, M.B., Nurulnadia, M.Y., Afzan Azmi, W. (eds) Bidong Island. Geography of the Physical Environment. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91924-5_12
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