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Modern bivalve shell assemblages on three atolls offshore Belize (Central America, Caribbean Sea)

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Abstract

The Belize atolls—Glovers Reef, Lighthouse Reef and Turneffe Islands—show differences in geomorphology, lagoonal depth, bottom sediment, growth of mangroves and sea-grass, exposure to waves and currents as well as in their sedimentation rates and their age. Bivalve shell assemblages in lagoonal areas reflect these geomorphological differences. On each atoll, 32 to 44 recent sediment samples were taken (total number of samples 111) and bivalve shells subsequently identified. The resulting database (32,122 bivalve shells in total) was analysed using Q-mode cluster analyses. Both the distribution of species characteristic of different lagoonal habitats and the distribution of bivalves with different life and feeding habits were investigated. Epifaunal suspension feeders were found particularly on hard-bottom along the reef-crests or clinging to mangrove roots. Infaunal suspension feeders show a more diverse distribution. Deeper lagoonal parts and areas with mangrove growth are often inhabited by chemosymbiont-carrying bivalves, indicating locations of reduced sediment. Deep burrowing detritus feeders are very abundant in shallow-water areas with moderate to high water agitation and were seldom found in Halimeda-rich sediments.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Kai Spresny for his previous studies on the subject, Marco Krisch for his help picking molluscs from the sediment samples and Wolfgang Schiller for taking the SEM photographs. Furthermore, we are grateful to José H. Leal (Sanibel Island, Florida) for his hospitality and for giving malacological advice. We also thank the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG; project Os 85/9) and the Graduiertenförderung of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt for their financial support of this study. The detailed reviews of Marco Taviani and an anonymous colleague helped to improve the manuscript and are gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Geowissenschaften, Facheinheit Paläontologie, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Altenhöferallee 1, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Ilona Hauser, Wolfgang Oschmann & Eberhard Gischler

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  1. Ilona Hauser
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  2. Wolfgang Oschmann
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  3. Eberhard Gischler
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Correspondence to Ilona Hauser.

Appendices

Appendix 1: taxonomy

Appendix 1 Taxonomy of the most abundant bivalve species found on the three atolls
Full size table

Appendix 2

1 Modiolus americanus (Leach, 1815), exterior of right valve, halftone; 2 Modiolus sp., exterior of left valve, SEM photograph; 3 Crenella divaricata (d’Orbigny, 1842), 3A exterior of left valve, 3B interior of right valve, SEM photographs; 4 B. cancellaria (Lamarck, 1819), 4A exterior of right valve, SEM photograph, 4B exterior of right valve with Homotrema rubrum, reflex photograph, 4C interior of right valve, SEM photograph; 5 B. candida (Helbling, 1779), 5A exterior of right valve, 5B interior of left valve, SEM photographs; 6 Arcopsis adamsi (Dall, 1886), 6A exterior of left valve, 6B interior of right valve, SEM photographs; 7 Glycymeris pectinata (Gmelin, 1791), exterior (7A) and interior (7B) of right valve, SEM photographs; 8 Ctenoides scabra (Born, 1778), exterior (8A) and interior (8B) of left valve, SEM photographs; 9 Argopecten nucleus (Born, 1778), exterior of right (9A) and left valve (9B), SEM photographs; 10 Lindapecten exasperatus (G. B. Sowerby II, 1842), exterior of right (10A) and left valve (10B), interior of right (10C) and left valve (10D), reflex photographs; 11 Chama macerophylla Gmelin, 1791, exterior of right valve, SEM photograph; 12 Lucina beliziana J. D. Taylor, 1998, 12A exterior of right valve, 12B interior of left valve, SEM photographs; 13 Codakia orbicularis (Linné, 1758), exterior (13A) and interior (13B) of left valve, SEM photographs; 14 Codakia orbiculata (Montagu, 1808), 14A exterior of right valve, 14B interior of left valve, SEM photographs; 15 Parvilucina costata (d’Orbigny, 1842), exterior (15A) and interior (15B) of right valve, SEM photographs; 16 Parvilucina sp. A, 16A exterior of right valve, 16B interior of right valve with Oichnus isp., 16C interior of left valve, SEM photographs; 17 Here sombrerensis (Dall, 1886), 17A exterior of right valve, 17B interior of right valve, fragmented, SEM photographs; 18 Anodontia alba Link, 1807, 18A exterior of left valve, 18B interior of right valve with Oichnus isp., SEM photographs; 19 Divalinga quadrisulcata (d’Orbigny, 1842), exterior (19A) and interior (19B) of right valve, 19C interior of left valve, fragmented, SEM photographs; 20 Diplodonta notata Dall and Simpson, 1901, 20A exterior of left valve with Oichnus paraboloides, 20B interior of right valve, SEM photographs; 21 Erycina periscopiana Dall, 1899, exterior (21A) and interior (21B) of right valve, 21C interior of left valve, SEM photographs; 22 Pleuromeris tridentata (Say, 1826), exterior of right valve, halftone; 23 Carditopsis smithii (Dall, 1896), exterior of right (23A) and left valve (23B), interior of right (23C) and left valve (23D), SEM photographs; 24 Crassinella lunulata (Conrad, 1834), exterior (24A) and interior (24B) of right valve, 24C interior of left valve, SEM photographs; 25 Americardia guppyi (Thiele, 1910), exterior (25A) and interior (25B) of right valve, 25C interior of left valve, SEM photographs; 26 Laevicardium laevigatum (Linné, 1758), 26A exterior of left valve, interior of right (26B) and left valve (26C), SEM photographs; 27 Tellina gouldii Hanley, 1846, 27A exterior of left valve, interior of right (27B) and left valve (27C), SEM photographs; 28 Tellina mera Say, 1834, exterior (28A) and interior (28B) of right valve, 28C interior of left valve, SEM photographs; 29 Tellina sybaritica Dall, 1881, 29A exterior of right valve, 29B articulated preservation, interior views, SEM photographs; 30 Tellina aequistriata Say, 1824, 30A exterior of left valve with Oichnus paraboloides, 30B interior of right valve with algal growth, SEM photographs; 31 Tellina lintea Conrad, 1837, exterior (31A) and interior (31B) of right valve, 31C interior of left valve with Oichnus isp., SEM photograph; 32 Tellina candeana d’Orbigny, 1842, articulated preservation, exterior (32A) and interior views (32B), SEM photographs; 33 Tellina similis J. Sowerby, 1806, articulated preservation, exterior (33A) and interior views (33B), SEM photographs; 34 Tellina listeri Röding, 1798, 34A exterior of left valve, interior of right (34B) and left valve (34C), SEM photographs; 35 Semelina nuculoides (Conrad, 1841), exterior of right valve, halftone; 36 Cumingia coarctata G. B. Sowerby I, 1833, 36A exterior of left valve, 36B interior of right valve, SEM photographs; 37 Cumingia vanhyningi Rehder, 1939, 37A exterior of left valve, interior of right (37B) and left valve (37C), SEM photographs; 38 Ervilia concentrica (Holmes, 1860), exterior (38A) and interior (38B) of right valve, 38C interior of left valve, SEM photographs; 39 Ervilia nitens (Montagu, 1808), 39A exterior of left valve, interior of right (39B) and left valve (39C), SEM photographs; 40 Chione cancellata type A, exterior (40A) and interior (40B) of right valve, 40C interior of left valve, SEM photographs; 41 Chione cancellata type B, exterior (41A) and interior (41B) of right valve, 41C interior of left valve, SEM photographs; 42 Chione sp., 42A exterior of left valve, interior of right (42B) and left valve (42C), SEM photographs; 43 Gouldia cerina (C. B. Adams, 1845), 43A exterior of left valve, 43B interior of right valve with Oichnus isp., SEM photographs; 44 Transennella cubaniana (d’Orbigny, 1842), exterior of left valve, SEM photograph; 45 Transennella stimpsoni Dall, 1902, exterior of left valve, SEM photograph; 46 Pitar fulminatus (Menke, 1828), 46A exterior of right valve, 46B interior of left valve, SEM photographs; 47 Pitar simpsoni (Dall, 1895), exterior of left valve, SEM photograph

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Hauser, I., Oschmann, W. & Gischler, E. Modern bivalve shell assemblages on three atolls offshore Belize (Central America, Caribbean Sea). Facies 53, 451–478 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-007-0111-7

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