Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Benthic foraminifera and their stable isotope composition in sediment cores from Lake Qarun, Egypt: changes in water salinity during the past ~500 years

  • Original paper
  • Published:
Journal of Paleolimnology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We studied the sedimentology, benthic foraminifera, molluscs, and δ18O and δ13C of Ammonia tepida tests in two late Holocene sediment cores from Lake Qarun (Egypt). The cores, QARU2 (upper section, 8.2 m) and QARU4 (1.4 m), span approximately the past 500 years of sedimentation. Benthic foraminifera first appeared in the upper part of QARU2 at 314 cm depth, ca. AD 1550. This depth marks the beginning of colonization of the lake by foraminifera and indicates a change in lake water salinity, as foraminifera cannot tolerate fresh water. Initially, three species of benthic foraminifera colonized the lake, Ammonia tepida, Cribroelphidium excavatum and Cribrononion incertum. Relative abundance of these species fluctuated throughout cores QARU2 and QARU4 and highest overall faunal diversity occurred at the beginning of the twentieth century. High relative abundances of C. incertum and deformed tests are attributed to periods of greater lakewater salinity. Peaks in both δ18O and δ13C indicate times of higher evaporation and reduced fresh water inflow. Inferred salinity was high around AD 1700 and after AD 1990. Rapid response of climate proxy variables indicates the high sensitivity of Lake Qarun to environmental changes over the past several 100 years. Increases in lakewater Mg concentration during past evaporative events, associated with less fresh water inflow, probably provided conditions suitable for C. incertum to build its white or transparent tests. Gradual decrease of C. incertum, until its disappearance at 100 cm depth ca. AD 1890, indicates a more persistent trend in lake water chemistry. Higher concentrations of dissolved sulphates were the likely cause of this species disappearance. Recent, twentieth-century sediments were deposited under optimal salinity (37‰) for benthic fauna, but further environmental changes are indicated by the decrease or disappearance of several benthic foraminifera and mollusc species. Intermittent hypoxia in the lake’s bottom waters, caused by cultural eutrophication, may account for these most recent changes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abu-Zied RH, Keatings KW, Flower RJ (2007) Environmental controls on foraminifera in Lake Qarun Egypt. J Foraminifer Res 37:136–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Almogi-Labin A, Perelis-Grossovicz L, Raab M (1992) Living Ammonia from a hypersaline inland pool Dead Sea area Israel. J Foraminifer Res 22:257–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ball J (1939) Contribution to the geography of Egypt. Egypt Survey Department, Cairo 300 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Boltovskoy E, Wright R (1976) Recent Foraminifera. W Junk, The Hague 515 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Boomer I, Aladin N, Plotnikov I, Whatley R (2000) The palaeolimnology of the Aral Sea: a review. Quat Sci Rev 19:1259–1278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brachert TC, Dullo WC (2000) Shallow burial diagenesis of skeletal carbonates: selective loss of aragonite shell material (Miocene to Recent, Queensland Plateau and Queensland Trough, NE Australia)—implications for shallow cool-water carbonates. Sedimentary Geol 136:169–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradshaw JS (1957) Laboratory studies on the rate of growth of the foraminifer’Streblus beccarii (Linné) var tepida (Cushman)’. J Paleontol 31:1138–1147

    Google Scholar 

  • Brewster-Wingard GL, Ishman SE, Willard DA, Edwards LE, Holmes CW (1997) Preliminary paleontologic report on Core 19A and 19B from Russell Bank Everglades National Park Florida Bay. US Geological Survey Open-File Report 97–460, 29 p

  • Butzer KW (1976) Early hydraulic civilization in Egypt: a study in cultural ecology. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, p 134

    Google Scholar 

  • Cann JH, De Deckker P (1981) Fossil Quaternary and living foraminifera from athalassic (non-marine) saline lakes, southern Australia. J Paleontol 55:660–670

    Google Scholar 

  • Casford JSL, Abu-Zied R, Rohling EJ, Cooke S, Fontanier C, Leng M, Millard A, Thomson J (2007) A stratigraphically controlled multiproxy chronostratigraphy for the eastern Mediterranean. Paleoceanography 22:1–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke KR, Warwick RM (1994) Change in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretation. PRIMER, version 4:0. Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, 144 pp. (www.primer_e.com)

  • Delaca TE, Lipps JH (1972) The mechanism and adaptive significance of attachment and substrate pitting in the foraminiferan Rosalina globularis d’Orbigny. J Foraminifer Res 2:68–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • El Sayed E, Guindy KA (1999) Hydrochemical investigation of El Faiyum locality with special reference to the sulphate enrichment phenomenon in Lake Qarun. Man Sci Bul (C Nat Sci and Phys Sci) 26:1–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Fahiem SM (1979) Hydrology of Lake Qarun. M.Sc. Thesis. Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, 230 pp

  • Fillon RH, Hunt AS (1974) Late Pleistocene benthic foraminifera of the Southern Champlain Sea: paleotemperature and paleosalinity indications. Maritime Sediments 10:14–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Flower RJ, Stickley C, Hawkes I, Rose N, Peglar S, Appleby PG (2001) Environmental change at the desert margin: 20th century instrumental records and the recent palaeolimnology of Lake Qarun. In: Past climate variability through Europe and Africa (Abstracts), An International PAGES Conference, 27–31 August, Aix en Provence, pp 82–83

  • Flower RJ, Stickley C, Rose N, Peglar S, Fathi AA, Appleby PG (2006) Environmental change at the desert margin: an assessment of recent palaeolimnological records in Lake Qarun Middle Egypt. J Paleolimnol 35:1–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fontes JC, Gasse F, Callot Y, Plaziat JC, Carbonel P, Dupeuble PA, Kaczmarska I (1985) Freshwater to marine-like environments from Holocene lakes in northern Sahara. Nature 317:608–610

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foster IDL, Oldfield F, Flower RJ, Keatings K (2008) Mineral magnetic signatures in a long core from Lake Qarun Middle Egypt. J Paleolimnol 40:835–849

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gasse F, Fontes JC, Plaziat JC, Carbonel P, Kaczmarska I, De Deckker P, Soulié-Märsche I, Callot Y, Dupeuble PA (1987) Biological remains, geochemistry and stable isotopes for reconstruction of environmental and hydrological changes in the Holocene lakes from North Sahara. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimat Palaeoecol 60:1–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halicz E, Reiss Z (1981) Palaecological relations of foraminifera in a desert enclosed sea-The Gulf of Aqaba. Marine Ecol 2:15–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hassan FA (1986) Holocene lakes and prehistoric settlements of the western Faiyum Egypt. J Archaeol Sci 13:483–501

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawkes I (1999) Ostracods from the Holocene of Lake Qarun Faiyum Province Egypt. Unpublished Master Thesis, University College London, UK, 71 pp

  • Jahn A, Gamenick I, Theede H (1996) Physiological adaptations of Cyprideis torosa (Crustacea, Ostracoda) to hydrogen sulphide. Mar Ecol Prog Ser MEPS 142:215–223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones RW (1994) The challenger Foraminifera. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 149 pp, 117 Pl

  • Juggins S (2003) C2 User guide software for ecological and palaeoecological data analysis and visualisation. University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, 69 pp

  • Keatings K, Hawkes I, Holmes JA, Flower RJ, Leng MJ, Abu-Zied RH, Lord AR (2007) Evaluation of ostracod-based palaeoenvironmental reconstruction with instrumental data from the arid Faiyum Depression Egypt. J Paleolimnol 38:261–283

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keatings K, Holmes JA, Flower RJ, Horne D, Whittaker JE, Abu-Zied RH (2010) Ostracods and the Holocene palaeolimnology of Lake Qarun, with special reference to past human-environment interactions in the Faiyum (Egypt) (2010). Hydrobiologia 654:155–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhnt T, Schmiedl G, Ehrmann W, Hamann Y, Hemleben C (2007) Deep-sea ecosystem variability of the Aegean Sea during the past 22 kyr as revealed by benthic foraminifera. Mar Micropaleontol 64:141–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamb AL, Leng MJ, Lamb HF, Telford RJ, Mohammed MU (2002) Climatic and non-climatic effects on the d18Oand d13C compositions of Lake Awassa, Ethiopia, during the last 6.5 ka. Quat Sci Rev 21:2199–2211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Langer MR (1993) Epiphytic foraminifera. In: Langer MR (ed) Foraminiferal microhabitats. Mar Micropaleontol 20, pp 235–265

  • Le Cadre V, Debenay JP, Lesourd M (2003) Low pH effects on Ammonia beccarii test deformation: implications for using test deformations as a pollution indicator. J Foraminifer Res 33:1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leng M, Marshall JD (2004) Palaeoclimate interpretation of stable isotope data from lake sediment archives. Quat Sci Rev 23:811–831

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mansour SA, Sidky MM (2003) Ecotoxicological studies 6. The first comparative study between Lake Qarun and Wadi El-Rayan wetland (Egypt) with respect to contamination of their major components. Food Chem 82:181–189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mehringer PJJR, Petersen KL, Hassan FA (1979) A pollen record from Birket Qarun and the Recent history of the Fayum Egypt. Quat Res 11:238–256

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meshal AH (1977) The problem of the salinity increase in Lake Qarun (Egypt) and a proposed solution. J Conseil Int pour l’Explor Mer 37:137–143

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller G, Irion G, Förstner U (1972) Formation and diagenesis of inorganic CaMg carbonates in the lacustrine environment. Naturwissenschaften 59:158–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neale JW (1988) Ostracods and palaeosalinity reconstruction. In: De Deckker P, Colin JP, Peypouquet JP (eds) Ostracoda in earth sciences. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 125–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Pascal PY, Dupuy C, Richard P, Niquil N (2008) Bacterivory in the common foraminifer Ammonia tepida: isotope tracer experiment and the controlling factors. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 359:55–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perthuisot JP, Guelorget O, Ibrahim AW, Margerel JP, Maurin A, Piron-Frenet M (1990) Organisation hydrochimique biologique et sédimentologique d’un lac intracontinental à peuplements lagunaires: La Birket Karoun (Fayoum Egypte). Geodinamica Acta (Paris) 4:73–89

    Google Scholar 

  • Plaziat JC (1993) Modern and fossil Potamids (Gastropoda) in saline lakes. J Paleolimnol 8:163–169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plaziat JC, Younis WR (2005) The modern environments of molluscs in southern Mesopotamia, Iraq: a guide to paleogeographical reconstructions of Quaternary fluvial, palustrine and marine deposits. Carnets de Géologie/Notebooks on Geology, Brest, Article 2005/01 (CG2005_A01)

  • Ramadan FM (1972) Characterization of Nile waters prior to the High Dam. Zeitschrift fur Wasser und Abwasserforschung 5:21–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Reddy KR, Rao RJ (1984) Foraminifera-salinity relationship in the Pennar estuary India. J Foraminifer Res 14:115–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Resig JM (1974) Recent foraminifera from a landlocked Hawaiian lake. J Foraminifer Res 4:69–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saros JE, Fritz SC (2000) Nutrients as a link between ionic concentration/composition and diatom distributions in saline lake. J Paleolimnol 23:449–453

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shafei A (1960) Lake Moeris and Lahun Mi-Wer and Ro-Hun: the great Nile control project executed by the ancient Egyptians. Bull Soc Géograph Egypte 33:187–215

    Google Scholar 

  • Soliman GF (1990) Observations on Some physical conditions of Lake Qarun. In: El-Raey M (ed) Regional symposium on environmental studies (UNARC), Alexandria, pp 588–601

  • Street-Perrott FA, Harrison SP (1985) Lake levels and climate reconstruction. In: Hecht AD (ed) Paleoclimate analysis and modelling. Wiley, New York, pp 291–340

    Google Scholar 

  • Stuiver M, Reimer PJ, Reimer RW (2005) CALIB radiocarbon calibration: execute version 5.0.2 html. http://calib.qub.ac.uk/calib/

  • Toler SK, Hallock P, Schijf J (2001) Mg/Ca ratios in stressed foraminifera, Amphistegina gibbosa, from the Florida Keys. Mar Micropaleontol 43:199–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toussoun O (1925) Mémoire sur l’histoire du Nil. Mém Instit. d’Egypte, Cairo 18:366–404

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang P, Chappell J (2001) Foraminifera as Holocene environmental indicators in the South Alligator River, Northern Australia. Quat Int 83–85:47–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wennrich V, Meng S, Schmiedl G (2007) Foraminifers from Holocene sediments of two inland brackish lakes in central Germany. J Foraminifer Res 37:318–326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zalat AA (1995) Calcareous nannoplankton and diatoms from the Eocene/Pliocene sediments, Fayoum Depression Egypt. J Afr Earth Sci 20:224–227

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thanks Abdel Fatah Zalat, Richard Niederreiter and Tarek Saif for their help during the recovery of the cores from Lake Qarun. We are also grateful to the Environmental Affairs Agency (EAA) in the Faiyum (Qarun Protected Area) at Faiyum, especially Mahmoud Mokhtar, Gebaily Abdel-Maksoud and Owais Shabaan for their help and facilitation of work during the coring operation. We also thank Thomas Whitmore, Oliver Heiri and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments that greatly improved the manuscript. A special thanks is given to Mark Brenner for his final editing of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Geology Department, Faculty of Marine Science, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80207, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia

    Ramadan H. Abu-Zied

  2. Geography Department, ECRC, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    Kevin Keatings & Roger J. Flower

  3. NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, British Geological Survey, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK

    Melanie J. Leng

  4. Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, El-Mansoura, 35516, Egypt

    Ramadan H. Abu-Zied

Authors
  1. Ramadan H. Abu-Zied
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kevin Keatings
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Roger J. Flower
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Melanie J. Leng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ramadan H. Abu-Zied.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Abu-Zied, R.H., Keatings, K., Flower, R.J. et al. Benthic foraminifera and their stable isotope composition in sediment cores from Lake Qarun, Egypt: changes in water salinity during the past ~500 years. J Paleolimnol 45, 167–182 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-010-9489-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-010-9489-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation