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Evolutionary ecology of Early Paleocene planktonic foraminifera: size, depth habitat and symbiosis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2016

Heather S. Birch ,
Helen K. Coxall  and
Paul N. Pearson
Heather S. Birch
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3YE, United Kingdom. E-mail: heather.s.birch@googlemail.com
Helen K. Coxall
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3YE, United Kingdom. E-mail: heather.s.birch@googlemail.com
Paul N. Pearson
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3YE, United Kingdom. E-mail: heather.s.birch@googlemail.com
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Abstract

The carbon stable isotope (δ13C) composition of the calcitic tests of planktonic foraminifera has an important role as a geochemical tracer of ocean carbon system changes associated with the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) mass extinction event and its aftermath. Questions remain, however, about the extent of δ13C isotopic disequilibrium effects and the impact of depth habitat evolution on test calcite δ13C among rapidly evolving Paleocene species, and the influence this has on reconstructed surface-to-deep ocean dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) gradients. A synthesis of new and existing multispecies data, on the relationship between δ13C and δ18O and test size, sheds light on these issues. Results suggest that early Paleocene species quickly radiated into a range of depths habitats in a thermally stratified water column. Negative δ18O gradients with increasing test size in some species of Praemurica suggest either ontogenetic or ecotypic dependence on calcification temperature that may reflect depth/light controlled variability in symbiont photosynthetic activity. The pattern of positive δ13C test-size correlations allows us to (1) identify metabolic disequilibrium δ13C effects in small foraminifera tests, as occur in the immediate aftermath of the K/Pg event, (2) constrain the timing of evolution of foraminiferal photosymbiosis to 63.5 Ma, ∼0.9 Myr earlier than previously suggested, and (3) identify the apparent loss of symbiosis in a late-ranging morphotype of Praemurica. These findings have implications for interpreting δ13C DIC gradients at a resolution appropriate for incoming highly resolved K/Pg core records.

Type
Articles
Information
Paleobiology , Volume 38 , Issue 3 , Summer 2012 , pp. 374 - 390
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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