Recent benthic foraminiferal assemblages from cold-water coral mounds in the Porcupine Seabight |
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Authors: | Joachim Schönfeld Wolf-Christian Dullo Olaf Pfannkuche André Freiwald Andres Rüggeberg Steffi Schmidt Janice Weston |
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Institution: | 1.Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften IFM-GEOMAR,Kiel,Germany;2.Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, Abteilung für Meeresforschung,Wilhelmshaven,Germany;3.Renard Centre of Marine Geology (RCMG), Department of Geology and Soil Science,Ghent University,Ghent,Belgium;4.Universit?t K?ln, Institut für Geologie und Mineralogie,K?ln,Germany;5.RPS Energy, Goldsworth House,Woking,United Kingdom |
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Abstract: | Cold-water coral ecosystems are characterised by a high diversity and population density. Living and dead foraminiferal assemblages
from 20 surface sediment samples from Galway and Propeller Mounds were analysed to describe the distribution patterns of benthic
foraminifera on coral mounds in relation to different sedimentary facies. Hard substrates were examined to assess the foraminiferal
microhabitats and diversities in the coral framework. We recognised 131 different species, of which 27 prefer an attached
lifestyle. Epibenthic species are the main constituents of the living and dead foraminiferal assemblages. The frequent species
Discanomalina coronata was associated with coral rubble, Cibicides refulgens showed preference to the off-mound sand veneer, and Uvigerina mediterranea displayed abundance maxima in the main depositional area on the southern flank of Galway Mound, and in the muds around Propeller
Mound. The distribution of these species is rather governed by their specific ecological demands and microhabitat availability
than by the sedimentary facies. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages from coral mounds fit well into basin-wide-scale distribution
patterns of species along the western European continental margin. The diversity of the foraminiferal faunas is not higher
on the carbonate mounds as in their vicinity. The living assemblages show a broad mid-slope diversity maximum between 500
and 1,300 m water depth, which is the depth interval of coral mound formation at the Celtic and Amorican Margin. The foraminiferal
diversity maximum is about 700 m shallower than comparable maxima of nematodes and bivalves. This suggests that different
processes are driving the foraminiferal and metazoan diversity patterns. |
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