Environmental impacts on the benthic foraminiferal fauna in nearshore ecosystems

This review presents data on how natural and anthropogenic factors affect species composition, abundance, and test morphology of benthic foraminifera of the world oceans. Major emphasis is placed on high sensitivity of foraminifera to changes in the state of the environment, particularly in nearshore zones under anthropogenic impact. It is shown that benthic foraminifera can provide indicators of environmental conditions in marine ecosystems. The effects of mollusk and salmon aquaculture activities on the composition and distribution of foraminifera are considered. It is stressed that a distinction must be made between foraminiferal test morphology variations in response to natural and anthropogenic impacts.