North-Central Section - 38th Annual Meeting (April 1–2, 2004)

Paper No. 1
Presentation Time: 8:00 AM

VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION PROFILES OF LIVING (STAINED) BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA FROM SUBMARINE CANYONS OFF SOUTHWEST AUSTRALIA


ABRIANI, Michelle A.1, RATHBURN, Anthony E.1, PÉREZ, M. Elena1, BAHLS, Amanda1 and DE DECKKER, Patrick2, (1)Geography, Geology, and Anthropology, Indiana State Univ, Science Building 159, Terre Haute, IN 47809, (2)Department of Geology, Australian National Univ, Canberra ACT, Australia, mabriani@att.net

Vertical distribution patterns of living (rose Bengal stained) benthic foraminifera were studied from four multicores taken at different water depths (363m, 949m, 1634m, and 2476m) from the Murray Submarine Canyons, located off Kangaroo Island, Australia. Comparisons of assemblages from these sites reveal differences that are probably related to variations in food availability. The foraminiferal assemblages (>150 µm) include taxa such as Chilostomella oolina, Globobulimina spp., Discorbinella sp., and Bolivinita quadrilatera. Vertical distribution profiles of paleoceanographically-important taxa remain consistent with those observed in other regions, though subsurface availability of organic material brought in by turbidites appears to influence the infaunal distributions of some taxa. Results from this study provide information about highly-productive, turbidity-influenced benthic ecosystems.