BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA INHABITING THE WESTERN ANTARCTIC PENINSULA MARGIN

Spatial and temporal distribution patterns of living (rose bengal stained) benthic foraminifera were examined in sediment cores from the northern Gerlache-southern Bransfield Straits region of the western Antarctic Peninsula. Samples were collected in April 2008 following a surface productivity bloom, and again in July 2008 during a period of low surface productivity. This study focused on two sites (sites 3 and 4) where benthic foraminiferal assemblages and vertical distribution patterns were examined from mega (multi) core samples collected in a water depth of approximately 600 meters. Results from this study are compared with those of other sites in the region that were also examined as part of the SEASONS project (Seasonal Ecological Analysis of Seafloor Organic Nutrient Supplies). Dominant species of foraminiferal taxa found in this study area included: Bolivina pseudopunctata, Globocassidulina biora, Miliammina arenacea, and Reophax spp. Differences in the characteristics of the assemblages and vertical distribution patterns will be compared to variations in pore water chemistry and organic flux over time and space. The information obtained in this study will contribute to our understanding of the responses of benthic microfaunal ecosystems to environmental change in the Antarctic, and improve our ability to assess paleoenvironmental conditions from the microfossil record.