TIDAL DISTRIBUTION OF FORAMINIFERA IN BROOKLANDS LAGOON, CANTERBURY, NEW ZEALAND

The February 2011 earthquake that occurred in Christchurch, New Zealand caused widespread liquefaction and subsidence in Brooklands Lagoon, located north of Christchurch. The shifts of major flora in the lagoon in response to the subsidence have previously been studied in Brooklands Lagoon; however, little is known about the various species of microfauna that inhabit the lagoon and the extent to which these foraminifera respond to shifts in tidal height, salinity, and sediment size. Samples were collected along a 200m east-west transect in the lagoon to establish an initial distribution of foraminiferal species, which paleontologists and ecologists can use to compare changes in foraminiferal distribution to after future seismic events.