MODERN DISTRIBUTION OF BENTHIC SALT MARSH FORAMINIFERA, CARPINTERIA SLOUGH

Salt marsh foraminiferal species live in distinct elevation zones relative to tidal and sea level datums. Their strict vertical zonation can be used as a tool in recognizing rates of sea-level rise as well as tectonic activity along the coast. Although foraminifera have been used worldwide to reconstruct past sea levels, no such elevation zonations have been produced for southern California salt marsh foraminifera. We sampled foraminifera from three southern California estuaries: Carpenteria Slough, Mugu Lagoon, and Sweetwater Marsh, for the purpose of establishing a foraminifera zonation for southern California marshes. The results from Carpenteria Slough display no distinct zonation with regards to elevation. To better understand the lack of elevation zonations within Carpinteria Slough we are now investigating other environmental paramaters such as salinity, pH, total organic carbon (TOC), and grain size. We hope to establish a correlation between the abundance and diversity of foraminifera from different sample sites with one or more of the environmental paramaters.