ABUNDANCE, DIVERSITY, AND ECOLOGIES OF BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA BEFORE AND AFTER THE PETM BOUNDARY

The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, or PETM, is an analogous rapid warming event that can be used to understand, and predict, the potential consequences of modern global climate change. Around 56 million years ago, the PETM experienced rapid global ocean temperature increases of about 5°C to 8°C, ocean acidification due to rise in CO2 levels, and decreased marine dissolved oxygen levels, leading to the extinction of 30–50% of benthic foraminifera. Herein, we examine the ecology and morphology of benthic foraminifera of IODP 392, located off the coast of Southeastern South Africa. In this process we examine about twenty >150μm size fraction samples for shifts in foraminiferal abundance and diversity through the extinction event. Aside from being well preserved and producing a high resolution time series of the PETM, these foraminifera represent a region of the oceans that is under-sampled. Our study examines benthic foraminifera ecology, abundance, and diversity during the PETM and about 1 million years either side of the boundary. From this we will produce a data set determining species, abundances, and total test sizes across the PETM to demonstrate how their ecologies have shifted in this region. In addition to determining extinction and recovery rates more accurately, the study of populations 1 million years before the event offers important insights into how these high latitude ecosystems responded to harsh environmental conditions and were affected by rapid climate change.