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Benthic foraminiferal turnover and trait changes across the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) at ODP site 1265A, Walvis Ridge, SE Atlantic Ocean

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Abstract

Benthic foraminiferal turnover during the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) has been extensively studied but numerous questions remained unresolved, question such as why some foraminiferal species went into extinction at a particular location but survive in another or why some species survive in extremely low oxygen environment. Because foraminiferal community interaction with the environment is driven by biological traits instead of taxonomic composition, this study has adopted trait-based approach to provide insight into the life strategies of foraminifera that enables them to survive in extreme environmental conditions. The result from this study shows that traits such as test composition, perforation, ornamentation and living habits play an important role in the ecological functioning and adaptability of foraminifera in the environment. The faunal assemblage in the studied site is dominantly cosmopolitan taxa suggesting the environment was perturbed during the PETM. Foraminiferal composition is characterised by faunal turnover indicated in extensive mortalities and extinction of both planktonic and benthic fauna. The ordination (non-metric dimensional scaling) of faunal composition also indicated ecological disturbance. The planktonic community was relatively stable before and after PETM but experienced a high level of ecological perturbation during the carbon isotopic excursion (CIE). The benthic community showed higher evidence of perturbation as the fauna assemblage ordination indicated that ecological stress started before the PETM with the disarray of samples in the ordination diagram. Only the recovery interval experienced some level of ecological stability. The environmental disturbance noticed in the fauna composition reflected on the trait. Benthic foraminiferal traits indicated instability throughout the studied section. The evidence of environmental disturbance in the benthic community suggests that the source of the light carbon that caused the PETM may have originated beneath sea floor in the Atlantic Ocean.

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Notes

  1. Biological trait analysis (BTA) is a procedure that allows the traits of organisms to be quantified was used to examine the foraminiferal trait changes/variability across the analysed section.

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Acknowledgements

This research used core samples provided by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). Ebonyi State Government, Nigeria, and School of Environmental Sciences, UOL provided parts of the funding for this study.

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  1. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZT, UK

    Celestine Nwojiji & Fabienne Marret

  2. Ebonyi State University, P.M.B 053, Abakaliki, Nigeria

    Celestine Nwojiji, Athony U. Okoro & Ezekiel O. Igwe

  3. School of Environmental Science, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX, UK

    Bryony Caswell

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  1. Celestine Nwojiji
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Nwojiji, C., Marret, F., Caswell, B. et al. Benthic foraminiferal turnover and trait changes across the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) at ODP site 1265A, Walvis Ridge, SE Atlantic Ocean. Arab J Geosci 16, 324 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-023-11417-x

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