Ultrastructure of Some Planktonic Formainifera

Planktonic foraminifera are widely-distributed and abundant zooplankters. They are significant as water mass indicators and provide evidence of paleotemperatures and events which occurred during Pleistocene glaciation. In spite of their ecological and paleological significance, little is known of th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America
Main Author: Zucker, William H.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1974
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0424820100050962
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0424820100050962
Description
Summary:Planktonic foraminifera are widely-distributed and abundant zooplankters. They are significant as water mass indicators and provide evidence of paleotemperatures and events which occurred during Pleistocene glaciation. In spite of their ecological and paleological significance, little is known of their cell biology. There are few cytological studies of these organisms at the light microscope level and some recent reports of their ultrastructure. Specimens of Globigerinoides ruber, Globigerina bulloides, Globigerinoides conglobatus and Globigerinita glutinata were collected in Bermuda waters and fixed in a cold cacodylate-buffered 6% glutaraldehyde solution for two hours. They were then rinsed, post-fixed in Palade's fluid, rinsed again and stained with uranyl acetate. This was followed by graded ethanol dehydration, during which they were identified and picked clean of debris. The specimens were finally embedded in Epon 812 by placing each organism in a separate BEEM capsule. After sectioning with a diamond knife, stained sections were viewed in a Philips 200 electron microscope.