Orbulina universa shell calcification and porosity data from sediment samples and model results ...

• Main Authors: Weinkauf, Manuel F G, Zwick, Mike M, Kucera, Michal
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2020
• Subjects: Orbulina universa; Planktonic foraminifera; Shell calcification intensity; Shell porosity; Shell thickness; shell weight; Center for Marine Environmental Sciences MARUM
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.925049; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.925049

Porosity in planktonic foraminifers (the proportion of the shell surface covered by pores) is a conspicuous quantitative trait, well preserved in fossil shells and implicated as a source of environmental information. Despite its potential, the functional importance of porosity remains poorly understood. It is likely that pores are important in gas exchange, and differences in shell porosity among species or within species may reflect differences in metabolic rates or ambient oxygen concentration. Theoretically, porosity also affects the weight of the shell; and differences in porosity may reflect an adaptation to the specific density of the seawater or differences in allocation of resources to calcification (shell calcification intensity). Finally, there is evidence that porosity may differ between closely related cryptic species. Here we analyzed the potential role of porosity as a regulator of calcification intensity in Orbulina universa by combining biometric measurements based on sediment surface samples ...