Latitudinal Differentiation among Modern Planktonic Foraminiferal Populations of Central Mediterranean: Species-Specific Distribution Patterns and Size Variability
Studies of the spatial distribution and size of modern planktonic foraminifera are still lacking in the Mediterranean Sea. In this study, 17 core-top sediments collected from a north-south transect along the central Mediterranean have been analyzed for planktonic foraminiferal content, in terms of t...
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ftnkunivathens:oai:lib.uoa.gr:uoadl:3196353 2024-02-11T10:08:03+01:00 Latitudinal Differentiation among Modern Planktonic Foraminiferal Populations of Central Mediterranean: Species-Specific Distribution Patterns and Size Variability Kontakiotis, George Efstathiou, Eirini Zarkogiannis, Stergios D. and Besiou, Evangelia Antonarakou, Assimina 2021-01-01 https://pergamos.lib.uoa.gr/uoa/dl/object/uoadl:3196353 Αγγλικά English eng uoadl:3196353 https://pergamos.lib.uoa.gr/uoa/dl/object/uoadl:3196353 scientific_publication_article Επιστημονική δημοσίευση - Άρθρο Περιοδικού Scientific publication - Journal Article 2021 ftnkunivathens 2024-01-18T19:01:28Z Studies of the spatial distribution and size of modern planktonic foraminifera are still lacking in the Mediterranean Sea. In this study, 17 core-top sediments collected from a north-south transect along the central Mediterranean have been analyzed for planktonic foraminiferal content, in terms of their distributional pattern and intraspecific size variability. Among the analyzed planktonic foraminiferal species, Globigerina bulloides and Globigerinoides ruber (w) were the most abundant, presenting an antagonistic behavior and an overall decreasing trend in their average size values from Adriatic to Ionian sub-basins. Intraspecific differences have been also documented for G. ruber (w), with the dominant sensu stricto morphotype to present generally higher frequencies and more constant shell sizes than sensu lato. The greater size variability of the latter is possibly related to its adaptation in particular hydrographic conditions based on its depth habitat preference and ecological characteristics to reach the (sub)optimum growth conditions. The rest of the species occur in minor percentages and show on average 11% increase with decreasing latitude characterized by distinct species-specific size variations along the transect. Our results show that the relationship between planktonic foraminifera shell size and abundance or sea surface temperature are either absent or weaker than previously reported for other regions and that in central Mediterranean assemblages’ size may be mainly related to nutrient availability. Besides the environmental parameters (sea surface temperature, primary productivity, water depth, stratification), the possible hidden cryptic diversity, still lingers to be consistently determined, could give a better understanding of the geographic and morphological differentiation within the Mediterranean planktonic populations. Article in Journal/Newspaper Planktonic foraminifera Pergamos - Library and Information Center of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Pergamos - Library and Information Center of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens |
op_collection_id |
ftnkunivathens |
language |
English |
description |
Studies of the spatial distribution and size of modern planktonic foraminifera are still lacking in the Mediterranean Sea. In this study, 17 core-top sediments collected from a north-south transect along the central Mediterranean have been analyzed for planktonic foraminiferal content, in terms of their distributional pattern and intraspecific size variability. Among the analyzed planktonic foraminiferal species, Globigerina bulloides and Globigerinoides ruber (w) were the most abundant, presenting an antagonistic behavior and an overall decreasing trend in their average size values from Adriatic to Ionian sub-basins. Intraspecific differences have been also documented for G. ruber (w), with the dominant sensu stricto morphotype to present generally higher frequencies and more constant shell sizes than sensu lato. The greater size variability of the latter is possibly related to its adaptation in particular hydrographic conditions based on its depth habitat preference and ecological characteristics to reach the (sub)optimum growth conditions. The rest of the species occur in minor percentages and show on average 11% increase with decreasing latitude characterized by distinct species-specific size variations along the transect. Our results show that the relationship between planktonic foraminifera shell size and abundance or sea surface temperature are either absent or weaker than previously reported for other regions and that in central Mediterranean assemblages’ size may be mainly related to nutrient availability. Besides the environmental parameters (sea surface temperature, primary productivity, water depth, stratification), the possible hidden cryptic diversity, still lingers to be consistently determined, could give a better understanding of the geographic and morphological differentiation within the Mediterranean planktonic populations. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kontakiotis, George Efstathiou, Eirini Zarkogiannis, Stergios D. and Besiou, Evangelia Antonarakou, Assimina |
spellingShingle |
Kontakiotis, George Efstathiou, Eirini Zarkogiannis, Stergios D. and Besiou, Evangelia Antonarakou, Assimina Latitudinal Differentiation among Modern Planktonic Foraminiferal Populations of Central Mediterranean: Species-Specific Distribution Patterns and Size Variability |
author_facet |
Kontakiotis, George Efstathiou, Eirini Zarkogiannis, Stergios D. and Besiou, Evangelia Antonarakou, Assimina |
author_sort |
Kontakiotis, George |
title |
Latitudinal Differentiation among Modern Planktonic Foraminiferal Populations of Central Mediterranean: Species-Specific Distribution Patterns and Size Variability |
title_short |
Latitudinal Differentiation among Modern Planktonic Foraminiferal Populations of Central Mediterranean: Species-Specific Distribution Patterns and Size Variability |
title_full |
Latitudinal Differentiation among Modern Planktonic Foraminiferal Populations of Central Mediterranean: Species-Specific Distribution Patterns and Size Variability |
title_fullStr |
Latitudinal Differentiation among Modern Planktonic Foraminiferal Populations of Central Mediterranean: Species-Specific Distribution Patterns and Size Variability |
title_full_unstemmed |
Latitudinal Differentiation among Modern Planktonic Foraminiferal Populations of Central Mediterranean: Species-Specific Distribution Patterns and Size Variability |
title_sort |
latitudinal differentiation among modern planktonic foraminiferal populations of central mediterranean: species-specific distribution patterns and size variability |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://pergamos.lib.uoa.gr/uoa/dl/object/uoadl:3196353 |
genre |
Planktonic foraminifera |
genre_facet |
Planktonic foraminifera |
op_relation |
uoadl:3196353 https://pergamos.lib.uoa.gr/uoa/dl/object/uoadl:3196353 |
_version_ |
1790606970671071232 |