Migration of brachiopod species in the North Atlantic in response to Holocene climatic change

• Main Authors: Endo, K., Curry, G.B.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Geological Society of America 1991
• Subjects: north atlantic current; North Atlantic; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/52132/

The brachiopod Terebratulina retusa has migrated 3000-4000 km from the Iberian Peninsula as far north as Spitsbergen during the past 10 ka. This migration was caused by the progressive northward reestablishment of the North Atlantic Current, which had been deflected south during the last ice age and which represents the primary method of dispersal for short-lived pelagic brachiopod larvae. This migration has resulted in two similar but morphometrically distinct species, Terebratulina retusaand Terebratulina septentrionalis, occasionally occurring together. This allows the identification of periods of rapid climatic change in the geologic record because of the effect such changes have on currents that control the distribution of sessile marine organisms