Relationship of Maastrichtian–Thanetian benthic foraminiferal species diversity, palaeooxygenation, and palaeoproductivity in shallow waters of the Western Desert, Egypt

Abstract

Benthic foraminiferal analysis (315 samples, 16,271 specimens) of the shallow water (< 100 m) Maastrichtian–Thanetian rocks from the Dakhla Oasis (Western Desert, Egypt) was studied to infer the inter–relationships between species diversity, palaeooxygenation, palaeoproductivity, and palaeodepth and changes at the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary. Positive and significant correlations are noted between these proxies, suggesting a well-oxygenated oligotrophic environment. However, a brief interval (mid–lower Maastrichtian) of increased palaeoproductivity with reduced diversity and oxygenation (ventilation) is noted (a characteristic of mesotrophic–eutrophic settings) that coincides with very shallow waters during a highstand system tract (HST) and dominated by the dysoxic agglutinated species Ammobaculites khargaensis. The diversity index, Fisher’s α (< 5), and paleodepth proxy (foraminiferal wall structure types) also suggest a shallow neritic (largely littoral) depth for the entire study interval. At the bottom of the study section (Planktic Foraminiferal Zones CF8b-CF7), species diversity, palaeooxygenation, and palaeoproductivity are high. From the K/Pg boundary to the post-K/Pg period, these variables are low and fluctuate with moderate species dominance. Data suggests an overall 40% benthic foraminiferal species (38% of agglutinated and 40% of calcareous extinct species) extinction rate after the K/Pg hiatus. The period immediately following the K/Pg boundary is characterized by increased basinal ventilation and decreased palaeoproductivity, which are attributed to changes in sea level and concurrent regional subsidence. However, as stable as the community structure was at or just after the K/Pg boundary, the changes in species composition (assemblage) were dramatic and marked by a change from a pre–K/Pg agglutinated–dominated fauna (Haplophragmoides–Ammobaculites) to a post–K/Pg calcareous one (Cibicodoides–Cibicides–Anomalinoides).