Sediment (grain size and clay mineralogy) and organic matter quality control on living benthic foraminifera

Abstract

The paleoecological interpretation of fossil foraminiferal assemblages depends on an understanding of the ecological processes operating at the present. This study investigates both the quality of organic matter (OM) by elemental analysis as well as the sediment grain size and clay mineralogy to understand their relative influence on distribution and abundance of benthic foraminifera. This study is carried out on 15 samples regularly spaced from the mudflat to the tidal marsh. The results indicate that grain size is the most limiting parameter. Living (stained) benthic foraminiferal density and species richness are both very low within coarser sediments. OM is the second limiting factor. The density of foraminifera is the lowest and the species richness is the highest with the lowest organic carbon (C org) contents and C/N < 12. Conversely, when the C org is very high and C/N > 12, the density is high and the species richness medium. A high smectite proportion within the clay-size fraction seems to favor the development of Miliammina fusca. Trochammina inflata and Jadammina macrescens are both favored by an increase of organic carbon proportion but Trochammina inflata preferentially feeds on algal-derived OM when compared with Jadammina macrescens.