Some trends in sampling modern living (stained) benthic foraminifera in fjord, shelf and deep sea: Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas

Abstract

The author is undertaking a regional study of the living (stained) benthic foraminiferal faunas of the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas (Barents Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean). Quantitative and qualitative data on assemblages have been compiled on more than 2000 samples for the 0–1 cm sediment interval. Most areas have been sampled on a single occasion; replicates and repeated sampling for temporal studies are treated as individual samples. The results will be used to define patterns of distribution of standing crop and biodiversity and to relate them to potential causes. These data have come from the literature spanning the period from the introduction of the rose Bengal method of staining foraminifera (as an indicator of life at the time of collection; Walton, 1952) until December 2013. Every effort has been made to include all relevant data. A by-product of this dataset is that it is possible to recognize trends in the dates and seasons of sampling and the choice of size fraction. The three broad environments considered here are: shelf ( 200 m) and fjord (depths range down to >800 m). Dates of sampling have been grouped into decades. Seasons of sampling are defined for N and S hemispheres: winter (N: December–February; S: June–August); spring (N: March–May; S: September–November); summer (N: June–August: S: December–February) and autumn (N: September–November; S: March–May). Where authors have not given a precise date for each sample, and the dates of the sampling campaign span two seasons, the earlier …