Shelf and open-ocean calcareous phytoplankton assemblages across the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum: Implications for global productivity gradients

Geology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha J. Gibbs ◽  
Timothy J. Bralower ◽  
Paul R. Bown ◽  
James C. Zachos ◽  
Laurel M. Bybell
Paleobiology ◽  
10.1666/12050 ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 628-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah J. Schneider ◽  
Timothy J. Bralower ◽  
Lee R. Kump ◽  
Mark E. Patzkowsky

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM; ca. 55.8 Ma) is thought to coincide with a profound but entirely transient change among nannoplankton communities throughout the ocean. Here we explore the ecology of nannoplankton during the PETM by using multivariate analyses of a global data set that is based upon the distribution of taxa in time and space. We use these results, coupled with stable isotope data and geochemical modeling, to reinterpret the ecology of key genera. The results of the multivariate analyses suggest that the community was perturbed significantly in coastal and high-latitudes sites compared to the open ocean, and the relative influence of temperature and nutrient availability on the assemblage varies regionally. The open ocean became more stratified and less productive during the PETM and the oligotrophic assemblage responded primarily to changes in nutrient availability. Alternatively, assemblages at the equator and in the Southern Ocean responded to temperature more than to nutrient reduction. In addition, the assemblage change at the PETM was not merely transient—there is evidence of adaptation and a long-term change in the nannoplankton community that persists after the PETM and results in the disappearance of a high-latitude assemblage. The long-term effect on communities caused by transient warming during the PETM has implications for modern-day climate change, suggesting similar permanent changes to nannoplankton community structure as the oceans warm.


2008 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Guasti ◽  
Robert P. Speijer

Abstract. During the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum (PETM), low to mid-latitude planktic foraminiferal assemblages were characterized by blooms of the surface-dwelling Acarinina. Among this group a new ‘excursion taxon’ is identified, Acarinina multicamerata n. sp. Previously, this taxon was lumped together with Acarinina sibaiyaensis El-Naggar. Considering that A. sibaiyaensis already occurred prior to the hyperthermal event, both in open ocean and ocean margin deposits, it is proposed that these taxa are differentiated in order to avoid taxonomic and biostratigraphic ambiguities. Acarinina multicamerata n. sp. occurred exclusively during the PETM, hence this taxon represents an excellent biostrati-graphic marker of the PETM, while its common occurrence in various marine settings makes it an excellent marker of Subzone P5b or its new equivalent zone E1.


Author(s):  
Linda Sicko-Goad

Although the use of electron microscopy and its varied methodologies is not usually associated with ecological studies, the types of species specific information that can be generated by these techniques are often quite useful in predicting long-term ecosystem effects. The utility of these techniques is especially apparent when one considers both the size range of particles found in the aquatic environment and the complexity of the phytoplankton assemblages.The size range and character of organisms found in the aquatic environment are dependent upon a variety of physical parameters that include sampling depth, location, and time of year. In the winter months, all the Laurentian Great Lakes are uniformly mixed and homothermous in the range of 1.1 to 1.7°C. During this time phytoplankton productivity is quite low.


2019 ◽  
pp. 155-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Beltran

Environmental temperature has fitness consequences on ectotherm development, ecology and behaviour. Amphibians are especially vulnerable because thermoregulation often trades with appropriate water balance. Although substantial research has evaluated the effect of temperature in amphibian locomotion and physiological limits, there is little information about amphibians living under extreme temperature conditions. Leptodactylus lithonaetes is a frog allegedly specialised to forage and breed on dark granitic outcrops and associated puddles, which reach environmental temperatures well above 40 ˚C. Adults can select thermally favourable microhabitats during the day while tadpoles are constrained to rock puddles and associated temperature fluctuations; we thus established microhabitat temperatures and tested whether the critical thermal maximum (CTmax) of L. lithonaetes is higher in tadpoles compared to adults. In addition, we evaluated the effect of water temperature on locomotor performance of tadpoles. Contrary to our expectations, puddle temperatures were comparable and even lower than those temperatures measured in the microhabitats used by adults in the daytime. Nonetheless, the CTmax was 42.3 ˚C for tadpoles and 39.7 ˚C for adults. Regarding locomotor performance, maximum speed and maximum distance travelled by tadpoles peaked around 34 ˚C, approximately 1 ˚C below the maximum puddle temperatures registered in the puddles. In conclusion, L. lithonaetes tadpoles have a higher CTmax compared to adults, suggesting a longer exposure to extreme temperatures that lead to maintain their physiological performance at high temperatures. We suggest that these conditions are adaptations to face the strong selection forces driven by this granitic habitat.


2020 ◽  
Vol 638 ◽  
pp. 149-164
Author(s):  
GM Svendsen ◽  
M Ocampo Reinaldo ◽  
MA Romero ◽  
G Williams ◽  
A Magurran ◽  
...  

With the unprecedented rate of biodiversity change in the world today, understanding how diversity gradients are maintained at mesoscales is a key challenge. Drawing on information provided by 3 comprehensive fishery surveys (conducted in different years but in the same season and with the same sampling design), we used boosted regression tree (BRT) models in order to relate spatial patterns of α-diversity in a demersal fish assemblage to environmental variables in the San Matias Gulf (Patagonia, Argentina). We found that, over a 4 yr period, persistent diversity gradients of species richness and probability of an interspecific encounter (PIE) were shaped by 3 main environmental gradients: bottom depth, connectivity with the open ocean, and proximity to a thermal front. The 2 main patterns we observed were: a monotonic increase in PIE with proximity to fronts, which had a stronger effect at greater depths; and an increase in PIE when closer to the open ocean (a ‘bay effect’ pattern). The originality of this work resides on the identification of high-resolution gradients in local, demersal assemblages driven by static and dynamic environmental gradients in a mesoscale seascape. The maintenance of environmental gradients, specifically those associated with shared resources and connectivity with an open system, may be key to understanding community stability.


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