5 CHAPTER 5 Benthic Foraminifera in Sandy
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
© Muhammad Arslan 2015 iii This thesis is dedicated to my parents and wife for their endless love and encouragement. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There is neither a word nor a sentence in literary books to pay my gratitude towards Allah Almighty for his countless blessings; especially faith, health and free thinking. I am thankful to have received all of them in plenty. With all of my conviction, I believe that my knowledge and life is incomplete without studying and adopting the ways and ,I am indebted to his massage of equality .(ﷺ) manners of the holy prophet Muhammad tolerance and harmony that has been the essence of and been echoed ever since its first inception, in every human rights charter. Someone said “God could not remain in person with everyone so he created mother”. If there is any good in me, I owe it to my mother. I attribute every success of my life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her. She is the symbol of love and epitome of care. I have rarely seen a person as satisfied from the blessings of Almighty as my father. I have seldom seen him complaining about the troubles of life. He is a man of principles, very courageous and trustful in Almighty. My parents, Mr. and Mrs. Muhammad Amin, have been the ultimate inspiration and strength to live. Humble is the word we often use to veil our pride; I am glad to thank everybody who have contributed, even a smile, to my success. My wife, teachers, colleagues and friends have all been binding threads in the fabric of my life. We cannot choose our parents and neighbors, but we can certainly choose our friends. I am grateful to all those people who have ever considered me as one of theirs. v I will confess that life at KFUPM was utterly boring in early days. It would have been worse if the company of Dr. Muhammad Riaz, Dr. Saddam Abbasi, Dr. Nasir Abbas, Rashid Mehmood, Tahir Khan, Muhammad Hammad, Imran Qureshi, and Anwar Khan was not there. All of them have been part of daily laughter at the end of the day at student dorms. We share many cheerful memories of cricket matches, weeknight sittings and little celebrations. One of the best things ever happened in my education career was the one month stay at Urbino, International School on Foraminiera, Italy, where I not only learned about the modern ways to study foraminifera but also developed scientific skills in this new area. People over there have been very friendly and cooperative especially Matthew Kaminski, and Kim Sangjin. It was an honor to interact with them and learn from eminent scientists in the field of foraminifera; Prof. Jan Pawlowski, Prof. Johann Hohenegger, Prof. Geraint Wyn Hughes, Dr. Fabrizio Frontalini, and Dr. Claudia Cetean. It was one in a life-time experience and I am looking forward to any opportunity to see those nice people again. Furthermore, the work would never have achieved success in genetics analysis without the help of Prof. Jan Pawlowski, and Dr. Maria Holzmann from University Geneva, Switzerland. Their help is highly appreciated and I extend my full acknowledgement towards their contribution. Moreover, I would like to thank KFUPM research center (center of petroleum and minerals and center of water and environment) for the partial analysis in their labs. I have always believed that being good human being is better than to be a great scientist and after working with Dr. Michael A. Kaminski, this conviction has become ever firm. With etiquettes of a true gentleman; the core philosophy of his leadership is built upon vi the foundation of trust, honesty and transparency. The inclusiveness of the scientific projects he designed and accomplished are work of a visionary. As a supervisor, he has always been very kind, motivating and encouraging to me. I will always remember our spirited meetings punctuated with polite enquiries and rigorous decisions. If at the command of one person I could jump from a cliff without the fear of hurting myself, he is Dr. Bassam Al-Tawabini. Throughout the journey of my work, whenever I was in doubt he was there to encourage me to take the next little step forward. I can never repay the amount of support, kindness and trust he has bestowed upon me. Selflessness is the best measure of character of a person and Dr. Amjad Khalil is selflessness personified. Whenever I went for help or advice, he has provided it beyond my expectations. He has been very friendly, gracious and permissive throughout my research at KFUPM. I further want to thank Eiichi Setoyama and Abduljamiu Amao for help with sample collection, Khalid Al-Ramadan for advice and logistical support, Maria Holzmann for SEM photography, and Justin Parker for advice on the taxonomy of the benthic foraminifera. Leaders are recognized by the clarity of their purpose and the courage to face challenges; Dr. Abdulaziz M. Al-Shaibani, (Chairman Earth Sciences Department) has been exemplary in these rare qualities. It has been quite amazing that at every encounter he would ask about the progress of my research and prospects of likely outcome. His focus on science and incredible sense of humor is astonishing. He is a motivating force to imagine and strive for novel scientific adventures in my career. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. V TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................... VIII LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................... XII LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................... XIII LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................................XVII ABSTRACT ..............................................................................................................................XVII ARABIC ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................XVII 1 CHAPTER: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1 1.1 What are Foraminifera? .................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Classification of Foraminifera .......................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Biology of Foraminifera ................................................................................................................... 5 1.4 New Insights in Foraminifera Classification ..................................................................................... 7 1.5 Justification of the Research ......................................................................................................... 10 1.6 Significance of the Research .......................................................................................................... 11 1.7 Objectives of the Study ................................................................................................................. 12 2 CHAPTER: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 14 2.1 The Arabian Gulf ........................................................................................................................... 14 2.2 Earlier Foraminiferal Studies in the Region ................................................................................... 16 2.3 Response of Benthic Foraminifera to Environmental parameters ................................................. 19 2.3.1 Temperature ............................................................................................................................ 19 2.3.2 Dissolved Oxygen (DO) ............................................................................................................. 20 2.3.3 pH ............................................................................................................................................. 20 2.3.4 Water Depth/Elevation Gradient .............................................................................................. 21 viii 2.3.5 Salinity ..................................................................................................................................... 21 2.3.6 Substrate Parameters ............................................................................................................... 22 2.4 Response of Benthic Foraminifera to Marine Pollution ................................................................. 22 2.4.1 Organic Matter Pollution .......................................................................................................... 23 2.4.2 Hydrocarbons ........................................................................................................................... 24 2.4.3 Heavy Metals/ Trace Elements ................................................................................................. 25 3 CHAPTER: LIVING BEHAVIORS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA ............................................................................................................... 27 3.1 Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ 27 3.2 Introduction .................................................................................................................................