A Note on Globigerina Helicina (D Orbigny) a Rare Deep-Sea Planktic Foraminifer from the Bay of Bengal
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ISSN: 2347-3215 Volume 2 Number 11 (November-2014) pp. 74-85 www.ijcrar.com A note on Globigerina helicina (d Orbigny) A rare deep-sea planktic foraminifer from the Bay of Bengal N. Rajeshwara Rao* and P. Kamatchi Department of Applied Geology, University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Sardar Patel Road, Chennai 600 025, India *Corresponding author KEYWORDS A B S T R A C T Weather parameters, Planktic foraminifera constitute a significant component of the deep-sea trend pattern, sediment and are of great utility for various applications in oceanographic and people paleoceanographic studies. Although there are only ~40 extant planktic perception, foraminiferal species in the present-day oceans and seas, only some of them climate change are relatively more abundant. A few are very rare, with sporadic records over the last two centuries and more; one such taxon is Globigerina helicina (d Orbigny) and is reported for the first time from deep-sea sediments from the Bay of Bengal. Two short cores were retrieved from off Chennai at water depths of 2,004 m and 3,042 m, respectively, and analysis of planktic foraminiferal content revealed the presence of G. helicina only in the latter core, suggesting its comparatively deeper abyssal habitat. Introduction Foraminifera are found in all marine thread-like extensions of the ectoplasm, environments, and they may be planktic or often including grains or tiny particles of benthic in mode of life. The generally various materials). Bi-directional accepted classification of the foraminifera is cytoplasmic flow along these pseudopodia based on that of Loeblich and Tappan carries granules which may consist of (1987). The Order Foraminiferida symbiotic dinoflagellates, digestive (informally foraminifera) belongs to the vacuoles, mitochondria and vacuoles Kingdom Protista, Subkingdom Protozoa, containing waste products. These processes Phylum Sarcomastigophora, Subphylum are, however, still not fully understood. In Sarcodina, Superclass Rhizopoda, Class the planktic foraminifera Globigerinoides Granuloreticulosea. Foraminifera are testate sacculifer, dinoflagellate symbionts are (i.e. they possess a shell) protozoa, (single- transported out to the distal parts of celled organisms characterized by the rhizopodia in the morning and are returned absence of tissues and organs), which back into the test at night. The name possess granuloreticulose pseudopodia (i.e. F o r a m i n i f e r ida is derived from the foramen, 74 the connecting hole through the wall (septa) to greater salinity in the former. Zhang between each chamber. (1985) opined that living planktic foraminifera are governed by upwelling Planktic foraminifera are unicellular seasonally and spatially than by sea organisms with a complex cell and genetic temperature and latitude in the eastern material within a cell nucleus. They live Arabian Sea. The ecologic distribution of floating in the surface waters of the open four abundant species of planktic ocean, and secrete a calcium carbonate test. foraminifers-Globigerina bulloides, Planktic foraminifera in the Recent oceans Globigerinoides ruber, Globigerinoides can be divided in two groups: one groups triloba and Neogloboquadrina dutertrei- that bears very long, thin calcite spines, the from the bottom sediments of the north- other group that does not. Many of the western part of the Bay of Bengal was spinose foraminifera have symbiotic studied by Elonee Pal (1988). algae living within their protoplasm. During the day time, they let these algae outside the Divakar Naidu and Guptha (1989) analyzed shell, so that the algae photosynthesize, and a set of seven core tops from the western the foraminifera can take up their waste equatorial Indian Ocean for planktic products. At night, they haul them in again. foraminifera, and recorded 20 species, All foraminifera, including the ones with among which Globorotalia menardii, symbionts, also eat pretty much all creatures Globigerinoides sacculifer and Gs. ruber smaller than themselves. Some foraminifera constituted the majority of the population. appear to prefer algae, other microscopic From the distribution of foraminifera, they animals. Foraminifera have sticky observed that the tropical fauna gradually pseudopods (long, thin streamers of and progressively decreased from 6° N protoplasm), with which they grab food and latitude to 21° S latitude from 98.9 to place it in contact with their protoplasm, 58.2%, while the sub-polar fauna showed which engulfs their prey and digests it. upward trend in its abundance from 38% at 21° S latitude to 0.8% at 6° N latitude. Three Planktic foraminiferal studies in India warm and two cold episodes were identified by Divakar Naidu et al. (1989) based on an Studies on Recent foraminifers in the Indian investigation on planktic foraminifera and region were initiated by Chapman (1895) CaCO3 content of a box core collected at a who reported 274 species from the depth of 2,556 m from the southern part of Investigator collections made off the the Arabian Sea, indicating faunal changes Laccadives, in the Arabian Sea. Later, a depicting Quaternary climatic fluctuations. monograph of foraminifers from the Arabian Sea was published by Hofker (1930). Setty Twenty-one surficial sediment samples were and Guptha (1972) reported 15 species of analyzed for planktic foraminifera, planktic foraminifera from the sediments off radiolarians, CaCO3 and organic carbon by Karwar and Mangalore. Kameswara Rao Divakar Naidu (1990), who suggested that (1973) presented a quantitative distribution the sediments recorded an upwelling of planktic foraminifera in the south-west signature. Based on the relative abundance coast of India; he recorded 26 planktic of planktic foraminifera and radiolarians, foraminiferal taxa and concluded that the and the concentration of CaCO3 and organic Arabian Sea has greater species diversity carbon, he concluded that the intensity of than the Bay of Bengal attributable, perhaps, upwelling was greater on the upper slope 75 (>1,000 m) than on the lower slope region content showed higher frequency (30-40%) (<1,000 m). of Globigerina bulloides and high organic carbon (3%) coinciding with higher primary Guptha et al. (1990) examined 39 vertical productivity (1 g C m-2 day-1) in the south zooplankton hauls from the south-eastern compared to lesser (20-30%) abundance of Arabian Sea for living planktic foraminifera G. bulloides and organic carbon (1-2%) and and reported 28 species, with the standing moderate productivity (0.5-0.75 g C m-2 day- crop being highest off the Cape Comorin 1) in the north (Divakar Naidu et al., 1992). coast. They observed the presence of two Kameswara Rao et al. (1992) recorded 25 assemblages indicative of upwelling off the planktic foraminiferal taxa from 36 plankton Kerala coast and south of Cape Comorin, tows in the Arabian Sea, and observed that respectively. Divakar Naidu (1991) studied the fauna has, in general, a close affinity two cores collected in the eastern Arabian with that of equatorial waters of the world. Sea for coarse fraction, CaCO3 content and Distribution patterns of Recent planktic Globorotalia menardii complex abundance. foraminifera in surface sediments of the Based on the fluctuations of CaCO3 and G. western continental margin of India, menardii complex abundance, he placed the revealed the ecological preferences of the Holocene/Pleistocene boundary at 50 cm different planktic foraminifera species level from the top of the core and the Last (Divakar Naidu, 1993). He observed that Glacial Maximum (LGM) at 80 cm depth higher offshore absolute abundance of for the northern Arabian Sea core. He also planktic foraminifera was associated with suggested that the carbonate maxima with the lower frequencies of the productivity less abundance of G. menardii complex indicator Globigerinoides bulloides, while reflected glacials (cold periods), while their lower nearshore absolute abundance carbonate minima with high abundance of coupled with higher frequencies of G. G. menardii complex reflected inter-glacials bulloides. He suggested productivity did not (warm periods). control the absolute abundance of planktic foraminifera in the area. The ecology and distribution of Recent planktic foraminifera in the eastern part of According to Divakar Naidu et al. (1999), the Arabian Sea were studied by Kameswara variations in the abundances of Globigerina Rao et al. (1991); they recorded 30 living bulloides and Neogloboquadrina dutertrei in planktic foraminiferal taxa from 97 plankton the sediment cores of Arabian Sea and Bay tow samples. According to Curry et al. of Bengal can trace the intensity of (1992), planktic foraminifera collected in paleoupwelling and river discharge and sediment traps in the Arabian Sea during thereby associated summer monsoon 1986 and 1987 responded to the southern intensity and productivity changes in the Asian monsoon in the form of changes in northern Indian Ocean. Divakar Naidu and productivity, relative abundance of species Niitsuma (2003) performed oxygen and and isotopic shell chemistry. They observed carbon isotopic analyses on the tests of that most of the species increased in flux Globigerina bulloides and Pulleniatina shortly after the advent of the south-west obliquiloculata to study the evolution of monsoon. Analysis of 63 sediment samples surface and bottom water hydrographic from the western continental margin of India changes associated with summer monsoon for planktic foraminifera, organic carbon, upwelling process at the Oman Margin over biogenic