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978-0-521-82839-0 - Ecology and Applications of Benthic Foraminifera

John W. Murray
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Ecology and Applications of Benthic

Foraminifera

In this volume John Murray investigates the ecological processes that control
the distribution, abundance, and species diversity of benthic foraminifera in
environments ranging from marsh to the deepest ocean. To interpret the fossil
record it is necessary to have an understanding of the ecology of modern
foraminifera and the processes operating after death leading to burial and
fossilisation. This book presents the ecological background required to
explain how fossil forms are used in dating rocks and reconstructing past
environmental features including changes of sea level. It demonstrates how
living foraminifera can be used to monitor modern-day environmental change.

Ecology and Applications of Benthic Foraminifera presents a comprehensive and

global coverage of the subject using all the available literature. It is supported
by a website hosting a large database of additional ecological information
(www.cambridge.org/9780521828390) and will form an important reference
for academic researchers and graduate students in Earth and Environmental
Sciences.

JOHN MURRAY is Emeritus Professor at the School of Ocean and Earth Science,
University of Southampton. He was awarded a D.Sc. by the University of Lon-
don and has held honorary positions with the Palaeontological Association, the
Micropalaeontological Society and the Geological Society of London. Professor
Murray has over 40 years of experience in studying foraminifera ecology and
has written several books on the subject.

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Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-82839-0 - Ecology and Applications of Benthic Foraminifera
John W. Murray
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Ecology and
Applications
of Benthic
Foraminifera
John W. Murray
School of Ocean and Earth Science,
National Oceanography Centre,
University of Southampton

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Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-82839-0 - Ecology and Applications of Benthic Foraminifera
John W. Murray
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More information

cambridge university press

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Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York

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ª John Murray 2006

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception

and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without
the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2006

Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge

A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library

isbn-13 978-0-521-82839-0 hardback

isbn-10 0-521-82839-2 hardback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for
external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not
guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

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978-0-521-82839-0 - Ecology and Applications of Benthic Foraminifera
John W. Murray
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Contents

Preface ix

1 Introduction 1
1.1 Objectives and strategy 1
1.2 Taxonomic scope of foraminifera 1
1.3 Historical development of ecological studies 2
1.4 Major developments over the past decade 4
1.5 The future 6

2 Methods 7
2.1 Planning general field surveys 7
2.2 Planning surveys to address a specific question 8
2.3 Types of sampler, taking and handling samples 8
2.4 Collecting live individuals 9
2.5 Distinguishing live from dead foraminifera 10
2.6 Preservation and fixing 13
2.7 Processing modern sediments for foraminifera 13
2.8 Foraminiferal separation using trichloroethylene 14
2.9 Splitting samples 15
2.10 Census data, standing crop and biomass 15
2.11 Analysis of field data 17
2.12 Multivariate analysis 21
2.13 Designing and running experiments in field and laboratory 22
2.14 Essential data in publications 24
2.15 Selection of data used in this book 24

3 Aspects of biology and basic ecology 27

3.1 Introduction 27
3.2 Biology 27
3.3 Basic ecology 51

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John W. Murray
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vi Contents

4 Marginal marine environments 61

4.1 Introduction 61
4.2 Marsh and mangal/mangrove 62
4.3 Intertidal–subtidal brackish lagoons and estuaries 77
4.4 Deltas 98
4.5 Fjords 100
4.6 Isolation basins 107
4.7 General attributes of faunas 108
4.8 Summary 113

5 Shelf seas 116

5.1 Introduction 116
5.2 Europe and Africa 117
5.3 Atlantic North America 136
5.4 Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean 140
5.5 South America 142
5.6 Pacific Americas 142
5.7 West Pacific 149
5.8 Australia 150
5.9 New Zealand 150
5.10 Pacific Ocean 150
5.11 Indian Ocean 151
5.12 Southern Ocean 152
5.13 Stable isotopes 156
5.14 Summary 157

6 Carbonate environments 163

6.1 Introduction 163
6.2 Warm-water carbonate environments 163
6.3 Cool–temperate carbonate environments 177
6.4 Distinction between warm and cool–temperate
carbonate shelf faunas 177
6.5 Summary 178

7 Deep sea 180

7.1 Introduction 180
7.2 Foraminifera 183
7.3 Summary and conclusions 227

8 Summary of living distributions 238

8.1 Introduction 238
8.2 Major new findings 238
8.3 Response of foraminifera to environmental factors 239
8.4 Microdistribution patterns 243

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John W. Murray
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Contents vii

8.5 Interdependent controls on microdistributions 245

8.6 Time-series datasets and environmental variability 247
8.7 Large-scale distribution patterns 249
8.8 Species diversity 250
8.9 Colonisation/recolonisation 254
8.10 The species pool 257
8.11 Biogeography 257
8.12 Standing crop and biomass 260
8.13 Role of benthic foraminifera in modern ecosystems 261
8.14 Comments on other topics 261
8.15 Final conclusions 264

9 Taphonomic processes: formation of dead and fossil

assemblages 265
9.1 Introduction 265
9.2 Life processes influencing the contribution of
tests to the sediment 266
9.3 Postmortem processes affecting the preservation
of foraminifera 266
9.4 Summary 280

10 Applications 281
10.1 Introduction 281
10.2 The present as a key to the past 282
10.3 Sequence stratigraphy–biostratigraphy 283
10.4 Palaeoecology 285
10.5 Palaeoceanography 288
10.6 Environmental monitoring 304
10.7 Deformed tests 317
10.8 Summary and conclusions 319

Glossary 320
Appendix 327
References 344
Taxonomic Index 412
General Index 422

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John W. Murray
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Preface

Why write another book on foraminiferal ecology when I have already

previously written two (1973, 1991)? Writing those was stimulating because it
brought together all the information currently available making it possible to
see where progress had been made and where there were still gaps in
knowledge. The same philosophy applies to this book. But the simple answer is
that a vast amount of literature has appeared since 1991 and ideas have
changed. Also, I know that my previous books are cited much more often than
any of my papers. Two events encouraged me to undertake this major task. The
1991 book went out of print in the late 1990s but there continues to be a
demand for it so the publishers re-introduced it in 2002 as a ‘print-on-demand’
edition. Also, I was invited to give a keynote lecture at the Forams 2002
meeting in Perth and while writing that the need for a new book became
glaringly obvious. Another factor is that my circumstances have changed. I
started research on foraminiferal ecology in 1959 and became an academic in
1962 so for 41 years research was carried alongside teaching ever increasing
numbers of students, administration (including being head of a geology
department for 14 years, and an exponential increase in bureaucracy over the
last decade) and serving the scientific community on the councils of scientific
societies and as editor. I started to write this book in 2003 during my final year
of employment. I retired in September 2003 and since then I have had the
advantage of more time for reading and research and freedom from most other
duties.
My 1973 book was based on living distributions and I believe that worked
well. However, in the 1991 book in addition to data on living I included data
from dead and total (live plus dead) assemblages. I now think that was a
mistake for ecological relationships can satisfactorily be based only on the
distribution of live organisms. Foraminifera are sufficiently small that post-
mortem transport and even reworking of tests from older deposits can

ix

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John W. Murray
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x Preface

introduce distributional anomalies that go undetected if live and dead are not
separated. Here I have based the ecological discussion solely on data on living
(stained) forms. Geologists wish to know what differences arise between the
living assemblages and the ones that become fossilised in the sediment. That is
most easily addressed by studying the taphonomic processes that affect tests
after the death of the organism and those are discussed in Chapter 9. Web
Appendix 1 lists references on taxonomy, dead and total assemblages.
An additional aim has been to compile spreadsheets of data on living
assemblages and to make them available to other workers and this is being
done via the web. Published data from older literature have been entered into
spreadsheets. Many authors have kindly responded to my request for elec-
tronic versions of their spreadsheets from recently published papers. One thing
I soon realised when I started examining the published data tables is how many
contain mistakes – particularly of totals not adding up to 100%. No doubt there
are some mistakes in the tables presented here but I have tried to cross check
everything as much as possible (web Tables WA-1 to WA-219). I have also used a
standard set of generic and species names (web Appendix 2). With such a large
amount of data, it has been difficult to know how to divide it into manageable
portions. Whatever way divisions are introduced, there are always problems
because the boundaries are artificial. I have followed the environmental route
because it is already known that there are big differences between the major
environments. Within specific environments, I have followed a geographical
trail from north to south and then from the Atlantic to the Pacific and Indian
oceans (see the website for extended versions of some distribution charts in
Chapters 4 and 5). Coverage of the literature is up to early summer 2005.
The main focus of the book is on ecology and providing the essential data-
base against which the fossil record can be compared. Because benthic for-
aminifera are strongly controlled by their environments, all applications of
foraminiferal data must involve an understanding of their ecology. In Chapter
10 my aim has been to outline the methodology of the applications and to
provide some case studies particularly from the Quaternary and Holocene. It is
beyond the scope of the book to include a wealth of examples or to extend
back into the Cenozoic or Mesozoic. Those are tasks for others to undertake in
the future.
I have had great support from the foraminiferal community which I grate-
fully acknowledge. Everyone I asked for information, data or samples did their
best to help: Elisabeth Alve (Norway), Joan Bernhard (USA), Martin Brasier
(England), Alex Cearreta (Spain), Thomas Cronin (USA), Jean-Pierre Debenay
(France), Henko de Stigter (The Netherlands), Paula Diz (Spain), Robin Edwards
(England), Sue Goldstein (USA), Bruce Hayward (New Zealand), Silvia

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John W. Murray
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Preface xi

Hess (Germany), Ben Horton (USA), Katrine Husum (Norway), Anne Jennings
(USA), Frans Jorissen (France), Hiroshi Kitazato (Japan), Karen-Luise
Knudsen (Denmark), Sergei Korsun (Russia), Wolfgang Kuhnt (Germany),
Laetitia Licari (France), Jeremy Lloyd (England), Andreas Mackensen (Germany),
Rosalie Maddocks (USA), Kjell Nordberg (Sweden), Emil Platon (USA), Wylie
Poag (USA), Sally Radford (England), Rosanna Serandrei-Barbero (Italy), Ralf
Schiebel (England), Gerhard Schmiedl (Germany), Joachem Schönfeld
(Germany), James Scourse (Wales), Mike Scrutton (Wales), Barun Sen Gupta
(USA), Scott Snyder (USA), Simon Sturrock (Australia), Jane Swallow (England),
Donata Violanti (Italy). I apologise to anyone whose name I have inadvertently
omitted.
In addition, I have received great help from the Natural History Museum,
London, for access to collections (Clive Jones) and libraries (John Whittaker).
The National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, has kindly provided office
space, technical support (Barry Marsh, Richard Pierce, Elaine Watson, Daphne
Woods) and access to IT and library facilities.
Finally, it is a pleasure to record my gratitude to my father, William Murray,
Elisabeth Alve and John Whittaker for their continued support and encour-
agement to write this book. Elisabeth and John have provided both stimulating
discussion and valuable advice on structure and content. Juliette Topping has
been immensely helpful with entering data into spreadsheets, checking cita-
tions of references, figures, tables, etc. Elisabeth and Juliette also read the
entire draft and offered valuable comment. Small sections were also read by
Ben Horton (USA), Marty Buzas (USA), Bob Jones (BP) and John Whittaker (UK). I
also gratefully acknowledge a two-year Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship in
support of the research. I have thoroughly enjoyed writing this book and
especially the luxury of doing so without carrying out a full-time job at the
same time. I hope it will be useful to readers!

John Murray
Southampton

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