Physiological Ecology of Benthic Foraminifera in Dysaerobic Environments: Santa Barbara Basin

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9417097 Bernhard Dissolved oxygen is deplaced to zero within the biological zone of most marine sediments. Benthic foraminifera (Protista: Sarcodina), the most abundant meiofaunal group in many marine sediments, are one of few eukaryotic taxa which successfully inhabits anoxic environments. Unfortunately, little is known about the physiological ecology of these foraminifera. The broad objective of this project to examine how certain foraminifera, classically defined as aerobes, survive episodes of anoxia and to determine their behavioral response to anoxia. Foraminiferal communities will be studies from two types of sediments of the Southern California Basin. Studies of the physiological ecology of benthic foraminifera inhabiting anoxic environments are significant to a variety of disciplines, including benthic ecology, evolutionary biology, ecotoxicology, and paleoceanography. The fossil presence of facultative anaerobic foraminifera in geologic deposits can indicate where petroleum depostis exist, since oil source deposits generally form during organic-enriched, anaerobic conditions.