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Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems pp 553–561Cite as

Large Benthic Foraminifera in Low-Light Environments

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Part of the book series: Coral Reefs of the World ((CORW,volume 12))

Abstract

Large benthic foraminifera (LBF) are an important component of low-light, mesophotic tropical marine environments, including coral ecosystems. LBF occur from nearshore, shallow coastal environments experiencing high-terrestrial runoff to the deep-shelf edge in transparent, oceanic waters. Here, I compare the LBF in both these low-light habitats. In both reef-associated and interreef environments, species show differing tolerance to both light intensity and terrestrial influx. In interreef environments, LBF can alter the benthic environment from muddy to coarse carbonate grains. Their depth distribution is truncated by seasonal variability in water transparency, particularly for the deepest-living species. This is because shallower-dwelling species are more likely to experience suitable environmental conditions throughout the year and can position themselves in microhabitats experiencing higher light irradiance during periods of low light intensity, thus managing to maintain their symbionts. In contrast, deep-living species are less flexible because light intensity in deep water is ubiquitously low; consequently, deep-dwelling LBF live predominantly on or very close to the water-seafloor interface. In coastal environments, zonation or habitat fractionating, i.e., the differentiation of assemblages on the reef slope, increases from nearshore to offshore reefs, primarily due to species-specific differences in tolerance to nutrients.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Martina de Freitas Prazeres and an anonymous reviewer, as well as the editors for their constructive comments which improved the original version of the manuscript tremendously.

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  1. Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Willem Renema

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  1. Willem Renema
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Correspondence to Willem Renema .

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  1. George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Yossi Loya

  2. National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Silver Spring, MD, USA

    Kimberly A. Puglise

  3. Biodiversity and Geosciences Program, Museum of Tropical Queensland, Queensland Museum Network, Townsville, QLD, Australia

    Tom C.L. Bridge

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Renema, W. (2019). Large Benthic Foraminifera in Low-Light Environments. In: Loya, Y., Puglise, K., Bridge, T. (eds) Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems. Coral Reefs of the World, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92735-0_31

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