Unit:
Department of Geology and GeoenvirommentLibrary of the School of Science
Author:
ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΥ ΧΡΥΣΑΝΘΟΣ
Supervisors info:
Κοντακιώτης Γεώργιος (Ε.ΔΙ.Π), Τμήμα Γεωλογίας και Γεωπεριβάλλοντος, Εθνικό Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών
Original Title:
Κατανομή και απόκριση μεγέθους των σύγχρονων συναθροίσεων πλαγκτονικών τρηματοφόρων στις υδρολογικές μεταβολές της Ανατολικής Μεσογείου
Translated title:
Distribution and size response of modern planktonic assemblies in the hydrological changes of the Eastern Mediterranean
Summary:
The eastern Mediterranean Sea is a partially isolated sea where excess evaporation over precipitation or riverine
discharge results in large north to south gradients in temperature and salinity. Eastern Mediterranean Sea surface
sediment samples from 28 locations spanning from the North Aegean to the Levantine Sea have been examined for
recent planktonic foraminiferal distribution. In addition to determining the relative abundance of 12 species that
have been identified, the average intraspecific size along with the size of the overall faunal pattern was also
examined. The quantitative analysis performed on >125mm fraction reveals pronounced and complex changes in
planktonic foraminiferal assemblagesthat do not parallelthe intraspecific size variation and sea surface temperature
(SST). On the contrary, foraminifera most of the times are slightly largerin the colder and fresher North Aegean and
become progressively smaller toward the warmer Levantine Sea. We conclude that the relationship between
planktonic foraminifera shell size and abundance or SST are either absent or weaker than previously reported for
other regions and that in E. Mediterranean assemblages size may be mainly related to nutrient availability.
Main subject category:
Science
Keywords:
population, size, response, planktonic, foraminifera
Number of references:
112
