Benthic foraminifers of the intermediate and bottom water masses of the Gullmarn fjord (SW Sweden) in early April 1992

Abstract

Living and dead benthic foraminifers were studied in four samples collected at depths of 40, 60, 80, and 100 m in the Gullmarn fjord on April 2, 1992, with the purpose of charting differences in assemblage composition among the samples in relation to hydrographic and environmental factors. It is suggested that the relatively high abundance of dead foraminifers found at 40 m may be due to postmortem transportation and redeposition of the microbenthos by currents generated by the frequent water exchange of the intermediate water mass. The diversity of living foraminifers was slightly but distinctly lower in the two deeper samples probably partly as a consequence of the lower oxygen content and food supply in the deeper water mass of the fjord during the winter months.

Nyberg, J. & Majoran, S., 1995: Benthic foraminifers of the intermediate and bottom water masses of the Gullmarn fjord (SW Sweden) in early April 1992. GFF, Vol. 117 (Pt. 4, December), pp. 211–214. Stockholm. ISSN 1103–5897.

Keywords:

• Benthic foraminifers
• Recent
• Gullmarn fjord
• diversity
• Sweden