Author(s): Rufino, Marta M. ; Salgueiro, Emília ; Voelker, Antje H. L. ; Polito, P. S. ; Cermeno, Pedro ; Abrantes, F
Date: 2022
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/43940
Origin: Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera
Subject(s): Oceano Atlântico; Plancton; Diversidade; Foraminifera; SST; Correntes oceânicas; Biomassa; Distribuição geográfica; Chl-a
It is hypothesized and tested for the first time, that the large-scale diversity patterns of foraminifera communities are determined by sea surface temperature (ISST, representing energy), Chl-a (a surrogate for photosynthetic biomass) and ocean kinetic energy (as EKE). Alpha diversity was estimated using species richness (S), Shannon Wiener index (H), and Simpson evenness (E), and mapped using geostatistical approaches. Beta diversity was studied through species turnover using gradient forest analysis (59% of the variation). The geographic location of the transition between the four main biogeographic zones was redefined based on the results of beta diversity analysis and incorporating the new datasets, identifying the major marine latitudinal gradients, the most important upwelling areas (Benguela Current, Canary Current), the Equatorial divergence, and the subtropical fronts (Gulf Stream-North Atlantic Drift path in the north and the South Atlantic current in the south). We provide statistical proof that energy (SST), food supply (Chl-a), and currents (EKE) are the main environmental drivers shaping planktonic foraminifera diversity in the Atlantic ocean and define the associated thresholds for species change on those variables.
