Abstract:

This dataset includes baseline assemblage measurements from benthic foraminifera throughout the Gulf of Mexico. The dataset is a compilation of seafloor surface benthic foraminifera assemblages from sediment cores collected on multiple cruises and field sampling in the Gulf of Mexico from 2010-11-18 to 2017-05-22. The dataset contains the Gulf-wide diversity indices and the full benthic taxonomic counts for two regions: Cuba and the southern Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf-wide file contains the total density and diversity calculations using Fisher’s Alpha and Shannon indices from the surface-most sub-sample from each core (typically 0-2 mm). The Gulf-wide spreadsheet is comprised of data from the surface sub-sample taxonomic counts corresponding to the southern Gulf (data included in this dataset and under GRIIDC Unique Dataset Identifier (UDI) R4.x267.000:0114, DOI:10.7266/n7-xh2e-et70), northern Gulf of Mexico (available under GRIIDC Unique Dataset Identifier (UDI) R4.x267.179:0018, DOI:10.7266/N7CR5RDS) and Cuba (full taxonomic counts data included in this dataset).

Suggested Citation:

Schwing, Patrick; Hollander, David J.. 2019. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages from sediment cores collected on multiple cruises in the Gulf of Mexico from 2010-11-18 to 2017-05-22. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/n7-e90r-1v29

Publications:

Schwing, P. T., & Machain-Castillo, M. L. (2019). Impact and Resilience of Benthic Foraminifera in the Aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon and Ixtoc 1 Oil Spills. Deep Oil Spills, 374–387. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-11605-7_23

Schwing, P. T., Montagna, P. A., Machain-Castillo, M. L., Escobar-Briones, E., & Rohal, M. (2019). Benthic Faunal Baselines in the Gulf of Mexico: A Precursor to Evaluate Future Impacts. Scenarios and Responses to Future Deep Oil Spills, 96–108. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-12963-7_6

Armenteros, M., Schwing, P. T., Larson, R. A., Díaz-Asencio, M., Martínez-Suárez, A., Fernández-Garcés, R., … Brooks, G. R. (2019). Geochemical and Faunal Characterization in the Sediments off the Cuban North and Northwest Coast. Scenarios and Responses to Future Deep Oil Spills, 147–159. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-12963-7_9

Purpose:

The purpose of this dataset was to provide Gulf of Mexico-wide baseline measurements of benthic foraminifera assemblage characteristics in advance of future oil spills. These baseline measurements can be used in the event of future oil spills as a reference to quantitatively assess impact and recovery.

Data Parameters and Units:

Station id, latitude (decimal degrees), longitude (decimal degrees), Date of core collection (MM/DD/YY), Fisher's Alpha Index (unitless), Shannon diversity index (unitless), density (individuals/cm^3), species name, mean sample depth in core (mm), number of species per sample, ID'ed mass (g), coarse fraction mass (g), 2 mm sample volume (cm^3), total individuals in sample (#), total sieved mass (>500um, g).

Methods:

Cores were sub-sampled by extrusion at 2 mm intervals for the upper 50 mm, using a calibrated, threaded-rod extrusion device (Schwing et al., 2016). Sub-samples were stained with rose bengal (2g rose bengal per 1 liter DI water) for 12 hours. Sub-samples were weighed and washed with a sodium hexametaphosphate solution through a 63-μm sieve to disaggregate detrital particles from foraminiferal tests. The fraction remaining on the sieve (>63-μm) was dried in an oven at 32 C for 12 hours, weighed again, and stored at room temperature. Between 200 and 400 individuals from each subsample were identified to the species-level and counted. Total counts are reported for the majority of the cores. Stained counts are provided for selected cores in the Southern Gulf of Mexico. The 0-2 mm (surface-most) sub-sample values for density, Shannon and Fisher's Alpha were used for surface Gulf-Wide characterization.

Provenance and Historical References:

Schwing, P.T., Romero, I.C., Larson, R.A., O’Malley, B.J., Fridrik, E.E., Brooks, G.R., et al. 2016B. Sediment Core Extrusion Method at Millimeter Resolution using a Calibrated, Threaded-rod. Journal of Visualized Experiments 2016, (114), e54363, doi:10.3791/54363

Individual Files: