The Relative Stability of Planktic Foraminifer Thermal Preferences over the Past 3 Million Years

Stationarity of species’ ecological tolerances is a first-order assumption paleoenvironmental reconstruction based upon analog methods. To test this and other assumptions used in quantitative analysis foraminiferal faunas for paleoceanographic reconstruction, we analyzed paired alkenone unsaturation ratio (U37K′) sea surface temperature (SST) estimates relative abundances planktic foraminifera within Late Pliocene assemblages. We established preferences nine species the North Atlantic: Dentoglobigerina altispira, Globorotalia menardii, Globoconella puncticulata, Neogloboquadrina atlantica, incompta, pachyderma, Trilobatus sacculifer, Globigerinita glutinata, Globigerina bulloides. compared these to same extant species, three cases where are now extinct (Dentoglobigerina puncticulata), comparisons were made either descendant or modern commonly as analogs. In general, taxa tested show similar responses both present-day (core-top) distributions. The data from mostly encouraging, supporting past conclusions, otherwise valuable testing previous taxonomic grouping decisions that often necessary interpreting paleoenvironment