Dispersal and propagule banks of benthic foraminifera: shelf to bathyal settings, western North Atlantic

Dispersal largely controls the distribution of foraminifera yet only a handful of studies have focused on it. Understanding dispersal is important to comprehend the ability of foraminifera to respond and recover from short and long-term events, by allowing for assemblages to change over time. The purpose of this study is to assess foraminiferal dispersal off the northeast coast of the United States. To do this, foraminiferal propagules were collected from four sites, ranging from 70 2200 m, south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts (USA). The propagules were incubated at non-ambient temperatures and foraminifera were allowed to grow. The resulting assemblages were compared to each other and to the assemblages found in situ at each of the sites. Results show that propagules of allochthonous taxa grew from all of the collecting sites. Opportunists dominated samples grown in this study. The results of this study suggest that foraminiferal dispersal varies by species.