Are They Everywhere? – Benthic Foraminifera From Saline Springs in Central Germany

Abstract

Abstract Benthic foraminifera have rarely been reported from saline springs in Germany. To fill this gap, we investigated live (Rose Bengal stained) and dead benthic foraminifera from saline ponds, springs, and meadows in central Germany. For foraminiferal investigations, we collected surface samples along transects with changes in vegetation at Sülldorf in Saxony-Anhalt, in Artern and close to Auleben, Luisenhall, and Esperstedt in Thuringia. We found live and dead foraminifera at all investigated saline locations. We observed seven different agglutinated species that commonly inhabit coastal salt marshes (Trochamminita irregularis, Trochamminita salsa, Entzia macrescens, Miliammina fusca, Siphotrochammina lobata, Haplophragmoides manilaensis, and Haplophragmoides wilberti), one agglutinated species, Entzia sp., which has not been described to date, and one calcareous species, Gordiospira arctica, which has earlier been described from shallow-water settings at high northern latitudes. We hypothesize that foraminifera have been repeatedly transported to the inland saline habitats in central Germany by migratory birds on their routes from northern and southern Europe probably since the early Holocene. Future genetic investigations of the species in central Germany and comparisons with sequenced specimens from other localities will provide a better understanding of their provenance and phylogenetic position.