Uptake of algal carbon and the likely synthesis of an "essential" fatty acid by <i>Uvigerina</i> ex. gr. <i>semiornata</i> (Foraminifera) within the Pakistan margin oxygen minimum zone: evidence from fatty acid biomarker and ¹³C tracer experiments

Abstract

Abstract. Foraminifera are an important component of benthic communities in oxygen-depleted settings, where they potentially play a significant role in the processing of organic matter. We tracked the uptake of a 13C-labelled algal food source into individual fatty acids in the benthic foraminiferal species Uvigerina ex. gr. semiornata from the Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). The tracer experiments were conducted on the Pakistan margin during the late/post monsoon period (August–October 2003). A monoculture of the diatom Thalassiosira weisflogii was 13C-labelled and used to simulate a pulse of phytoplankton in two complementary experiments. A lander system was used for in situ incubations at 140 m water depth and for 2.5 days in duration. Shipboard laboratory incubations of cores collected at 140 m incorporated an oxystat system to maintain ambient dissolved oxygen concentrations and were terminated after 5 days. Uptake of diatoms was rapid, with a high incorporation of diatom fatty acids into foraminifera after ~ 2 days in both experiments. Ingestion of the diatom food source was indicated by the increase over time in the quantity of diatom biomarker fatty acids in the foraminifera and by the high percentage of 13C in many of the fatty acids present at the endpoint of both in situ and laboratory-based experiments. These results indicate that