Coarse carbonate sediments of cold-water coral (CWC) mounds are almost exclusively produced by scleractinian corals and associated calcifying organisms. Due to the sensitivity of several species to environmental changes, variations of benthic carbonate associations (BCA) through time can provide important insights on mound development stages. This study focuses on the BCA collected, through box- and gravity cores, from CWC mounds located in the Melilla Mound Field (MMF) and Pen Duick Escarpment (PDE). The main goal of this work is to characterize the composition of modern and fossil BCA and to relate its variation through time to oceanographic changes at regional and/or global scale. Our preliminary results are based on the analysis of samples collected during the MD 194 cruise and previous oceanographic expeditions (MD 169 and Belgica 09/14b). Observations on modern fauna from the PDE mounds have been carried out also on ROV videos collected during the Belgica 07/13 and 09/14b cruises. The modern BCA of the two examined mound areas are rather different. The PDE mound biocoenoses are characterized by scarce and low-diverse calcifying organisms that colonise dense (mostly fossil) dendrophylliid frameworks or rubble sparse in mud-dominated sediment. The modern MMF BCA are more diversified, dominated by Madrepora oculata and particularly rich in molluscs and bryozoans. Similarities found in the faunistic assemblages of the examined sediment cores hint at comparable environmental conditions in the past that favoured the development of Lophelia-dominated communities on both sides of the Gibraltar Strait
Vertino, A., Rosso, A., Negri, M., Lo Iacono, C., Spezzaferri, S., De Mol, L., et al. (2015). Late Pleistocene to modern benthic macrofauna from cold-water coral mounds on either side of the Strait of Gibraltar. In First MD194 EuroFLEETS Gateways post-cruise meeting: Late Pleistocene Carbonate Mound Record along the Mediterranean-Atlantic Gateway.
Late Pleistocene to modern benthic macrofauna from cold-water coral mounds on either side of the Strait of Gibraltar
VERTINO, AGOSTINA VALERIAPrimo
;NEGRI, MAURO PIETRO;
2015
Abstract
Coarse carbonate sediments of cold-water coral (CWC) mounds are almost exclusively produced by scleractinian corals and associated calcifying organisms. Due to the sensitivity of several species to environmental changes, variations of benthic carbonate associations (BCA) through time can provide important insights on mound development stages. This study focuses on the BCA collected, through box- and gravity cores, from CWC mounds located in the Melilla Mound Field (MMF) and Pen Duick Escarpment (PDE). The main goal of this work is to characterize the composition of modern and fossil BCA and to relate its variation through time to oceanographic changes at regional and/or global scale. Our preliminary results are based on the analysis of samples collected during the MD 194 cruise and previous oceanographic expeditions (MD 169 and Belgica 09/14b). Observations on modern fauna from the PDE mounds have been carried out also on ROV videos collected during the Belgica 07/13 and 09/14b cruises. The modern BCA of the two examined mound areas are rather different. The PDE mound biocoenoses are characterized by scarce and low-diverse calcifying organisms that colonise dense (mostly fossil) dendrophylliid frameworks or rubble sparse in mud-dominated sediment. The modern MMF BCA are more diversified, dominated by Madrepora oculata and particularly rich in molluscs and bryozoans. Similarities found in the faunistic assemblages of the examined sediment cores hint at comparable environmental conditions in the past that favoured the development of Lophelia-dominated communities on both sides of the Gibraltar Strait
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