Technical Note: Towards resolving in situ, centimeter-scale location and timing of biomineralization in calcareous meiobenthos – the calcein–osmotic pump method
J. M. Bernhard1,W. G. Phalen2,A. McIntyre-Wressnig1,F. Mezzo3,a,J. C. Wit1,M. Jeglinski1,and H. L. Filipsson4J. M. Bernhard et al. J. M. Bernhard1,W. G. Phalen2,A. McIntyre-Wressnig1,F. Mezzo3,a,J. C. Wit1,M. Jeglinski1,and H. L. Filipsson4
1Geology and Geophysics Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
2University of Georgia, Department of Geology, 210 Field Street, Athens, GA 30602, USA
3University of Bologna, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences – BiGeA, Via Selmi 3, 40126, Bologna, Italy
4Department of Geology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 12, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
anow at: Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Gregor Mendel-Straße 33, 1180 Vienna, Austria
1Geology and Geophysics Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
2University of Georgia, Department of Geology, 210 Field Street, Athens, GA 30602, USA
3University of Bologna, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences – BiGeA, Via Selmi 3, 40126, Bologna, Italy
4Department of Geology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 12, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
anow at: Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Gregor Mendel-Straße 33, 1180 Vienna, Austria
Correspondence: J. M. Bernhard (jbernhard@whoi.edu)
Received: 12 May 2015 – Discussion started: 25 Jun 2015 – Accepted: 09 Sep 2015 – Published: 28 Sep 2015
Abstract. Insights into oceanographic environmental conditions such as paleoproductivity, deep-water temperatures, salinity, ice volumes, and nutrient cycling have all been obtained from geochemical analyses of biomineralized carbonate of marine organisms. However, we cannot fully understand geochemical proxy incorporation and the fidelity of such in species until we better understand fundamental aspects of their ecology such as where and when these (micro)organisms calcify. Here, we present an innovative method using osmotic pumps and the fluorescent marker calcein to help identify where and when calcareous meiofauna calcify in situ. Method development initially involved juvenile quahogs (Mercenaria mercenaria); subsequent method refinement involved a neritic benthic foraminiferal community. Future applications of this method will allow determining the in situ growth rate in calcareous organisms and provide insights about microhabitats where paleoceanographically relevant benthic foraminifera actually calcify.
We present an innovative method using osmotic pumps and the fluorescent marker calcein to help identify where and when calcareous bottom-dwelling organisms mineralize in sediments. These organisms, and their geochemical signatures in their carbonate, are the ocean’s storytellers helping us understand past marine conditions. For many species, the timing and location of their calcite growth is not known. Knowing this will enable us to reconstruct past marine environments with greater accuracy.
We present an innovative method using osmotic pumps and the fluorescent marker calcein to help...
