Effects of photosymbiosis and related processes on planktic foraminifera-bound nitrogen isotopes in South Atlantic sediments

Auderset, Alexandra; Smart, Sandi M.; Ryu, Yeongjun; Marconi, Dario; Ren, Haojia Abby; Heins, Lena; Vonhof, Hubert; Schiebel, Ralf; Repschläger, Janne; Sigman, Daniel M.; Haug, Gerald H.; Martínez-García, Alfredo

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1887-2025

Articles | Volume 22, issue 7

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1887-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1887-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 22, issue 7

Research article

|

17 Apr 2025

Research article |

| 17 Apr 2025

Effects of photosymbiosis and related processes on planktic foraminifera-bound nitrogen isotopes in South Atlantic sediments

Alexandra Auderset, Sandi M. Smart, Yeongjun Ryu, Dario Marconi, Haojia Abby Ren, Lena Heins, Hubert Vonhof, Ralf Schiebel, Janne Repschläger, Daniel M. Sigman, Gerald H. Haug, and Alfredo Martínez-García

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1887-2025-supplement

Data sets

Species-specific foraminifera-bound nitrogen isotope and foraminiferal calcite oxygen and carbon isotope measurements from DSDP Site 516 in the South Atlantic over a glacial-interglacial cycle A. Auderset et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.97969

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Short summary

This study uses foraminifera-bound nitrogen isotopes (FB-δ¹⁵N) to investigate photosymbiosis in planktic foraminifera. The analysis of South Atlantic shells, compared to a global dataset, shows that FB-δ¹⁵N distinguishes species with certain algal symbionts (dinoflagellates), likely due to internal ammonium recycling. However, the studied site stands out with its larger-than-expected FB-δ¹⁵N offsets, highlighting influences on FB-δ¹⁵N signatures in regions with strong environmental gradients.