Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 83 (4): 567-583, 2010
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Distribution of benthic foraminifera (Protozoa: Foraminiferida) in the Quillaipe Inlet (41º32’ S;
72º44’ W), Chile: Implications for sea level studies
Saltmarsh foraminifera are used as indicators of sea-level change which occurs during
the Holocene. In Chile however, the saltmarsh foraminifera have been poorly studied, so it is unknown the feasibility of using them for
this purpose. To address this issue, a research was conducted in the intertidal Quillaipe Inlet, Chile, in order to determine the vertical
distribution of foraminifera and to analyze the parameters that explain their distribution and determine the species that are useful as
indicators of sea level. The results revealed 18 species (nine calcareous and nine agglutinated) distributed in two zones (I and II). Zone
I was restricted to the saltmarsh and inhabited exclusively by agglutinated community. Here, diversity (H’ = 0.567), pH (6.6) and
salinity (18.7) values were low with a dominance of agglutinated species Haplophragmoides manilaensis. Zone II was
restricted to tidal flat and inhabited by a calcareous-agglutinated community. In contrast, diversity (H’ = 0.909), pH (7.7) and salinity
(32.8) values were higher, and the dominant species was the calcareous Ammonia beccarii. On the other hand, the
agglutinated association Trochamminita salsa-Jadammina macrescens was restricted to the top of the saltmarsh and to
low salinity and pH values. We conclude that the distribution of foraminifera is controlled by salinity, pH and the elevation of intertidal
area and suggest that Trochamminita salsa-Jadammina macrescens association could be used as indicators of the
maximum sea-level in the Quillaipe Inlet.
Key words:
Chile, foraminifera,
saltmarsh, sea-level, vertical distribution
