ECOLOGY AND TAPHONOMY OF BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA IN A TEMPERATE MESOTIDAL INLET

Investigation of the living foraminifera along a transect in the intertidal zone of the Hamble estuary in southern England has shown that there was a major change in standing crop between March and June. The high March values are considered to be related to the abundant food supply from the spring benthic microfloral bloom whereas the low June values were postmicrofloral bloom. The dominant living species were Ammonia beccarii, Elphidium excavatum and Haynesina germanica. The dead assemblages drawn from the living ones show some difference interpreted to be due in part to the introduction of transported exotic species. Some were introduced into the area through bedload transport from the adjacent shelf, some through transport from the nearby marshes and others were indigenous. Agglutinated assemblages remaining after the acid digestion of the samples had a low similarity with the parent dead and living assemblages, but nevertheless retained useful palaeoecological information.