Nature Communications (Jun 2016)

Mid Pleistocene foraminiferal mass extinction coupled with phytoplankton evolution

  • Sev Kender,
  • Erin L. McClymont,
  • Aurora C. Elmore,
  • Dario Emanuele,
  • Melanie J. Leng,
  • Henry Elderfield

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11970
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 1
pp. 1 – 8

Abstract

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The cause of a 20% decline in sea floor calcareous foraminifera species during the Mid-Pleistocene remains enigmatic. Here, the authors present new geochemical evidence, from the Tasman Sea that supports a change in phytoplankton food source as the primary driver.