2005/02/03 by Yuko Todo, Hiroshi Kitazato, Jun Hashimoto +1 · 2 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Marine Biology and Ecology Research #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research #Isotope Analysis in Ecology
paper · doi:10.1126/science.1105407
openalex publication_date 2005/02/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
Small organisms (meiofauna) inhabiting sediments in the deepest (>10,000 m) ocean trenches are almost unknown. Through a quantitative study of live foraminifera from an extreme trench environment (10,900 m water depth), we demonstrate that these protists are an abundant meiofaunal component. Foraminifera are organisms of central importance in geology and biology. There is currently great interest in primitive noncalcareous taxa with simple, single-chambered shells. The Challenger Deep assemblages are dominated by these phylogenetically important forms. Molecular evidence suggests that similar taxa are modern representatives of the basal foraminiferal evolutionary radiation that probably occurred in the Precambrian (Neoproterozoic).