Resumen de Foraminífera and Ostracoda from Quaternary carbonate mounds associated with gas seepage in the Porcupine Basin, Offshore Western Ireland
G.P. Coles, N.R. Ainsworth, Robin C. Whatley, R.W. Jones
The Foraminifera and Ostracoda are described from Quaternary carbonate mounds, which have been associated with gas seepage, in the Porcupine Basin, offshore west of Ireland. The carbonate mounds, which contain large numbers of the deep water coral Lophelia, possess dimensions of approximately 1 km across and over 100 m high, and are situated at depths between 650 m to 1000 m. One hundred sample stations were cored both on and off the mounds, using a 3 m gravity dart. In this present study four of the cores were analysed in association with eight composite bagged samples. Both the foraminifera and ostracods are typical of the upper bathyal realm, however, some shallow contamination is noted. The foraminifera were analysed statistically. The foraminiferal faunas from the mounds are less abundant but more diverse than those from the control site. The latter suggesting that the hard substrate of the carbonate mounds provides niches for a wider variety of taxa. Similar to the foraminiferal assemblages, the ostracods are more diverse, but also more abundant on the mound sites, confirming the wider variety of niches available on the carbonate mounds.
