We developed a new global database of microscopic fossil algae, known as calcareous nannoplankton, from Cretaceous ocean sediments to improve the understanding of ancient oceans and climate change. By integrating data from numerous published studies and standardising species names and ages, we created the Uneptune database with about 175 000 fossil records. Hosted on the Nannotax website, it provides visualisation tools that help scientists explore global marine ecosystems during the Cretaceous.

Benthic foraminifera from sediment cores collected in the Gulf of Cadiz were analysed to track ocean changes between 1014 and 761 kyr ago. Our results reveal shifts in species composition throughout the climate cycles. Oxygen loss occurred in the Mediterranean Outflow Water during warmer periods when solar insolation was intensified and productivity was higher. During cold periods, stronger bottom currents were identified by sand content and the abundance of the species Planulina ariminensis.

We studied how artificial intelligence can speed up the study of tiny ocean organisms called benthic foraminifera, whose shells help scientists understand past ocean changes. Normally, identifying and counting them under a microscope takes a lot of time and skill. Here, we compared automated image analysis and human counting for 31 samples. The automated method showed promising results for faster and reliable research.

A study on Ordovician chitinozoans from South China was conducted. A total of 13 genera and 31 taxa are recognised, including 3 new taxa. Systematic and biostratigraphic remarks are provided for key or disputed taxa to foster our understanding of their classification and biostratigraphy. Furthermore, network analysis is applied for the first time to assess their palaeoenvironmental significance, yielding positive results that highlight a promising new research direction in chitinozoan studies.

The story of Cyprideis pannonica offers a fascinating insight into how environmental change shapes biodiversity. Over 2 million years, this tiny ostracod adapted to habitats that transformed from a sea into a lake. Originally varied in shape and size, Cyprideis diversified into many species during periods of ecological complexity. These findings demonstrate that even small organisms can reveal big evolutionary patterns – linking habitat changes, speciation, and adaptation within a dynamic landscape.

The tectonic setting of the Deşli Caira section that was overlooked by Martyn Golding in his paper on the Olenekian/Anisian conodonts from the Deşli Caira section (Romania) is clarified. The sedimentary succession is faulted, but the offset is very minor and easy to detect. Unfortunately the author did not take the fault into account; therefore, the stratigraphic position of his samples is uncertain. 

Our study investigates how tropical marine ecosystems responded to climate change during the Eocene–Oligocene transition (~34 Ma). Based on microfossil and geochemical data from a Caribbean drill core, we identify enhanced terrigenous input, increased surface productivity, changes in carbonate preservation, and reduced deep-water oxygenation. Likely driven by global cooling and sea-level fall, these shifts offer new insights into low-latitude paleoenvironmental change.

A study in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean (Ocean Drilling Program Site 1260) reveals the deep-sea biotic response to a middle Eocene warming event 41.52 million years ago. Low-diversity benthic foraminiferal assemblages indicate environmental stress during the warming event. We argue that the biotic response in the deep sea and carbonate dissolution at this site were likely related to its paleoceanographic setting.

Foraminifera are promising bioindicators in coastal environments, yet their manual identification is slow and relies on taxonomic expertise. Deep learning and neural networks can quickly recognize morphological differences. Here, fjord foraminifera were imaged, labeled, and classified in the Roboflow application programming interface, resulting in 22 138 labelled individuals. These were used to train a deep learning model, which successfully distinguished among 29 species with up to 90.3 % precision.

We quantified the thickness of early Eocene calcareous nannofossils and linked it to different depositional environment parameters. Discoasters and placoliths do not respond in the same manner. Carbonate content affects discoasters and induces overgrowth, but palaeowater depth affects placoliths and can induce dissolution. We also find that the ratio of non-overgrown to overgrown Discoaster multiradiatus is a potential quantitative placolith preservation indicator.

We re-investigated a fossil diatom locality that has been reported to have the highest species diversity of Rhopalodiales, a group of diatoms that possess endosymbiotic blue-green algae.  This report came from 1910, and we used original and additional material to investigate the species present.  We found species there that are new to science but also found that some species previously reported could not be found.  

The Espírito Santo Continental Shelf hosts a highly diverse benthic foraminiferal fauna, with assemblages varying across distinct compartments due to differences in sediment composition, seafloor morphology, and oceanographic conditions, reflecting its mixed carbonate–siliciclastic nature.

Between 44–34 million years ago, Earth's climate substantially cooled, leading to permanent Antarctic glaciation and major ocean changes. This caused high extinction rates amongst marine organisms, including the planktonic foraminifera. New data from the western Atlantic Ocean highlight how these organisms responded, where surface species declined and deeper species increased in abundance, reflecting shifts in vertical ocean structure during this key climate transition.

The Sierra de Marmolance (SE Spain) offers a valuable record of Early–Middle Miocene larger benthic foraminifera (LBF) in limestones overlying and laterally changing to marls. Dating by planktonic foraminiferal assemblages in the marls entails significant changes in the last occurrence ages of some LBF used for dating shallow-water carbonates. Key findings include the record of Nummulites still living in the Indo-Pacific but thought to have disappeared in the fossil record at the end of the Oligocene.

The Bay of Bengal is a unique region influenced by the Asian monsoon. We present a record of past ocean productivity and carbonate flux based on the fossil remains of calcifying algae over the last 279 000 years from a core in the northern Bay of Bengal. We used AI microscopy to count and measure plankton fossils and identify species. Results show that coccolith export, including of the species Florisphaera profunda, is highest when the monsoon is weak and the water column is more mixed.