Articles | Volume 41, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-41-129-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-41-129-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
13 Sep 2022
Research article |
| 13 Sep 2022
| 13 Sep 2022
Meghalayan environmental evolution of the Thapsus coast (Tunisia) as inferred from sedimentological and micropaleontological proxies
Mohamed Kamoun
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
GEOGLOB Laboratory, Sfax University, Faculty of Sciences of Sfax, BP
1171, 3000 Sfax, Tunisia
Martin R. Langer
Institut für Geowissenschaften, Paläontologie, Universität
Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany
Chahira Zaibi
GEOGLOB Laboratory, Sfax University, Faculty of Sciences of Sfax, BP
1171, 3000 Sfax, Tunisia
Mohamed Ben Youssef
Water Researches and Technologies Center, Borj Cedria, Tunisia
Related authors
No articles found.
Skye Yunshu Tian, Martin Langer, Moriaki Yasuhara, and Chih-Lin Wei
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-487, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-487, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Through the first large-scale study of meiobenthic ostracods from the diverse and productive reef ecosystem in Zanzibar Archipelago, Tanzania, we found that the diversity and composition of ostracod assemblages as controlled by benthic habitats and human impacts was indicative of overall reef health, and we highlighted the usefulness of ostracod as a model proxy to monitor and understand the degradation of reef ecosystems from the coral-dominated phase to the algae-dominated phase.
Anna E. Weinmann, Olga Koukousioura, Maria V. Triantaphyllou, and Martin R. Langer
Web Ecol., 23, 71–86, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-23-71-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/we-23-71-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study analyzes the diversity of benthic foraminifera at the range expansion front of the invasive species Amphistegina lobifera in Corfu (central Mediterranean). The species has been suggested to impact local diversity and community structures, and our results confirm these effects as soon as A. lobifera exceeds a specific abundance threshold (> 20 %). Nevertheless, we found that the study area reveals an overall high biodiversity that can be attributed to its unique location.
Nisan Sariaslan and Martin R. Langer
Biogeosciences, 18, 4073–4090, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4073-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4073-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Analyses of foraminiferal assemblages from the Mamanguape mangrove estuary (northern Brazil) revealed highly diverse, species-rich, and structurally complex biotas. The atypical fauna resembles shallow-water offshore assemblages and are interpreted to be the result of highly saline ocean waters penetrating deep into the estuary. The findings contrast with previous studies, have implications for the fossil record, and provide novel perspectives for reconstructing mangrove environments.
Related subject area
Benthic foraminifera
Late Miocene to Early Pliocene benthic foraminifera from the Tasman Sea (International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1506)
Triassic and Jurassic possible planktonic foraminifera and the assemblages recovered from the Ogrodzieniec Glauconitic Marls Formation (uppermost Callovian and lowermost Oxfordian, Jurassic) of the Polish Basin
Benthic foraminiferal patchiness – revisited
Agglutinated foraminifera from the Turonian–Coniacian boundary interval in Europe – paleoenvironmental remarks and stratigraphy
Biometry and taxonomy of Adriatic Ammonia species from Bellaria–Igea Marina (Italy)
Biogeographic distribution of three phylotypes (T1, T2 and T6) of Ammonia (foraminifera, Rhizaria) around Great Britain: new insights from combined molecular and morphological recognition
Comparative analysis of six common foraminiferal species of the genera Cassidulina, Paracassidulina, and Islandiella from the Arctic–North Atlantic domain
Microfossil assemblages and geochemistry for interpreting the incidence of the Jenkyns Event (early Toarcian) in the south-eastern Iberian Palaeomargin (External Subbetic, SE Spain)
Micropalaeontology, biostratigraphy, and depositional setting of the mid-Cretaceous Derdere Formation at Derik, Mardin, south-eastern Turkey
Latest Oligocene to earliest Pliocene deep-sea benthic foraminifera from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 752, 1168 and 1139, southern Indian Ocean
Benthic foraminifera indicate Glacial North Pacific Intermediate Water and reduced primary productivity over Bowers Ridge, Bering Sea, since the Mid-Brunhes Transition
Reconstructing the Christian Malford ecosystem in the Oxford Clay Formation (Callovian, Jurassic) of Wiltshire: exceptional preservation, taphonomy, burial and compaction
Benthic foraminiferal assemblages and test accumulation in coastal microhabitats on San Salvador, Bahamas
Assessing proxy signatures of temperature, salinity, and hypoxia in the Baltic Sea through foraminifera-based geochemistry and faunal assemblages
New species of Mesozoic benthic foraminifera from the former British Petroleum micropalaeontology collection
Monitoring benthic foraminiferal dynamics at Bottsand coastal lagoon (western Baltic Sea)
Paleocene orthophragminids from the Lakadong Limestone, Mawmluh Quarry section, Meghalaya (Shillong, NE India): implications for the regional geology and paleobiogeography
Larger foraminifera of the Devil's Den and Blue Hole sinkholes, Florida
Assessing the composition of fragmented agglutinated foraminiferal assemblages in ancient sediments: comparison of counting and area-based methods in Famennian samples (Late Devonian)
Maria Elena Gastaldello, Claudia Agnini, and Laia Alegret
J. Micropalaeontol., 43, 1–35, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-43-1-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-43-1-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper examines benthic foraminifera, single-celled organisms, at Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site U1506 in the Tasman Sea from the Late Miocene to the Early Pliocene (between 7.4 to 4.5 million years ago). We described and illustrated the 36 most common species; analysed the past ocean depth of the site; and investigated the environmental conditions at the seafloor during the Biogenic Bloom phenomenon, a global phase of high marine primary productivity.
Malcolm B. Hart, Holger Gebhardt, Eiichi Setoyama, Christopher W. Smart, and Jarosław Tyszka
J. Micropalaeontol., 42, 277–290, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-42-277-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-42-277-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
<p>In the 1960s-1970s some species of Triassic foraminifera were described as having a planktic mode of life. This was questioned and Malcolm Hart studied the material in Vienna, taking some to London for SEM imaging. Samples collected from Poland are compared to these images and the suggested planktic mode of life discussed. Foraminifera collected in Ogrodzieniec are glauconitic steinkerns with no test material present and none of the diagnostic features needed to determine "new" species.</p>
Joachim Schönfeld, Nicolaas Glock, Irina Polovodova Asteman, Alexandra-Sophie Roy, Marié Warren, Julia Weissenbach, and Julia Wukovits
J. Micropalaeontol., 42, 171–192, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-42-171-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-42-171-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Benthic organisms show aggregated distributions due to the spatial heterogeneity of niches or food. We analysed the distribution of Globobulimina turgida in the Gullmar Fjord, Sweden, with a data–model approach. The population densities did not show any underlying spatial structure but a random log-normal distribution. A temporal data series from the same site depicted two cohorts of samples with high or low densities, which represent hypoxic or well-ventilated conditions in the fjord.
Richard M. Besen, Kathleen Schindler, Andrew S. Gale, and Ulrich Struck
J. Micropalaeontol., 42, 117–146, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-42-117-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-42-117-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Turonian–Coniacian agglutinated foraminiferal assemblages from calcareous deposits from the temperate European shelf realm were studied. Acmes of agglutinated foraminifera correlate between different sections and can be used for paleoenvironmental analysis expressing inter-regional changes. Agglutinated foraminiferal morphogroups display a gradual shift from Turonian oligotrophic environments towards more mesotrophic conditions in the latest Turonian and Coniacian.
Joachim Schönfeld, Valentina Beccari, Sarina Schmidt, and Silvia Spezzaferri
J. Micropalaeontol., 40, 195–223, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-40-195-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-40-195-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Ammonia beccarii was described from Rimini Beach in 1758. This taxon has often been mistaken with other species in the past. Recent studies assessed the biometry of Ammonia species and integrated it with genetic data but relied on a few large and dead specimens only. In a comprehensive approach, we assessed the whole living Ammonia assemblage near the type locality of A. beccarii and identified parameters which are robust and facilitate a secure species identification.
Julien Richirt, Magali Schweizer, Aurélia Mouret, Sophie Quinchard, Salha A. Saad, Vincent M. P. Bouchet, Christopher M. Wade, and Frans J. Jorissen
J. Micropalaeontol., 40, 61–74, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-40-61-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-40-61-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The study presents (1) a validation of a method which was previously published allowing us to recognize different Ammonia phylotypes (T1, T2 and T6) based only on their morphology and (2) a refined biogeographical distribution presented here supporting the putatively invasive character of phylotype T6. Results suggest that phylotype T6 is currently spreading out and supplanting autochthonous phylotypes T1 and T2 along the coastlines of the British Isles and northern France.
Alix G. Cage, Anna J. Pieńkowski, Anne Jennings, Karen Luise Knudsen, and Marit-Solveig Seidenkrantz
J. Micropalaeontol., 40, 37–60, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-40-37-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-40-37-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Morphologically similar benthic foraminifera taxa are difficult to separate, resulting in incorrect identifications, complications understanding species-specific ecological preferences, and flawed reconstructions of past environments. Here we provide descriptions and illustrated guidelines on how to separate some key Arctic–North Atlantic species to circumvent taxonomic confusion, improve understanding of ecological affinities, and work towards more accurate palaeoenvironmental reconstructions.
Matías Reolid
J. Micropalaeontol., 39, 233–258, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-39-233-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-39-233-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
During the early Toarcian (Jurassic, 180 Ma) a hyperthermal event, the Jenkyns Event, occurred, affecting the oxygenation of the sea bottom. The integrated study of foraminiferal and ostracod assemblages with geochemical proxies allows us to interpret the incidence of this event in the Western Tethys, more exactly in the South Iberian Palaeomargin. Diminution of diversity, changes in abundance, and opportunist vs. specialist are coincident with the event.
Michael D. Simmons, Vicent Vicedo, İsmail Ö. Yılmaz, İzzet Hoşgör, Oğuz Mülayim, and Bilal Sarı
J. Micropalaeontol., 39, 203–232, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-39-203-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-39-203-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The microfossils from a Cretaceous outcrop in southern Turkey are described and used to interpret the age of the rocks and their depositional setting and how sea level has changed. These results are compared both locally and regionally, identifying broad correspondence with regional sea level events. A new species of microfossil is described, confirming that many microfossils of Arabia are localised in their distribution.
Dana Ridha, Ian Boomer, and Kirsty M. Edgar
J. Micropalaeontol., 38, 189–229, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-38-189-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-38-189-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This paper records the spatial and temporal distribution of deep-sea benthic microfossils (Foraminifera, single-celled organisms) from the latest Oligocene to earliest Pliocene (about 28 to 4 million years ago) from Ocean Drilling Program cores in the southern Indian Ocean. Key taxa are illustrated and their stratigraphic distribution is presented as they respond to a period of marked global climatic changes, with a pronounced warm period in the mid-Miocene followed by subsequent cooling.
Sev Kender, Adeyinka Aturamu, Jan Zalasiewicz, Michael A. Kaminski, and Mark Williams
J. Micropalaeontol., 38, 177–187, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-38-177-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-38-177-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The Mid-Brunhes Transition saw an enigmatic shift towards increased glacial temperature variations about 400 kyr ago. High-latitude Southern Ocean stratification may have been a causal factor, but little is known of the changes to the high-latitude Bering Sea. We generated benthic foraminiferal assemblage data and are the first to document a glacial decrease in episodic primary productivity since the Mid-Brunhes Transition, signifying possible reductions in sea ice summer stratification.
Malcolm B. Hart, Kevin N. Page, Gregory D. Price, and Christopher W. Smart
J. Micropalaeontol., 38, 133–142, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-38-133-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-38-133-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The use of micropalaeontological samples from mudstone successions that have suffered de-watering and compaction means that subtle, lamina-thick, changes in assemblages may be lost when samples are processed that are 1–2 cm thick. As most micropalaeontological samples are often 2–5 cm thick, one must be then cautious of interpretations based on such short-duration changes. This work is part of an integrated study of the Christian Malford lagerstätten that has resulted in a number of papers.
Andrea Fischel, Marit-Solveig Seidenkrantz, and Bent Vad Odgaard
J. Micropalaeontol., 37, 499–518, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-499-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-499-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Benthic foraminifera often colonize marine underwater vegetation in tropical regions. We studied these so-called epiphytic foraminifera in a shallow bay in the Bahamas. Here the foraminifera differed between types of vegetation, but sedimentological processes seem to be the main controller of the dead foraminifera in the sediment. This indicates that in carbonate platform regions, epiphytic foraminifera should only be used cautiously as direct indicators of past in situ marine vegetation.
Jeroen Groeneveld, Helena L. Filipsson, William E. N. Austin, Kate Darling, David McCarthy, Nadine B. Quintana Krupinski, Clare Bird, and Magali Schweizer
J. Micropalaeontol., 37, 403–429, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-403-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-403-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Current climate and environmental changes strongly affect shallow marine and coastal areas like the Baltic Sea. The combination of foraminiferal geochemistry and environmental parameters demonstrates that in a highly variable setting like the Baltic Sea, it is possible to separate different environmental impacts on the foraminiferal assemblages and therefore use chemical factors to reconstruct how seawater temperature, salinity, and oxygen varied in the past and may vary in the future.
Lyndsey R. Fox, Stephen Stukins, Tom Hill, and Haydon W. Bailey
J. Micropalaeontol., 37, 395–401, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-395-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-395-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This paper describes five new Mesozoic deep-water benthic foraminifera from the former British Petroleum microfossil reference collections at the Natural History Museum, London.
Joachim Schönfeld
J. Micropalaeontol., 37, 383–393, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-383-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-383-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Benthic foraminifera from the Bottsand coastal lagoon, western Baltic Sea, have been monitored annually since 2003 and accompanied by hydrographic measurements since 2012. Elphidium incertum, a stenohaline species of the Baltic deep water fauna, colonised the lagoon in 2016, most likely during a period of salinities > 19 units and average temperatures of 18 °C in early autumn. The high salinities probably triggered their germination from a propagule bank in the lagoonal bottom sediment.
Ercan Özcan, Johannes Pignatti, Christer Pereira, Ali Osman Yücel, Katica Drobne, Filippo Barattolo, and Pratul Kumar Saraswati
J. Micropalaeontol., 37, 357–381, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-357-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-357-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We carried out a morphometric study of late Paleocene orthophragminids from the Mawmluh Quarry section in the Shillong Plateau, India. We recorded the occurrence of two species of Orbitoclypeus, whereas the other typical Tethyan genera Discocyclina is absent. We also identified the associated benthic foraminifera and algae. Shallow benthic zones (SBZ) 3 and 4 have been recognized in the section. The timing of transition from shallow marine to continental deposition is commented on.
Laura J. Cotton, Wolfgang Eder, and James Floyd
J. Micropalaeontol., 37, 347–356, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-347-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-347-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Shallow-water carbonate deposits rich in larger benthic foraminifera (LBF) are well-known from the Eocene of the Americas. However, there have been few recent LBF studies in this region. Here we present the LBF ranges from two previously unpublished sections from the Ocala limestone, Florida. The study indicates that the lower member of the Ocala limestone may be Bartonian rather than Priabonian in age, with implications for regional biostratigraphy.
Catherine Girard, Anne-Béatrice Dufour, Anne-Lise Charruault, and Sabrina Renaud
J. Micropalaeontol., 37, 87–95, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-87-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-87-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This study constitutes an attempt to analyze the variations in foraminiferal assemblages using the morphogroup approach in the Late Devonian. Our results show that both methods of estimating morphotype percentages, the traditional counting and the cumulated area methods, provide similar results, are highly correlated with each other, and provide similar relationships with paleoenvironmental proxies.
Cited articles
Anzidei, M., Antonioli, F., Lambeck, K., Benini, A., Soussi, M., and
Lakhdar, R.: New insights on the relative sea level change during Holocene
along the coasts of Tunisia and western Libya from archaeological and
geomorphological markers, Quaternary Int., 232, 5–12, 2011.
Armynot du Châtelet, E., Francescangeli, F., and Frontalini, F.:
Definition of benthic foraminiferal bioprovinces in transitional
environments of the Eastern English Channel and the Southern North Sea, Rev.
Micropal., 61, 223-234, 2018.
Avnaim-Katav, S., Hyams-Kaphzan, O., Milker, Y., and Almogi-Labin, A.:
Bathymetric zonation of modern shelf benthic foraminifera in the Levantine
Basin, eastern Mediterranean Sea, J. Sea Res., 99, 97–106, 2015.
Bahrouni, N., Bouaziz, S., Soumaya, A., Ben Ayed, N., Attafi, K., Houla, Y.,
El Ghali, A., and Rebai, N.: Neotectonic and seismotectonic investigation of
seismically active regions in Tunisia: a multidisciplinary approach, J.
Seismol., 18, 235–256, 2014.
Ben Khalifa, K., Zaïbi, C., Bonnin, J., Carbonel, P., Zouari, K., Mnif,
T., and Kamoun, F.: Holocene environment changes in the Hachichina wetland
(Gulf of Gabes, Tunisia) evidenced by foraminifera and ostracods,
geochemical proxies and sedimentological analysis, Riv. Ital. Paleontol.
S., 125, 517–549, 2019.
Bird, C., Schweizer, M., Roberts, A., Austin, W. E. N., Knudsen, K. L.,
Evans, K. M., Filipsson, H. L., Sayer, M. D. J., Geslin, E., and Darling, K.
F.: The genetic diversity, morphology, biogeography, and taxonomic
designations of Ammonia (Foraminifera) in the Northeast Atlantic, Mar. Micropaleontol.,
155, 101726, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marmicro.2019.02.001, 2020.
Blanc-Vernet, L., Clairefond, P., and Orsolini, P.: Les foraminifères,
Géol. Médit., 6, 171–209, 1979.
Bouchet, P. and Rocroi, J. P.: Classification and nomenclator of gastropod
families, Int. J. Malacol., 47, 1–397, 2005.
Bouchet, P. and Rocroi, J. P.: Nomenclator of bivalve families with a
classification of bivalve families malacologia, Inst. of Malacol., 5,
21–184, 2010.
Buosi, C., Armynot du Châtelet, E., and Cherchi, A.: Benthic
foraminiferal assemblages in the current-dominated Strait of Bonifacio
(Mediterranean Sea), J. Foramin. Res., 42, 39–55, https://doi.org/10.2113/gsjfr.42.1.39, 2012.
Calvo-Marcilese, L. and Langer, M. R.: Breaching biogeographic barriers: the
invasion of Haynesina germanica (Foraminifera, Protista) in the Bahia Blanca
estuary, Argentina, Biol. Invasions, 12, 3299–3306, 2010.
Calvo-Marcilese, L. and Langer, M. R.: Ontogenetic Morphogenesis and
Biogeographic Patterns: Resolving Taxonomic Incongruences within “Species”
of Buccella from South American Coastal Waters, Rev. Bras. Paleontol., 15, 23–32,
https://doi.org/10.4072/rbp.2012.1.02, 2012.
Carayon, N.: Les ports pheniciens et punique géomorpologie et
infrastructure, PhD thesis, Université Strasbourg, 1384 pp., 2008.
Carbonel, P.: Les Ostracodes, traceurs des variations hydrologiques dans les
systèmes de transition eau douce eau salée, Mem. Soc. Geol. Fr.,
144, 117–128, 1982.
Cimerman, F. and Langer, M. R.: Mediterranean Foraminifera,
Slovenska Akademija Znanosti, Ljubljana, 118 pp., 1991.
Dallas, M. F. and Yorke, R. A.: Underwater surveys of North Africa, Jugoslavia and Italy, Underwater Association Report, 21–34, 1968.
Davidson, D. P. and Yorke, R. A.: The Enigma of the Great Thapsus Harbour
Mole, Int. J. Naut. Archaeol., 43, 35–40, 2014.
Délibrias, G.: Le carbone 14, in: Méthodes de datation par les phénomènes nucléaires naturels: applications, edited by: Roth, E. and Poty, B., Collection CEA, Éditions Masson,
Paris, 421–458, 1985.
Dimiza, M. D., Koukousioura, O., Triantaphyllou, M. V., and Dermitzakis, M.
D.: Live and dead benthic foraminiferal assemblages from coastal
environments of the Aegean Sea (Greece): distribution and diversity, Rev.
Micropal., 59, 19–32, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revmic.2015.10.002, 2016.
Frezza, V. and Carboni, M. G.: Distribution of recent foraminiferal
assemblages near the Ombrone River mouth (Northern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy),
Rev. Micropal., 52, 43–66, 2009.
García-Sanz, I., Usera, J., Guillem, J., Giner-Baixauli, A., and
Alberola, C.: Geographical and bathymetric distribution of foraminiferal
assemblages from the Alboran Sea (western Mediterranean), Quaternary
Int., 481, 146–156, 2018.
Gargouri-Ben Ayed, Z., Souissi, R., Soussi, M., Abdeljaouad, S., and Zouari,
K.: Sedimentary Dynamics and Ecological State of Nakta Tidal Flat
(Littoral), South of Sfax, Gulf of Gabés, Tunisia, Chin. J. Geochem.,
26, 244–251, 2007.
Giocondo, G. and Palladio, A.: Battle of Thapsus, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_of_Thapsus.jpg (last access: 26 August 2022), 1567.
Hammer, Ø., Harper, D. A., and Ryan, P. D.: PAST: Paleontological
statistics software package for education and data analysis, Palaeontol.
Electr., 4, 9 pp., 2001.
Heaton, T., Köhler, P., Butzin, M., Bard, E., Reimer, R. W., Austin, W.
E. N., Ramsey, C. B., Grootes, P. M., Hughen, K. A., Kromer, B., Reimer, P.
J., Adkins, J., Burke, A., Cook, M. S., Olsen, J., and Skinner, L. C.: Marine20 - The
Marine Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curve (0–55,000 cal BP), Radiocarbon,
62, 779–820, https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2020.68, 2020.
Hunt, C. O., Farrell, M., Fenech, K., French, C., McLaughlin, R., Blaauw,
M., Bennett, J., Flood, R., Pyne-O'Donnell, S., Reimer, P. J.,
Ruffell, A., Cresswell, A. J., Kinnaird, T. C., Sanderson, D., Taylor, S.,
Malone, C., Stoddart, S., and Vellan, N. C.: Chronology and stratigraphy of the valley
systems. Temple landscapes fragility, change and resilience of Holocene environments in the Maltese Islands, Mc Donald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge, UK, Vol. 1, 35–71, 2020.
Haunold, T. G., Baal, C., and Piller, W. E.: Benthic foraminiferal associations
in the Northern Bay of Safaga, Red Sea, Egypt, Mar. Micropaleontol., 29, 185–210,
1997.
Hayward, B. W., Grenfell, H. R., Reid, C. M., and Hayward, M. R.: Recent New
Zealand shallow-water benthic foraminifera: taxonomy, ecologic distribution,
biogeography, and use in paleoenvironmental assessment, Institute of
Geological & Nuclear Sciences monograph 21, New Zealand Geol. Surv.
Paleont. Bull., 21, 1–258, 1999.
Hayward, B. W., Holzmann, M., Pawlowski, J., Parker, J. H., Kaushik, T., and
Toyofuku, M. S.: Tsuchiya: Molecular and morphological taxonomy of living
Ammonia and related taxa (Foraminifera) and their biogeography, Micropaleontology,
67, 109–313, 2021.
Jedoui, Y., Kallel, N., Fontugne, M., Ben Ismail, M. H., M'Rabet, A., and
Montacer, M.: A high relative sea level stand in the middle Holocene of
Southeastern Tunisia, Mar. Geol., 147, 123–130, 1998.
Kaminski, M. A., Aksu, A., Box, M., Hiscott, R. N., Filipescu, S., and
Al-Salameen, M.: Late Glacial to Holocene benthic foraminifera in the
Marmara Sea: implications for Black Sea–Mediterranean Sea connections
following the last deglaciation, Mar. Geol., 190, 165–202, 2002.
Kamoun, M., Khadraoui, A., Ben Hamad, A., Zaïbi, C., Langer, M. R.,
Bahrouni, N., Ben Youssef, M., and Kamoun, F.: Impact of relative sea level
change and sedimentary dynamic on an historic site expansion along the coast
between Sfax and Jebeniena, Conference of the Arabian Journal Geosciences
(CAJG), 12–15 November 2018, Hammamet, Tunisia, 141–143, 2019.
Kamoun, M., Zaïbi, C., Langer, M. R., Khadraoui, A., Ben Hamad, A., Ben
Khalifa, K., Carbonel, P., and Ben Youssef, M.: Environmental evolution of
the Acholla coast (Gulf of Gabes, Tunisia) during the past 2000 years as
inferred from paleontological and sedimentological proxies, Neues Jahrb. Geol. Pal., 296, 217–235, https://doi.org/10.1127/njgpa/2020/0897,
2020.
Kayan, I.: Holocene stratigraphy and geomorphological evolution of the
Aegean coastal plains of Anatolia, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 18, 541–548, 1999.
Khadraoui, A., Kamoun, M., Ben Hamad, A., Zaïbi, C., Bonnin, J.,
Viehberg, F., Bahrouni, N., Sghari, A., Abida, H., and Kamoun, F.: New
insights from microfauna associations characterizing palaeoenvironments, sea
level fluctuations and a tsunami event along Sfax Northern coast (Gulf of
Gabes, Tunisia) during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene, J. Afr. Earth Sci.,
147, 411–429, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2018.05.011,
2018.
Khadraoui, A., Zaïbi, C., Carbonel, P., Bonnin, J., and Kamoun, F.:
Ostracods and mollusks in northern Sfax coast: reconstruction of Holocene
paleoenvironmental changes and associated forcing, Geo-Mar. Lett., 39, 313–336, 2019.
Kraft, J. C., Bückner, H., Kayan, I., and Engelmann, H.: The geographies of
ancient Ephesus and the Artemision in Anatolia, Geoarchaeology, 22, 121–149,
https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.20151, 2007.
Lakhdar, R., Soussi, M., Ben Ismail, M. H., and M'Rabet, A.: A Mediterranean
Holocene restricted coastal lagoon under arid climate: case of the
sedimentary record of Sabkha Boujmel (SE Tunisia), Palaeogr. Palaeocl., 241, 177–191, 2006.
Langer, M. R.: Recent epiphytic foraminifera from Vulcano (Mediterranean
Sea), Rev. Paléobiol., 2, 827–832, 1988.
Langer, M. R.: Distribution, Diversity and Functional Morphology of Benthic
Foraminifera from Vulcano (Mediterranean Sea), PhD thesis, University of
Basel, 159 pp., 1989.
Langer, M. R.: Epiphytic foraminifera, Mar. Micropal., 20, 235–265,
https://doi.org/10.1016/0377-8398(93)90035-V, 1993.
Langer, M. R. and Schmidt-Sinns, J.: The 100 most common Foraminifera from
the Bay of Fetovaia, Elba Island (Mediterranean Sea), Monographie im
Selbstverlag, Institut für Paläontologie, Universität Bonn, 1–15,
2006.
Langer, M. R., Hottinger, L., and Huber, B.: Functional morphology in
low-diverse benthic foraminiferal assemblages from tidal-flats of the North
Sea, Senck. Marit, 20, 81–99, 1990.
Langer, M. R., Frick, H., and Silk, M. T.: Photophile and sciaphile
foraminiferal assemblages from marine plant communities of Lavezzi Islands
(Corsica, Mediterranean Sea), Rev. Paléobio., 17, 525–530, 1998.
Langer, M. R., Thissen, J. M., Makled, W. A., and Weinmann, A. E.: The
foraminifera from the Bazaruto Archipelago (Mozambique), Neues Jahrb. Geol. Pal., 297, 155–170, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revmic.2009.11.001,
2013.
Masmoudi, S., Yaich, C., and Ammoun, M.: Evolution et morphodynamique des
iles barrières et des flèches littorales associées à des
embouchures microtidales dans le Sud-Est tunisien, Bull. l'Inst. Sci.,
Section Sciences de la Terre, 27, 65–81, 2005.
Mateu-Vicens, G., Box, A., Deudero, S., and Rodríguez, B.: Comparative
analysis of epiphytic foraminifera in sediments colonized by
seagrass Posidonia oceanica and invasive macroalgae Caulerpa spp., J. Foramin. Res., 40, 134–147, 2010.
Morhange, C. and Pirazzoli, P. A.: Mid-Holocene emergence of southern
Tunisian coasts, Mar. Geol., 220, 205–213, 2005.
Morigi, C., Jorissen, F. J., Fraticelli, S., Horton, B. P., Principi, M.,
Sabbatini, A., and Negri, A.: Benthic foraminiferal evidence for the
formation of the Holocene mud-belt and bathymetrical evolution in the
central Adriatic Sea, Mar. Micropaleontol., 57, 25–49, 2005.
Morzadec-Kerfourn, M. T.: L'évolution des Sebkhas du Golfe de Gabès
(Tunisie) à la transition Pléistocène supérieur –
Holocène, Quaternaire, 13, 111–123, 2002.
Murray, J.: Ecology and applications of benthic foraminifera, Cambridge
University Press, 426 pp., https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511535529, 2006.
Oflaz, S. A.: Taxonomy and distribution of the benthic foraminifera in the
Gulf of Iskenderun, Eastern Mediterranean, MSc thesis, Middle East Technical
University, http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/3/12607725/index.pdf (last access: 26 August 2022), 2006.
Oueslati, A.: Les côtes de la Tunisie: géomorphologie et environnement
et aptitudes à l'aménagement,
Publications de l'Université de Tunis, Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines, 34, 387 pp., 1993.
Paskoff, R. and Sanlaville, P.: Les côtes de la Tunisie. Variations du niveau marin depuis le Tyrrhénien, 14, 1, Persée-Portail des revues scientifiques en SHS, 1983.
Pielou, E. C.: The measurement of diversity in different types of biological
collections, J. Theor. Biol., 13, 131–144, 1966.
Saad, S. A. and Wade, C. M.: Biogeographic distribution and habitat
association of Ammonia genetic variants around the coastline of Great Britain, Mar.
Micropaleontol., 124, 54–62, 2016.
Sgarrella, F. and Moncharmont Zei, M.: Benthic foraminifera of the Gulf of
Naples (Italy): systematics and autoecology, Boll. Soc. Paleontol. I.,
32, 145–264, 1993.
Siani, G., Paterne, M., Arnold, M., Bard, E., Metivier, B., Tisnerat, N., and
Bassinot, F.: Radiocarbon reservoir ages in the Mediterranean Sea and Black
Sea, Radiocarbon, 42, 271–280, 2000.
Slim, P., Trousset, P., Paskoff, R., and Oueslati, A.: Le littoral de la
Tunisie, Et. Géoarch. Hist., CNRS, 185–187, 2004.
Souissi, R., Turki, I., and Souissi, F.: Effect of submarine morphology and
environment quality: Case of Monastir Bay (Eastern Tunisia), Carpath. J.
Earth Env., 9, 231–239, 2014.
Vita-Finzi, C. and Roberts, N.: Selective leaching of shells for 14C dating,
Radiocarbon, 26, 54–58, 1984.
Yorke, R. A.: Les ports engloutis de Tripolitaine et de Tunisie,
Archeologia, 17, 18–24, 1967.
Younes, A.: L'installation portuaire à Thapsus: mise au point à
partir des textes anciens et de la documentation archéologique, La
Méditerranée: l'Homme et la mer, Actes du premier séminaire,
Mahdia décembre 1998, CERES, Tunis, 21, 181–193, 1999.
Zaïbi, C., Kamoun, F., Viehberg, F., Carbonel, P., Jedoui, Y., Abida,
A., and Fontugny, M.: Impact of relative sea level and extreme climate events
on the Southern Skhira coastline (Gulf of Gabes, Tunisia) during Holocene
times: Ostracodes and foraminifera associations response, J. Afr. Earth
Sci., 118, 120–136, 2016.
Short summary
Sedimentology and micropaleontology analyses provide the dynamic processes that shaped the environmental evolution of the Thapsus coastline (Tunisia) including its lagoon and Roman harbor. The highlights are paleoenvironmental change records from the coast of Thapsus for the last 4000 years, benthic foraminiferal biota recording the dynamic coastal processes, two transgressive events being recognized, and a presented model for the paleoenvironmental evolution.
Sedimentology and micropaleontology analyses provide the dynamic processes that shaped the...
