Modern planktonic Foraminifera: migrating is not enough Article Swipe
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· 2023
· Open Access
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· DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3485983/v1
· OA: W4387976852
<title>Abstract</title> Anthropogenic activities, in particular rising CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, provoke ocean warming and acidification<sup>1,2</sup>, altering plankton habitats and threatening calcifying species<sup>3,4</sup> such as planktonic Foraminifera (PF). Whether they can cope with these unprecedented rates of environmental change, through lateral migrations and vertical displacements, is unresolved. Here we show, using over a century of data from the FORCIS<sup>5</sup> global census counts, that PF display evident poleward migratory behaviours, increasing their diversity at mid to high latitudes, and for some symbiont-barren species descending in the water column. Global PF abundance decreased by 24.24±0.11% over the last decades. Beyond lateral migrations<sup>6</sup>, our study uncovers intricate vertical migration patterns among PF species, presenting a nuanced understanding of their adaptive strategies. In projected temperature and carbonate saturation states for 2050 and 2100, low-latitude PF species will face physico-chemical environments that surpass their current tolerance. While these species might replace high-latitude ones through poleward shifts, this would radically alter low-latitude ecosystems. Our insights of PF adaptation during the Anthropocene reveals that 'migration is not enough', and has broader implications for the evolution of marine biodiversity under multiple stressors.
