David King

Past Life and Environments

UCL

Planktonic foraminifera are ideal candidates for evolutionary and extinction studies, thanks to their small size, limited stratigraphic range and abundance in oceanic sediments. Paragloborotalia represents a diverse genus of planktonic foraminifera ranging from the Eocene until the late Miocene. However, the Miocene component of this genus is relatively understudied and existing data shows little consensus, this is particularly applicable to evolution and extinction of the species within the genus. Through the study of specimens from museum collections, oceanic drilling cores and fieldwork, and utilisation of morphometric techniques, SEM imaging and CTscanning this project aims to breakdown the evolution of the genus into notable segments over the Miocene, improve their biostratigraphic utility and relate their evolution to the Miocene climatic record. In addition, general aspects of the genus will be analysed in order to better constrain the understanding of the genus. These include species depth habits through stable isotope analysis, morphological analysis to constrain whether similar species can be considered different taxa or within the same synonym and the use of test wall structure to determine if certain species belong in the genus.

• Monetary support to visit academics at the University of Utrecht – European Consortium on Ocean Research Drilling/University of Utrecht
• Travel Grant – UK International Ocean Discovery Program (UK IODP)

• Leckie, R.M., Wade, B.S., Pearson, P.N., Fraass, A.J., King, D.J., Olsson, R.K., Premoli Silva, I., Spezzaferri, S., and Berggren, W.A. (2017) Taxonomy, Biostratigraphy, and Phylogeny of Oligocene and Lower Miocene Paragloborotalia and Parasubbotina