Editor's note: Planktonic foraminifera are a group of ancient creatures, but many people know very little about them. In the open science class held at Xiamen Penang Middle School, Chen Yanru and Ma Zeyuan, two young reporters, used concise and slightly childlike language to introduce Steven. Professor Steinck's lecture on planktonic foraminifera introduced us to such a group of "small giants in the sea" that have existed since the Jurassic era: they are small but widely distributed, they are tenacious, they are very sensitive to water temperature, and the fossils formed are of great significance to the study of the marine environment. Finally, the young reporters also answered many of our questions about this creature in the form of questions and answers. The whole article is permeated with the enthusiasm of young journalists for the course, the desire for knowledge and the desire to explore the world
Author: Chen Yanru Ma Zeyuan (Science Reporter, Betel Nut Middle School, Xiamen City, Fujian Province)
Source: Knowledge is Power magazine
Do you know? In the ocean lives a large family of "little giants", which have a long history and have existed since the Jurassic era, but everyone knows far from them. On the afternoon of December 14, The German Professor Steffen Berger of the State Key Laboratory of Offshore Marine Environmental Science and the Department of Geology and Oceanography of Xiamen University. Stephan Steinke came to Xiamen Pinang Middle School to bring you a vivid feast of popular science: Planktic Foraminifera and their Application in Geological Oceanography, an English lecture on the biology and ecology of foraminifera, Distribution and application in reconstructive paleoclimatology and oceanography.
Stephen. Steinck is a paleo-oceanographer, paleoclimatologist, and microcalibiologist, whose main research is on the individual characteristics, ecological distribution, seasonal changes, etc. of planktonic foraminifera, especially the research methods and importance of planktonic foraminifera on the information containing paleocean marine environment.
What.
Speaking of planktonic foraminifera, we must first know what it is and what it looks like. Foraminifera are unorganized and organless single-celled organisms, their size is very small, only a few millimeters to tens of microns large, can secrete calcium or siliceous, forming a shell, and there is a large hole or multiple fine holes in the shell in order to protrude pseudopods, so it is named foraminifera, which is divided into two taxa, planktonic and benthic. Planktonic foraminifera are a class of protozoa that live in upper marine water bodies, and when they die, their calcium carbonate shells gradually sink and eventually remain on the ocean floor as an integral part of sediments. The surface marine environment and sedimentation process have obvious effects on the phytoplanktonic foraminifera community and its shell chemical composition, and the water temperature, depth and salinity of the ocean determine the growth, reproduction and distribution of planktonic foraminifera, due to the wide variety, abundance and wide distribution, which can live in a variety of marine environments. Although planktonic foraminifera account for only a small part (2-10%) of the total number of zooplankton, the calcium crust deposited on the seabed accounts for about 20% of the total deep-sea carbon storage, has good preservation potential, and is sensitive to environmental changes. Therefore, planktonic foraminifera is currently the most important signal carrier in paleocliography and paleoclimatology, its shell can reflect very useful environmental information, as an environmental indicator organism can be used in many research fields, known as "the little giant in the sea", different water layers to carry out planktonic foraminifera research has extraordinary significance.
Why.
Although planktonic foraminifera are very subtle, they are very tenacious and very sensitive to water temperature, which can produce very high-quality biological fossil records, dating back to the middle of the Jurassic Period, and their fossils can also provide scientists with an unbalanced record to test and record the evolutionary process, often used for biological stratigraphic research or paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Professor Stephen said: "Planktonic foraminifera found in the open ocean are often used in marine currents or climate research, and even engaged in marine pollution research. "This is why there has been an increasing emphasis on the study of planktonic foraminifera in modern times.
In the lecture, under the guidance of Mr. Stephen, the students did not know the planktonic foraminifera from the initial complete understanding, to gradually understand, and then to develop a strong interest, which aroused the deep curiosity and attention of the students. Today, planktonic foraminifera has been used as the main tool for the study of the climate and environment in ancient times, by making a table of the change in the magnesium/calcium composition ratio in its shell and the change in the temperature of the times, it is concluded that the global average ocean temperature has increased from -4 °C 5 million years ago to 18 °C, and even from it we prove that the earth was once in a "ice age" that was basically completely frozen, which warns that human overactivity has had an impact on the marine environment; in addition to the trace element composition ratio, It can also be seen from the extinction of foraminifera species: from thousands of species in the past to more than 50 species today, which is also due to global ocean warming. So this plankton is warning us in different ways that humans are destroying nature. Not only that, but we can also learn about the past from the fossils that are submerged by sediment, not only the climatic environment, but also the relationship between land and sea, and even history.
How.
"The harmonious development of the natural environment has been the consensus of all mankind, as an important carrier of surface paleocean marine environmental information, the study of planktonic foraminifera can help us deeply understand and grasp the development and change of the climate environment, which has been widely used in life and research work." Teacher Stephen said. The lecture atmosphere is warm, time flashes by, the students are still not finished, with the help of professors and assistants, through the stereo microscope to observe the crystals of small life, immersed in the known and unknown world of planktonic foraminifera, the future may be from the aspect of foraminifera, but also to study the secrets of the past between organisms.
This open science class helped everyone to have a more comprehensive and detailed understanding of planktonic foraminifera, and triggered a new understanding and thinking on the importance of the ecological environment. Students deeply feel the magic and greatness of the big world of life, science is not far away, what we know and touch is only a dime in the nine cows, the world is nothing strange, waiting for us to grow up to observe, learn and explore.
Q1: What is the difference between the morphological study of planktonic foraminifera and benthic foraminifera?
A: Planktonic foraminifera mainly reflect the surface temperature of seawater and are used to study paleoclimate change, while benthic foraminifera live in deep seafloor and cannot reflect the change of seawater temperature.
Q2: Is it possible to "resurrect" the shells of planktonic foraminifera through DNA through some techniques?
A: After the foraminifera die, they release gametes to reproduce, and the shell will sink to the bottom of the sea, and we are studying the shell, so it is not possible to extract DNA at present.
Q3: The cytoplasm is flowable, why does it protrude into a spine?
A: The algae in the foraminifera are attracted by the light of the outside world and photosynthesize with the cytoplasm flowing out, which looks like a thorn.
Q4: What benefits can algae bring to planktonic foraminifera?
A: Algae and planktonic foraminifera coexist, but they only live together and do not have the ability to explore the benefits between the two.
Q5: Are algae attracted by light and protruding, or are they already there?
A: Because algae need photosynthesis to survive, they are attracted by light, and in an environment without light, they are only in the shell.
Q6: Do planktonic foraminifera play other roles in geology, marine economics, etc.?
A: At the moment we are only applying planktonic foraminifera shells to study past temperatures, and there are no more applications in other ways
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