Planktonic foraminifera are one of the most abundant and diverse protists in the oceans. Their utility as paleo proxies requires rigorous taxonomy and comparison with living and genetically related counterparts. We merge genetic and fossil evidence of “Globigerinoides”, characterized by supplementary apertures on spiral side, in a new approach to trace their “total evidence phylogeny” since their first appearance in the latest Paleogene. Combined fossil and molecular genetic data indicate that this genus, as traditionally understood, is polyphyletic. Both datasets indicate the existence of two distinct lineages that evolved independently. One group includes “Globigerinoides” trilobus and its descendants, the extant “Globigerinoides” sacculifer, Orbulina universa and Sphaeroidinella dehiscens. The second group includes the Globigerinoides ruber clade with the extant G. conglobatus and G. elongatus and ancestors. In molecular phylogenies, the trilobus group is not the sister taxon of the ruber group. The ruber group clusters consistently together with the modern Globoturborotalita rubescens as a sister taxon. The re-analysis of the fossil record indicates that the first “Globigerinoides” in the late Oligocene are ancestral to the trilobus group, whereas the ruber group first appeared at the base of the Miocene with representatives distinct from the trilobus group. Therefore, polyphyly of the genus "Globigerinoides" as currently defined can only be avoided either by broadening the genus concept to include G. rubescens and a large number of fossil species without supplementary apertures, or if the trilobus group is assigned to a separate genus. Since the former is not feasible due to the lack of a clear diagnosis for such a broad genus, we erect a new genus Trilobatus for the trilobus group (type species Globigerina triloba Reuss) and amend Globoturborotalita and Globigerinoides to clarify morphology and wall textures of these genera. In the new concept, Trilobatus n. gen. is paraphyletic and gave rise to the Praeorbulina / Orbulina and Sphaeroidinellopsis / Sphaeroidinella lineages.

Cold-water coral (CWC) ecosystems occur worldwide and play a major role in the ocean's carbonate budget and atmospheric CO2 balance since the Danian (~65 m.y. ago). However their temporal and spatial evolution against climatic and oceanographic variability is still unclear. For the first time, we combine the main macrofaunal components of a sediment core from a CWC mound of the Melilla Mounds Field in the Eastern Alboran Sea with the associated microfauna and we highlight the importance of foraminifera and ostracods as indicators of CWC mound evolution in the paleorecord. Abundances of macrofauna along the core reveal alternating periods dominated by distinct CWC taxa (mostly Lophelia pertusa, Madrepora oculata) that correspond to major shifts in foraminiferal and ostracod assemblages. The period dominated by M. oculata coincides with a period characterized by increased export of refractory organic matter to the seafloor and rather unstable oceanographic conditions at the benthic boundary layer with periodically decreased water energy and oxygenation, variable bottom water temperature/density and increased sediment flow. The microfaunal and geochemical data strongly suggest that M. oculata and in particular Dendrophylliidae show a higher tolerance to environmental changes than L. pertusa. Finally, we show evidence for sustained CWC growth during the Alleröd-Younger-Dryas in the Eastern Alboran Sea and that this period corresponds to stable benthic conditions with cold/dense and well oxygenated bottom waters, high fluxes of labile organic matter and relatively strong bottom currents

Quantitative investigations on the total (living + dead) benthic foraminiferal assemblages were performed on 32 surface-sediment samples (0-2 cm, .63-mm size fraction) from water depths ranging from 110

The marine environment in the Gulf of Gabes (southern Tunisia) is severely impacted by phosphate industries. Nowadays, three localities, Sfax, Skhira and Gabes produce phosphoric acid along the coasts of this Gulf and generate a large amount of phosphogypsum as a waste product. The Gabes phosphate industry is the major cause of pollution in the Gulf because most of the waste is directly discharged into the sea without preliminary treatment. This study investigates the marine environment in the proximity of the phosphate industries of Gabes and the coastal marine environment on the eastern coast of Djerba, without phosphate industry. This site can be considered as "pristine" and enables a direct comparison between polluted and “clean” adjacent areas.Phosphorous, by sequential extractions (SEDEX), Rock-Eval, C, H, N elemental analysis, and stable carbon isotope composition of sedimentary organic matter, X-ray diffraction (qualitative and quantitative analysis) were measured on sediments. Temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen were measured on the water close to the sea floor of each station to estimate environmental conditions. These analyses are coupled with video surveys of the sea floor. This study reveals clear differentiations in pollution and eutrophication in the investigated areas.

Quantitative and qualitative analyses of cold-water coral (CWC) fragments from two sediment cores obtained from the Melilla Mounds Field (MMF) in the Alboran Sea, western Mediterranean Sea, reveal an alternation of periods dominated by distinct CWC species. The lower parts of the cores are dominated by the CWC species Lophelia pertusa, which is successively replaced in the upper parts by the species Madrepora oculata and Dendrophyllids. The transition in the macrofauna coincides with a characteristic change in the benthic foraminiferal assemblage. Benthic foraminiferal assemblage BFA glacial , in accordance with benthic (Cibicides lobatulus) and planktic (Globigerina bulloides) δ 13 C and δ 18 O values provide evidence for generally high surface productivity, cold and well-ventilated bottom waters lasting from the end of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (33.3 ka BP) reaching a maximum at the transition Alleröd-Younger-Dryas. Together with δ 13 C of the organic carbon and Rock-Eval pyrolysis, benthic foraminiferal assemblage BFA interglacial established since the Early Holocene indicates that the MMF experienced a decrease in bottom-water energy that caused an organic carbon-enrichment in the sediments and also depleted oxygen waters. Compared to the pre-Holocene interval dominated by the planktic foraminifera Neogloboquadrina incompta and the benthic foraminiferal assemblage BFA glacial , the organic carbon deposited during the Holocene in the MMF contains more refractory components in relation to sea-level rise and modern oceanographic configuration. Based on our data, we suggest that L. pertusa has a higher ecological requirement than M. oculata and Dendrophyllids especially with regard to oxygen and nutrient availability.