Abstract. Fossil ostracods have been widely used for Quaternary paleoenvironmental
reconstructions, especially in marginal marine environments (e.g., for water
depth, temperature, salinity, oxygen levels, pollution). But our knowledge of
indicator species autoecology, the base of paleoenvironmental
reconstructions, remains limited and commonly lacks robust statistical
support and comprehensive comparison with environmental data. We analyzed
marginal marine ostracod taxa at 52 sites in Hong Kong for which
comprehensive environmental data are available. We applied linear regression
models to reveal relationships between species distribution and environmental
factors for 18 common taxa (mainly species, a few genera) in our Hong Kong
dataset and identified indicator species of environmental parameters. For
example, Sinocytheridea impressa, a widely distributed euryhaline
species throughout the East and South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific,
indicates eutrophication and bottom-water hypoxia. Neomonoceratina delicata, a widely known species from nearshore and estuarine environments
in the East and South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific, indicates heavy metal
pollution and increased turbidity. The 18 taxa used for this study are widely
distributed geographically and divided into the following groups: widespread
(throughout the northwestern Pacific and Indo-Pacific regions), temperate
(South China Sea to Russia (Sea of Japan coast) and Japan), subtropical
(Indo-Pacific to the East China Sea), tropical (Indo-Pacific and South China
Sea), and globally distributed. With statistical support from ecological
modeling and comprehensive environmental data, these results provide a robust
baseline for ostracod-based Quaternary–Anthropocene paleoenvironmental
reconstructions in the tropical–extratropical northwestern Pacific and
Indo-Pacific.
Highlights.
We provide a robust baseline for ostracod-based (microscopic Arthropods)
paleoenvironmental reconstructions from Quaternary and Anthropocene marginal
marine sediments. The studied species have wide distributions over the tropics and
extratropics of the northwestern Pacific and Indo-Pacific. Ecological modeling has established ostracod species as reliable indicators for
paleoenvironmental reconstructions.