Distribution of modern brackish-water Foraminifera in Trinity Bay

Abstract

The study of modern faunas provides a basis for understanding fossil populations of ancient environments. The primary objective of this report is to illustrate principles of brackish-water ecology based on a quantitative study of living and total foraminiferal populations in the sediments of a modern bay and bayhead deltaic environment. Benthonic Foraminifera are particularly well-suited for such studies because they are widely distributed in modern brackish-water environments and are important constituents of fossil assemblages. The rapid differentiation of living Foraminifera through the preservation and staining of surface sediment samples greatly facilitates distributional studies of these microorganisms.