The Adaptations of the Foraminifera
and Ostracoda to Fresh Water
Colonisation
Anna Iglikowska and Joanna Pawłowska
Abstract In marine environments Ostracoda and Foraminifera have been very
successful invaders. During the Phanerozoic they colonised the majority of shallow,
marginal to deep water, fully marine habitats. Both groups had developed physiological adaptations which pre-adapted them to the invasion of new marine habitats.
They adopted a broad range of feeding strategies and reproduction modes. The
production of resting stages and brood care may also have contributed to them
being efficient invaders. They are also both highly tolerant to variations in salinity.
The first invasions of non-marine habitats by ostracods appear to have taken place
at the turn of the Devonian and Carboniferous. It is estimated that there had been
between 9 and 12 independent invasions of fresh waters by the ostracods. In
contrast Foraminifera are typically marine organisms, and only a few species of
agglutinated and organic-walled Foraminifera are to be found in brackish and
freshwater environments. Agglutinated species build their test using ambient
components but are not commonly regarded as calcifying organisms. An impact of
salinity on foraminiferal calcification has been observed in several studies. It seems
that Foraminifera are incapable of constructing a fully calcified test in low salinity
regimes; they use sea water not only as a source of ions to construct shell, but also
as a biomineralisation solution. Thus, the success of ostracods in invading freshwater habitats can be attributed to their development of a more effective mechanism
of calcification in low mineralisation waters. The core question of this study is to
examine possible causes for the differences in success between the two taxa.
Keywords Foraminifera Á Ostracoda Á Fresh water colonisation Á Physiological
adaptations Á Calcification
A. Iglikowska (&) Á J. Pawłowska
Institute of Oceanology of Polish Academy of Sciences, Powstańców Warszawy 55,
81-712 Sopot, Poland
e-mail: iglikowska@iopan.gda.pl
J. Pawłowska
e-mail: pawlowska@iopan.gda.pl
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015
T. Zielinski et al. (eds.), Impact of Climate Changes on Marine Environments,
GeoPlanet: Earth and Planetary Sciences, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-14283-8_8
91
and Ostracoda to Fresh Water
Colonisation
Anna Iglikowska and Joanna Pawłowska
Abstract In marine environments Ostracoda and Foraminifera have been very
successful invaders. During the Phanerozoic they colonised the majority of shallow,
marginal to deep water, fully marine habitats. Both groups had developed physiological adaptations which pre-adapted them to the invasion of new marine habitats.
They adopted a broad range of feeding strategies and reproduction modes. The
production of resting stages and brood care may also have contributed to them
being efficient invaders. They are also both highly tolerant to variations in salinity.
The first invasions of non-marine habitats by ostracods appear to have taken place
at the turn of the Devonian and Carboniferous. It is estimated that there had been
between 9 and 12 independent invasions of fresh waters by the ostracods. In
contrast Foraminifera are typically marine organisms, and only a few species of
agglutinated and organic-walled Foraminifera are to be found in brackish and
freshwater environments. Agglutinated species build their test using ambient
components but are not commonly regarded as calcifying organisms. An impact of
salinity on foraminiferal calcification has been observed in several studies. It seems
that Foraminifera are incapable of constructing a fully calcified test in low salinity
regimes; they use sea water not only as a source of ions to construct shell, but also
as a biomineralisation solution. Thus, the success of ostracods in invading freshwater habitats can be attributed to their development of a more effective mechanism
of calcification in low mineralisation waters. The core question of this study is to
examine possible causes for the differences in success between the two taxa.
Keywords Foraminifera Á Ostracoda Á Fresh water colonisation Á Physiological
adaptations Á Calcification
A. Iglikowska (&) Á J. Pawłowska
Institute of Oceanology of Polish Academy of Sciences, Powstańców Warszawy 55,
81-712 Sopot, Poland
e-mail: iglikowska@iopan.gda.pl
J. Pawłowska
e-mail: pawlowska@iopan.gda.pl
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015
T. Zielinski et al. (eds.), Impact of Climate Changes on Marine Environments,
GeoPlanet: Earth and Planetary Sciences, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-14283-8_8
91