Foraminifera are tiny single-celled organisms that construct shells.

Their shells are also referred to as tests because in some forms the protoplasm covers the exterior of the shell. The shells are commonly divided into chambers which are added during growth, though the simplest forms are open tubes or hollow spheres. They belong to rhizopod protozoa and its body (protoplasm) is emitted in the form of pseudopodia, these pseudopodia are used for catching prey, locomotion and in the creation of the hard skeleton (test). Foraminifera inhabit a wide range of marine environments, from the intertidal zone to the deep sea in all regions. After death, their abundance in sediment samples can reach tens of thousands of individuals per cubic centimeter. The two major group of foraminifera are benthic, which live in sediments on the sea floor, and planktic, which live in the upper 300 feet or so of the ocean. Foraminiferal shells of both groups occur in a variety of shapes, and typically range from 0.1 mm to 1 mm in size. The shells of all planktic and most benthic species are composed of calcite, the same mineral larger sea shells are made of. Some benthic species construct their shells with other secreted minerals, such as aragonite or silica, while others consist of organic materials or cemented sediment particles. Depending on the species, Fully grown individuals range in size from about 100 micrometers to almost 20 centimeters long. The fossil record of benthic foraminifera is ancient, dating to more than 550 million years. Planktic species range to about 190 million years. The abundance of their shells in ancient sediments, their wide distribution and their sensitivity to changes in environmental conditions make them valuable indicators of past climate change. Because the length of time a foraminifera species exists is geologically brief (~5-15 million years), the shells are also very useful for determining the age of sediments in which they occur. .

Life cycle: -There are two forms of foraminiferal species: * Form A (Megalospheric form): small in size but has large
initial chamber. * Form B (Microspheric form): large in size but has small initial chamber.

Form A

Form B

The life cycle starts with the microspheric form (B) whose protoplasm is divided into a large number of small masses each with one nucleus giving rise to megalospheric form (A) [Asexual reproduction]. The megalospheric form (A) emits male and female gametes which unite together to form zygote that grow into microspheric form (B) [Sexual reproduction]. This alternation of sexual and asexual generations is called Alternation of generations Microspheric form (B) 1-small initial chamber 2-large test 3-large number of chambers 4-less common in nature 5- reproduce asexually Megalospheric form (A) 1-large initial chamber 2-small test 3-few number of chambers 4-more common in nature 5- reproduce sexually

Feeding: The largest living species of foraminifera have a symbiotic

relationship with algae, which they "farm" inside their shells. Other species eat foods ranging from dissolved organic molecules, bacteria, diatoms and other single celled phytoplankton, to small animals such as copepods. They move and catch their food with a network of thin extensions of the cytoplasm called reticulopodia, similar to the pseudopodia of an amoeba, although much more numerous and thinner.

LIFE HISTORY AND ECOLOGY:

Most of the estimated 4,000 living species of forams live in the world's oceans. Of these, 40 species are planktonic, that is they float in the water. The remaining species live on the bottom of the ocean, on shells, rock and seaweeds or in the sand and mud of the bottom. In places, foraminifera are so abundant that the sediment on the bottom is mostly made up of their shells. For example, the pink sands of Bermuda get their color from the shells of a foraminiferan called Homotrema rubrum which has pink to red-colored shells. Far from land in the deep sea, where little material comes from erosion of the land, the bottom sediment is made up mainly of shells of planktonic organisms, especially foraminifera. Foraminifera are found in all marine environments, from the intertidal to the deepest ocean trenches, and from the tropics to the poles, but species of foraminifera can be very particular about the environment where they live. Some are abundant only in the deep ocean, others are found only in brackish estuaries or salt marshes along the shore, and most live at certain depths and water temperatures in between. Foraminifera are an important part of the marine food chain. On the continental shelf there can be tens of thousands of living individuals per square meter of ocean bottom. Many larger animals (including snails, sand dollars, and fish) eat forams, and some are very selective about which species they eat. Because different species of foraminifera are found in different environments, paleontologists can use their fossils to determine past environments. If a sample of fossil foraminifera contains many living species, the present-day distribution of those species can be used to infer the environment there when the fossils were alive. Even when samples contain all or mostly extinct species, data such as species diversity, the relative numbers of planktonic and benthic species (planktic:benthic ratio), and the ratios of different shell types are used to infer past environments. In addition to using species distributions (whether directly or through diversity and other ratios) to study past environments, the chemistry of the shell can tell us about the chemistry of the water in which it grew. Most importantly, the ratio of stable oxygen isotopes depends on the water temperature, because warmer water tends to evaporate off more of the lighter isotopes. Studies of stable oxygen isotopes in planktonic and benthic foram shells from hundreds of deep-sea cores worldwide have been used to map past water temperatures. These data help us understand how climate has changed in the past and thus how it may change in the future.

- Most foraminifera are benthonic; some move freely over the seabed, others are sessile and fix themselves to rocks or shells by pseudopodia. - They are mostly marine and stenohaline (can tolerate only very small variations in the salinity of water). - Benthonic foraminifera occur at all depths but those with a porcellaneous test live in shallow water whereas those with a hyaline test occur everywhere but in the deepest areas. Species with agglutinated tests are similar but they can live at depths below 4000-5000m. - Planktonic foraminifera on the other hand reach about 40 species, they live at depth between 6-30m. Below 200 they are absent.

Foraminiferal Test
Most species of foraminifera build shells with multiple chambers (multilocular) but some species build shells with only a single chamber (unilocular). The most common types of chamber arrangements are: - Unilocular -- a single chamber which may be globular, cylindrical, flask-shape, stellate . etc. - Uniserial -- chambers added in a single linear series. - Biserial -- chambers added in a double linear series. - Triserial -- chambers added in a triple linear series. - Planispiral -- chambers added in a coil within a single plane. The center of the coil is called the umbilicus. The coil may be either involute (only the chambers of the last coil visible) or evolute (all chambers visible). - Trochospiral -- chambers added in a coil that forms a spire like a snail shell. The side on which all chambers are visible (evolute) is called the spiral side. On the other side only the final coil is visible (involute) and this is called the umbilical side. - Milioline (Loculine) -- chambers arranged in a series where each chamber extends the length of the test, and each successive chamber is placed at an angle of up to 180 degrees from the previous one. a- Biloculine: two chambers separated by 180o

b- Triloculine: three chambers separated by 120 o c- Quinquoloculine: five chambers separated by 72 o - Fusuline -- a planispiral coil which is elongated along the axis of coiling. Typically each chamber is subdivided by a complex set of internal partitions. - Tubular -- a simple hollow tube. - Irregular -- without any definite arrangement of the chambers. These forms usually live attached to a solid surface. - Chevron-shape: the chambers form an inverted v-shape. - Annular: semi-circular chambers overlapping each other.

Aperture:
- It is an opening in foraminiferal test, through which pseudopodia protrude and reproductive bodies escape. Shape:

Circular

elliptical

fissurine

radial

Phyaline (with lip &neck)

virguline (comma-shape)

dendritic

Wall
Each of the major groups of foraminifera uses different materials to build their shells. The basic types of wall structures are: Agglutinated -- test made of particles cemented together. Some species use whatever particles are available, while other species

may select only sponge spicules or mica flakes or a certain size particle to build their test. Calcareous hyaline -- interlocking crystals of calcite about 1 micrometer in diameter. Microgranular -- equidimensional, subspherical particles of calcite closely packed together without cement. Porcellaneous -- wall made of apparently randomly arranged microscopic rods of calcite, with ordered inner and outer surface layers. Chitinous: composed of chitinous organic matter and this has little chance of preservation.

Fossil Record of foraminifera:

The oldest fossil foraminifera, from the Cambrian, are simple agglutinated tubes. Calcareous microgranular and porcellaneous tests evolved in the Carboniferous, and calcareous hyaline tests in the Permian. Over time, each of these groups has evolved many different forms, including large complex tests associated with reefs. These groups of large species became abundant when reef environments were widespread, then suffered major extinction when world climate changed and reefs were decimated. The fusulinids were one such group. They had rice-grain shaped tests and evolved into numerous widespread species during the Permian but went extinct at the end of that period when a worldwide mass extinction also eliminated most other reef dwelling organisms. The small size of most foraminifera may make them difficult to see, but it makes them much more useful than larger fossils for applications such as petroleum exploration, because there can be thousands of specimens in the small chips of rock collected when drilling a well. In addition, many species of foraminifera are geologically short-lived, and others are only found in specific environments, so a paleontologist can examine the specimens in a sample and determine the geologic age and environment when the rock formed. As a result, since the 1920's the oil industry has been a major employer of paleontologists who specialize in these microscopic fossils. It is unusual to drill an oil well without a

paleontologist onsite to determine when the desired oil-bearing rock layer has been reached

Geologic significance: Foraminifera are very important in oil exploration, for age determination and biostratigraphic zonation of oil-bearing horizons. Besides; they have paleoenvironmental significance such as depth indication, salinity and temperature of water etc. There are some kinds of foraminifera known as large foraminifera. These foraminifera can be seen by naked eye, yet their study requires thin microscopic examination. Most of these large forams are good index fossils and so useful for age determination as well as biostratigraphic zonation. Ex. Nummulites Eocene Fussulina Carboniferous Orbitulina Cretaceous