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DEEP-SEA BENTHIC FORAMINIFERAL RESPIRATION RATES MEASURED UNDER LABORATORY CONDITIONS

¹ Institute for Research on Earth Evolution (IFREE), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 237-0061, Japan.
² Department of Life and Earth Sciences, Shizuoka University, Ohya 836, Shizuoka 422-8529, Japan.
³ Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University, Shirahama, Nishimuro, Wa-kayama 649-2211, Japan.

⁴ Correspondence author. E-mail: nomakih{at}jamstec.go.jp

Respiration rates of individual specimens of deep-sea benthic foraminifera were measured under laboratory conditions. Respiration rates of nine foraminiferal species—sampled from the deep-sea floor in Sagami Bay, Japan (750 and 1430 m water depth)—were measured at 5°C with a microcathode oxygen electrode in a microchamber. Respiration rates ranged from 0.9–9.9 nmol O₂ d^{– 1} ind^–1 , with no apparent relationship with test size. However, respiration rates varied by species, even from the same microhabitat. The mineralization rate of organic carbon by the total foraminiferal community was estimated using the respiration data of this study. The total foraminiferal community is estimated to respire~46 mg C m^–2 to d^–1, suggesting that the group is an important component of the carbon budget in the deep sea. Measurement of individual rates of respiration will help determine the metabolic activity of populations of foraminifera and their contribution to the carbon budget in sediments.