Epilithozoan fauna associated with ferromanganese crustgrounds on the continental slope segment between Capri and Li Galli Islands (Bay of Salerno, Northern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy)

The epilithozoan fauna associated with Quaternary Fe-Mn crustgrounds sampled off Capri and Li Galli Islands is described. During the Quaternary, the interplay among the tectonically induced topography, sea-current patterns, and the changing physical-chemical properties of the water column promoted c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Facies 2005-04, Vol.50 (3-4), p.427-441
Main Authors: Toscano, Francesco, Raspini, Arturo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accretion
Brachiopoda
Chemical properties
Continental slope
Entobia
Fauna
Foraminifera
Galli
Islands
Marine
Mollusks
Oceanography
Polychaeta
Puellina
Taxa
Water column
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Summary:The epilithozoan fauna associated with Quaternary Fe-Mn crustgrounds sampled off Capri and Li Galli Islands is described. During the Quaternary, the interplay among the tectonically induced topography, sea-current patterns, and the changing physical-chemical properties of the water column promoted conditions favouring Fe-Mn oxide accumulation. In the samples dredged between 510-263 m depth (DRA 7), 207-201 m depth (DRA 5) and 358-65 m depth (DRA 4), where the Fe-Mn coating covers all rock surfaces, the distribution of the epilithozoan taxa is polarized: on the upper smooth surface of the crustgrounds the most abundant inhabitants are foraminifers, while on the lower rough surface corals, bivalves, bryozoans and brachiopods occur. Sponges are mainly able to bioerode the rough lower surfaces. Samples are riddled by boring ichnogenera including Entobia and Maeandropolydora. Fe-Mn oxide precipitation is still active today as shown by the frontal shield preservation of the bryozoan Puellina cf. pseudoradiata Harmelin and Aristegui, 1988, where it is possible to identify different stages of accretion. Botryoidal ongoing accretion is evident only in some taxa, namely Bryozoa and Polychaeta species, and Foraminifera morphotypes, which appear to keep pace with precipitation when it occurs.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0172-9179
1612-4820
DOI:10.1007/s10347-004-0036-3