Fabienne Marret and Karin A. F. Zonneveld (2003) Atlas of modern organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst distribution. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Volume 125, Issues 1-2, Pages 1-200

Abstract

This Atlas summarises the global distribution of extant organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts in the form of 61 maps illustrated by the relative abundance of individual cyst taxa in recent marine sediments from the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent basins, the Antarctic region (South Atlantic, south-western Pacific and southern Indian Ocean sections), the Arabian Sea and the north-western Pacific. This synthesis is based on the integration of literature sources together with data from 1141 marine surface sediments prepared on a comparable methodology and taxonomy. The relationships between distribution patterns of cyst species and the surface-water parameters (temperature, salinity, phosphate and nitrate concentrations) are documented with graphs depicting the relative abundance of species in relation to seasonal and annual values of the above mentioned parameters at the sample sites. Two ordination techniques (Detrended Correspondence Analysis and Canonical Correspondence Analysis) have been carried out to statistically illustrate the relationships between species distribution and sea-surface conditions. Results have been compared with previously published records and an overview of the ecological significance of each individual species is presented. Characterisations of selected environments as well as a discussion about how additional processes such as preservation and transport could have affected the present dataset are included.

Distribution of organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts

Sample positions

(1) North Atlantic Ocean and adjacent basins (Contributors: Rochon et al., 1999), (2) Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi Sound, Florida Bay (Contributor: L. Edwards), (3) Canary Islands (Contributors: Targarona et al. 1999), (4) western equatorial Atlantic (Contributors: Vink et al., 2000), (5) Western African margin (Contributors: Marret, 1994, Marret and Dupont), (6) Arabian Sea (Contributor: Zonneveld, 1997a), (7) Benguela upwelling area (Contributors: Zonneveld et al., 2001a), (8) southern Atlantic Ocean (Contributors: Esper et al., in press), (9) Antarctic (Contributors: Harland et al., 1998) (10) Southern Indian Ocean and southern Pacific (Contributors: Marret and de Vernal, 1997, Marret et al., 2001a. (11) Pacific (Japan) (Contributors: Matsuoka, 1981; Matsuoka, 1985b, c; Kobayashi et al., 1986; Cho and Matsuoka, 1999; Matsuoka, K. et al., 1999).