Impact of seawater Ca2+ on the calcification and calcite Mg / Ca of Amphistegina lessonii.

Mg / Ca ratios in foraminiferal tests are routinely used as paleo temperature proxy, but on long timescales, also hold the potential to reconstruct past seawater Mg / Ca. Impact of both temperature and seawater Mg/Ca on Mg incorporation in foraminifera have been quantified by a number of studies. The underlying mechanism responsible for Mg incorporation in foraminiferal calcite and its sensitivity to environmental conditions, however, is not fully identified. A recently published biomineralization model (Nehrke et al., 2013) proposes a combination of transmembrane transport and seawater leakage or vacuolization to link calcite Mg / Ca to seawater Mg /Ca and explains inter-species variability in Mg / Ca ratios. To test the assumptions of this model, we conducted a culture study in which seawater Mg / Ca was manipulated by varying [Ca²⁺] and keeping [Mg²⁺] constant. Foraminiferal growth rates, test thickness and calcite Mg / Ca of newly formed chambers were analyzed. Results showed optimum growth rates and test thickness at Mg / Ca closest to that of ambient seawater. Calcite Mg / Ca is positively correlated to seawater Mg / Ca, indicating that not absolute seawater [Ca²⁺] and [Mg²⁺], but the telative ratio controls Mg / Ca in tests. These results demonstrate that the calcification process cannot be based only on seawater vacuolization, supporting the mixing model proposed by Nehrke et al. (2013). Here we, however, suggest a transmembrane transport fractionation that is not as strong as suggested by Nehrke et al. (2013). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]