Molecular and isotopic composition of foraminiferal organic linings

Fossil remnants of benthic foraminifera consist of carbonate tests and their organic linings. The macromolecular and stable isotopic composition of these benthic foraminiferal organic linings was characterized to evaluate their potential use as paleoclimate proxies. Using Curie point pyrolysis–GC–MS (Py–GC–MS) we show that benthic foraminiferal organic linings consist of protein and polysaccharides, bound together in a complex macromolecular structure. Both chitin derivatives and traces of guaiacols and syringols, usually assigned to lignin are found. Although the five species of benthic foraminifera all contain chitin derivatives and proteins, the relative contribution of these compounds tends to vary considerably. Oxygen stable isotopic analyses of the organic linings of the benthic foraminiferal species Ammonia tepida indicates that ∂18OOL values are in line with fractionation between seawater and organic matter. In contrast a ∂13C deliberate tracer experiment showed that metabolic carbon is the main source for the carbon fixed in the organic lining. The different pathways of carbon and oxygen stable isotopes into the foraminiferal linings have important implications for future proxy development as they reflect different components of the environment compared to the carbonate bound stable isotopes. Still, the future application of benthic foraminiferal organic linings and their isotopic values critically relies on improvements in calibration and sample size required for isotopic analyses.