Abrupt changes in deep-sea ecosystem structure and biodiversity during the last deglaciation and Holocene

Recent research on deep-sea sediment cores suggests that the structure and diversity of deep-sea ecosystems exhibit greater instability over millennial and centennial timescales than previously realized. Centennial scale ecosystem shifts during the last deglaciation (Termination 1, 18-11.5 ka) and the Holocene (11.5 ka to recent) have been discovered using several well-dated deep-sea microfossil records. In the northwestern Atlantic ODP site 1055, weakening of North Atlantic Deep Water production around 10 ka appears to have caused the collapse of the deep-sea benthic ecosystem and reduced diversity at ca. 1800 meters water depth. During this and other Holocene events, diversity as measured by the Shannon Index was reduced by as much as 50%. Several lower resolution records also suggest rapid ecosystem change during Termination 1 in the central and northern North Atlantic region. For example, sites 82-24-4PC (mid-Atlantic Ridge) and M23414 (Rockall Plateau) reveal abrupt diversity shifts probably associated with bottom-water temperature and surface productivity changes. This presentation will assemble data on these and other fossil ostracod records from North Atlantic deep-sea sites to discuss possible causes of abrupt ecosystem changes and the application of Ostracoda to paleoceanography.