Large-scale culturing of Neogloboquadrina pachyderma, its growth in, and tolerance of, variable environmental conditions

The planktic foraminifera Neogloboquadrina pachyderma is a calcifying marine protist and the dominant planktic foraminifera species in the polar oceans, making it a key species in marine polar ecosystems. The calcium carbonate shells of foraminifera are widely used in palaeoclimate studies because their chemical composition reflects the seawater conditions in which they grow. This species provides unique proxy data for past surface ocean hydrography, which can provide valuable insight to future climate scenarios. However, little is known about the response of N. pachyderma to variable and changing environmental conditions. Here, we present observations from large-scale culturing experiments where temperature, salinity and carbonate chemistry were altered independently. We observed overall low mortality, calcification of new chambers and addition of secondary calcite crust in all our treatments. In-culture asexual reproduction events also allowed us to monitor the variable growth of N. pachyderma’s offspring. Several specimens had extended periods of dormancy or inactivity after which they recovered. These observations suggest that N. pachyderma can tolerate, adapt to and calcify within a wide range of environmental conditions. This has implications for the species-level response to ocean warming and acidification, for future studies aiming to culture N. pachyderma and use in palaeoenvironmental reconstruction.