Kemp, Andrew C. and Wright, Alexander J. and Cahill, Niamh (2020) Enough is Enough, or More is More? Testing the Influence of Foraminiferal Count Size on Reconstructions of Paleo-Marsh Elevation. Journal of Foraminiferal Research, 50 (3). pp. 266-278. ISSN 0096-1191

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Abstract

Salt-marsh foraminifera are sea-level proxies used to quantitatively reconstruct Holocene paleo-marsh elevations (PME) and subsequently relative sea level (RSL). The reliability of these reconstructions is partly dependent upon counting enough foraminifera to accurately characterize assemblages, while counting fewer tests allows more samples to be processed. We test the influence of count size on PME reconstructions by repeatedly subsampling foraminiferal assemblages preserved in a core of salt-marsh peat (from Newfoundland, Canada) with unusually large counts (up to 1595). Application of a single, weighted-averaging transfer function developed from a regional-scale modern training set to these ecologically-plausible simulated assemblages generated PME reconstructions at count sizes of 10–700. Reconstructed PMEs stabilize at counts sizes greater than ∼50 and counts exceeding ∼250 tests show little return for the additional time invested. The absence of some rare taxa in low counts is unlikely to markedly influence results from weighted-averaging transfer functions. Subsampling of modern foraminifera indicates that cross-validated transfer function performance shows only modest improvement when more than ∼40 foraminifera are counted. Studies seeking to understand multi-meter and millennial scale RSL trends should count more than ∼50 tests. The precision sought by studies aiming to resolve decimeter- and decadal-scale RSL variability is best achieved with counts greater than ∼75. In most studies seeking to reconstruct PME, effort is more productively allocated by counting relatively fewer foraminifera in more core samples than in counting large numbers of individuals. Target count sizes of 100–300 in existing studies are likely conservative and robust. Given the low diversity of salt-marsh foraminiferal assemblages, our results are likely applicable throughout and beyond north eastern North America.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Cite as: Andrew C. Kemp, Alexander J. Wright, Niamh Cahill; Enough is Enough, or More is More? Testing the Influence of Foraminiferal Count Size on Reconstructions of Paleo-Marsh Elevation. Journal of Foraminiferal Research 2020;; 50 (3): 266–278. doi: https://doi-org.may.idm.oclc.org/10.2113/gsjfr.50.3.266
Keywords:	Salt-marsh foraminifera; salt-marsh peat; North America
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Science and Engineering > Mathematics and Statistics Faculty of Science and Engineering > Research Institutes > Hamilton Institute Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Institutes > Irish Climate Analysis and Research Units, ICARUS
Item ID:	16456
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.2113/gsjfr.50.3.266
Depositing User:	Niamh Cahill
Date Deposited:	30 Aug 2022 13:54
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Foraminiferal Research
Publisher:	Geo Science World
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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