Microhabitats of benthic Foraminifera in glacimarine sediments

Foraminifera are diverse and abundant marine unicellular organisms that sensitive to environmental change. Their hard shells accumulate as a fossil record and characterize past climates. Many of these minute sluggishly-moving organisms dwell within the se diment where they tend to occupy certain microhabitats. The arrangement of foraminiferal microhabitats in glacimarine sediments, which for example are very common in the fjords of Svalbard, is totally unknown. By elucidating this arrangement we aim to (1) provide new insights into high-latitude foraminiferal ecology and (2) improve the interpretation of the foraminiferal fossil record.