the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Coupled otolith and foraminifera oxygen and carbon stable isotopes evidence paleoceanographic changes and fish metabolic responses
Abstract. Capturing the mechanisms leading to the local extirpation of a species in deep-time is a challenge. Combining stable oxygen and carbon isotopic analyses on benthic and planktonic foraminifera and the otoliths of pelagic and benthic fish species, we reveal here the paleoceanographic regime shifts changes that took place in the Eastern Mediterranean from 7.2 to 6.5 Ma, in the precursor phase to the Messinian Salinity Crisis, and discuss the fishes’ response to these events. The step-wise restriction of the Mediterranean–Atlantic gateway impacted the Mediterranean fishes’ metabolisms, particularly those dwelling in the sea bottom. An important shift in the Mediterranean paleoceanographic conditions took place between 6.951 and 6.882 Ma, from predominantly temperature to salinity control, which was probably related to stratification of the water column. A regime shift at 6.814 Ma due to change in the influx amount, source and/or preservation of organic matter led a pelagic–benthic decoupling of the fish fauna. The oxygen isotopic composition of the benthic fish otoliths expresses higher salinity of the lower part of the water column at that time, and is accompanied by a rapid increase and then drop in the carbon isotopic compositions of the otoliths (which is metabolic rate proxy) of the benthic fish, ultimately leading to the local extirpation of the species. Overall, our results confirm that otolith stable oxygen and carbon isotopes are promising proxies for paleoceanographic studies and, when combined with those of foraminifera, can reveal changes in the life history and migration patterns of teleost fishes in deep time.
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RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-309', Anonymous Referee #1, 28 Feb 2024
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Dear Editor,
The manuscript titled "Coupled Otolith and Foraminifera Oxygen and Carbon Stable Isotopes Evidence Paleoceanographic Changes and Fish Metabolic Responses" by Agiadi et al. presents a novel and significant contribution towards understanding the impact of extreme events, particularly the preconditioning stages of the Mediterranean Salinity Crisis, on marine fish life. This study stands out for its incorporation of higher organisms, adding substantial value to the research. As the authors state, the Mediterranean is indeed a great example of how different groups of organisms cope with changes in oxygen levels, nutrients and salinity and therefore I believe that this work is of extreme interest for many scientists dealing with the evolution of the Mediterranean, both from a biological and geological perspective. The manuscript is clear, well written and the obtained data are coherently interpreted.
Apart from some minor changes to be applied to the text some clarifications are needed:
- Where does the age model come from? Has it been already published in previous works?
- Elaborate or make more explicit why the 13C trend in otoliths does not reflect the Mediterranean or Global trend of decrease. Is it because the strong influence that nutrients have?, should then the trend be opposite in this specific case? Does it mean that they reflect more local changes and cannot be used for global changes in climate? Do they highlight punctual more abrupt changes?
Line 113: parenthesis missing for reference (Whitley, 1941)
Line 115: has been reported
Line 119: Today, it has a preferred temperature….
Line 244: Strange sentence, not clear, n that it requires substitute
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-309-RC1 -
AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Konstantina Agiadi, 14 Mar 2024
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Dear Reviewer,
Thank you for your kind and constructive review.
Regarding the age model for the Agios Myron section, this has been published by Zachariasse et al. (2021). The Agios Myron section presents lithological precessional cycles (confirmed by the vanadium concentrations in the bulk sediment and spectral analysis), which have been orbitally tuned through correlation with the Metochia section (Hilgen et al. 1995; 1997; Krijgsman et al. 1995; 1999), and ancoring in planktonic foraminifera bioevents and ash layers.
The foraminifera δ13C curves express the global decreasing trend. In contrast, otoliths cannot be used as proxies of the carbon isotopic composition of seawater, because they are strongly influenced by the δ13C of the fish diet items, which vary greatly. For example, Bregmaceros spp. feed on zooplanktonic invertebrates (mostly copepods), but some species are also known to eat phytoplankton. Because we cannot know which was the exact composition of the diet of each individual fish in the Late Miocene Agios Myron area, the δ13C of those diet items or the incorporation ratio to otoliths, we cannot attribute the otolith δ13C shifts to a change in the abundance of particular organisms (e.g. the copepods). Ultimately, otolith δ13C is a proxy of fish metabolism, their capacity to grow, as has been demonstrated by previous studies (e.g. Wurster and Patterson, 2003; Solomon et al., 2006; Trueman et al., 2016; Chung et al., 2019a, b; Martino et al., 2020; Smoliński et al., 2021; Trueman et al., 2023; Jones et al., 2023). In the context of our study, we consider that the observed δ13C reflect shifts in the metabolism of the particular fish species in the region of study, not globally. The coincidence of these with the BIT and isoGDGT2/isoGDGT3 shift from the same area suggests that these indeed are abrupt.
These and the minor changes requested for lines 113, 115, 119 and 244 will be implemented in the revised manuscript, and the additional references (below) will be added to the reference list of the manuscript.
With best regards,
On behalf of all co-authorsHilgen, F. J., Krijgsman, W., Langereis, C. G., Lourens, L. J., Santarelli, A., and Zachariasse, W. J.: Extending the astronomical (polarity) time scale into the Miocene, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 136, 495–510, https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-821X(95)00207-S, 1995.
Hilgen, F. J., Krijgsman, W., and Wijbrans, J. R.: Direct comparison of astronomical and 40Ar/39Ar ages of ash beds: Potential implications for the age of mineral dating standards, Geophys. Res. Lett., 24, 2043–2046, https://doi.org/10.1029/97GL02029, 1997.
Krijgsman, W., Hilgen, F. J., Langereis, C. G., Santarelli, A., and Zachariasse, W. J.: Late Miocene magnetostratigraphy, biostratigraphy and cyclostratigraphy in the Mediterranean, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 136, 475–494, https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-821X(95)00206-R, 1995.Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-309-AC1
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Dataset for Agiadi et al._Coupled otolith and foraminifera oxygen and carbon stable isotopes evidence paleoceanographic changes and fish metabolic responses Konstantina Agiadi, Iuliana Vasiliev, Geanina Butiseacă, George Kontakiotis, Danae Thivaiou, Evangelia Besiou, Stergios Zarkogiannis, Efterpi Koskeridou, Assimina Antonarakou, and Andreas Mulch https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10602427
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