Gulf of America Non-spinose Planktic Foraminifera Culture Study From 2020-2022

This pilot study was intended to test whether Globorotalia truncatulinoides (G. truncatulinoides) and Globorotalia menardii (G. menardii) specimens could be successfully harvested from offshore plankton tow samples and kept alive in a laboratory at the U.S Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (USGS SPCMSC). The methodologies and resources which were used to cultivate these non-spinose planktic foraminiferal species, are described in this release and in more detail in Reynolds and others (2025). Several specimens (n=69) were collected via plankton tows from the upper 200 meters (m) of the water column from the northern Gulf of America in February 2020, December 2021, and November 2022. Size measurements and growth, descriptive notes and observations, and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) data were recorded on a few selected foraminifera individuals.

Reynolds, C.E. Fehrenbacher, J.S., Thirumalai, K., Tappa, E.J., and Richey, J.N., 2025, Insights from growing Globorotalia truncatulinoides and Globorotalia menardii in the laboratory: Journal of Foraminiferal Research, vol. 55, no. 2, p. 131-143, https://doi.org/10.61551/gsjfr.55.2.131.