PRISM Pliocene-Pleistocene Planktic Foram Taxonomy

Planktic foraminifera are single-celled organisms playing a crucial role in marine food webs by cycling nutrients within ecosystems. They are heterotrophic protists feeding on phytoplankton, the primary producers in the ocean. In turn, planktic foraminifera serve as a food source for a range of marine animals including fish, crustaceans, other zooplankton, and larger predators. In this manner they transfer energy from primary producers to higher trophic levels. The spatiotemporal distributions of planktic foraminifera serve as indicators of marine environments and the physical and biological changes occurring at regional and global scales, due to their sensitivity to changes in temperature, salinity, and nutrient availability. Here I provide names of taxa used throughout a large number of USGS PRISM Research products along with original citations and online links to the taxa.