Benthic Foraminifera assemblage in two size fractions from the Pefka E section (Island of Rhodes, Greece)

Despite their established status for such applications, and existing protocols for sample treatment, not all studies using benthic Foraminifera employ the same methodology. For instance, there is no broad practical consensus whether to use the >125 µm or >150 µm size fraction for benthic foraminiferal assemblage analyses.

Here, we use Pleistocene material from the Pefka E section on the Island of Rhodes (Greece) that has been counted in both size fractions, to investigate whether a 25 µm difference in the counted assemblage fraction is already sufficient to have an impact on ecological studies. We analyse the influence of the difference in size fraction on studies of the biodiversity as well as multivariate assemblage analyses of the sample material.