Mesozoic and Cenozoic microbiotas from eastern Antarctic Peninsula: adaptation to a changing palaeoenvironment

Abstract

A compiled selected literature on some groups of microfossils of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic of the James Ross Basin, eastern Antarctic Peninsula, is presented here, in order to show how the microbiota has been modified over time, triggered by environmental changes. The analyzed microfossils consist of palynomorphs (mostly pollen grains, spores, and dinoflagellate cysts), foraminifers and bryozoans. Dinoflagellate cysts and pollen-spores have been recorded in Jurassic to Pleistocene sedimentary outcrops. Dinoflagellate cysts proved to be good indicators for productivity and/or nutrient availability, surfacewater temperature and chemistry, the position of ancient shorelines and paleoceanographic trends. Pollen and spores allowed reconstruction of floral community and thus characterization of the climate that prevailed on the continent. Foraminifera,recovered from the Lower Cretaceous to the Pleistocene sedimentary rocks, provided information about the bathymetry, showing different marine settings (e.g., coastal, inner neritic, outer neritic, upper bathyal) in different localities. The bryozoan record isrestricted to the Cenozoic. Their colonial growth-forms reflect several environmental conditions such as shallow waters with a low rate of sedimentation, hard substrate and moderate or strong current action for the analyzed localities. The study of the Antarcticecosystems based on the fossil microbiota and their response to the climate and the continental configuration changes, allowed understanding of the composition and dynamics of the polar environments, which have an important role in the Earth climate.