2.3.5. Benthic foraminifera
Sediment samples were collected from the upper 2 cm of the
sediment at the beginning of each transect using syringes with
cut off tips and rubber stoppers. Only the upper 1 cm was retained,
the remainder discarded. Samples were stored in ethanol. Prior to
analysis, samples were rinsed over a 63 lm sieve and dried (60 C,
24 h). Subsequently, foraminifera were isolated and identified to
highest taxonomic resolution possible (Uthicke and Nobes, 2008).
The FORAM index was subsequently calculated based on the relative
abundance of symbiont bearing, opportunistic and heterotrophic
taxa, following Hallock et al. (2003), Uthicke and Nobes
(2008) and Uthicke et al. (2010).