Transition from stromatolite to thrombolite fabric: potential role for reticulopodial protists in lake microbialites of a Proterozoic ecosystem analog.

ABSTRACT: Prior observations suggest that foraminiferan protists use their reticulopodia (anastomosing pseudopodia) to alter sediment fabric by disrupting laminations of subtidal marine stromatolites, erasing the layered structures in an experimental setting. Because microbialites and foraminifera are found in non-marine settings, we hypothesized that foraminifera living in lakes could also disrupt layered microbialite fabric. With this aim and using a variety of multidisciplinary approaches, we conducted field surveys and an experiment on microbialites from Green Lake (GL; Fayetteville, New York State, United States), which has been studied as a Proterozoic ecosystem analog. The lake is meromictic and alkaline, receiving calcium sulfate-rich water in the monimolimnion; it supports a well-developed

SUBMITTER: Bernhard JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10642914 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature