Benthic Foraminifera on the Continental
Slope of the Bering Sea

I. I. Burmistrova, M. P. Chekhovskaya, and N. V. Belyaeva

Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

Received March 6, 2003

Abstract—Based on material consisting of samples of recent sediments collected over ten transects crossing
the slope in a range of sea depths from 150 to 2 200 m, the bathymetric distribution of seven species of benthic
foraminiferal assemblages was studied. The species Angulogerina angulosa dominates within the depth interval
from 150 to 400 m under conditions of adequate water aeration in the upper layer of the intermediate water mass
of the sea (O₂ from 1.0 to 6.0 ml/l), strong near-bottom currents, and sandy substrate. Four species—Cassid-
ulina laevigata, Loxostomoides pseudopunctata, Brizalina spissa, and Epistominella pacifica—mainly inhabit
sea depths in a range from 500 to 1200 m, i.e., in the zone of distribution of the intermediate waters with a low
oxygen content. L. pseudopunctata is primarily encountered on the northern part of the slope, where the oxygen
content is not higher than 0.6 ml/l and where the sediments are represented by silts. B. spissa and E. pacifica
mainly inhabit the southern part of the slope where the waters are enriched in oxygen (O₂ from 0.8 to 1.2 ml/l)
and sandy sediments are deposited due to the active water circulation. The species C. laevigata is distributed
over the entire slope, though it is of greatest importance in the assemblages colonizing the northern part of the
slope in the range of sea depths from 720 to 1250 m. Uvigerina peregrina and Elphidium batialis are widely
distributed over the slope in the range of sea depths from 150 to 2300 m. Their greatest content was noted at a
depth greater than 1000 m, where the slope is covered with fine silts enriched in organic matter and where the
oxygen content in the waters reaches 1.0–2.0 ml/l.

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