User:Rm13967/Globigerinoides

Globigerinoides is a extant genus of shallow-water planktonic foraminifera of family Globigerinidae. First appearing in the Oligocene these foraminifera are found in all modern oceans. Species of this genus occupy the euphotic zone, generally at depths between 10-50m, in waters which cover a range of salinities and temperatures. They are a shorter lived species, especially when compared to Globorotalia genus. As a genus Globigerinoides is widely used in various fields of research including biostratigraphy, isotope geochemistry, biogeochemistry, climatology, and oceanography.

Morphology
The foraminifera of genus Globigerinoides are all shallow-water assemblages with spinose forms made of hyaline calcite. Certain species are known to produce a modified type of calcium carbonate, $18$O enriched-gametogenic calcite, at the end of their life cycle prior to gametogenesis. Also prior to gametogenesis the spines are reabsorbed by the foraminifera leaving behind a test that is heavily calcified, and shows the remnants of spine holes. All species have trochospiral chamber arrangement, though species exhibit further complexity with streptospiral chamber arrangement. Tests are composed of thin perforated walls, with very large pores, with the spines being added at the end of individual chamber formation. As with other amoeboids these foraminifera utilize pseudopodia. Pseudopodia are widely used throughout their entire lifecycle for various purposes including feeding, movement, protection, and chamber formation.

Symbiots
Many Globigerinoides species bear photosynthetic symbiots algae. For those species that are symbiot bearing experiments have shown that their symbiots play a hugely important role in the success of individual foraminifera. Experiments using Globigerinoides sacculifer found that the life cycle of individuals is severely shorted when the symbiots photosynthetic cycle is disrupted or stopped(via darkness or removal of symbiots).

Notable species
Certain species of Globigerinoides are more commonly used in research than others. Two such commonly used species are G. ruber and G. sacculifer.

Globigerinoides sacculifer
Globigerinoides sacculifer exhibits two different morphologies, known as G. sacculifer with sac and G. sacculifer without sac. The sac feature is a sac shaped terminal chamber that is formed prior to the production of the gametogenic calcite. When using G. sacculifer tests for bulk isotope analysis tests without the sac morphology are often preferentially selected. G. sacculifer is also notable for certain in vivo experiments that have been conducted on it. It was found that individuals of this species are able to reconstruct their tests after injury when subjected to slight crushing in a laboratory setting. These repaired tests would often have nonstandard morphologies. .

Globigerinoides ruber
G. ruber are carnivorous and prey upon copepods and nauplii. Once a copepod or nauplii is caught in its spines G. ruber uses its pseudopodia to draw the caught prey close to its test to allow it to feed. Also notable about G. ruber is its two morphologies, a form with pink tests, and a form with whitish tests. White test individuals are found today in warm to temperate climate zones of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, where as pink tested G. ruber is now only found in the Atlantic Ocean. It is unknown why the pink individuals are no longer found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, but this variety disappeared from those oceans ~120,000 yr .G. ruber has been found to tolerate hyposaline waters, in laboratory cultures it was able to remain alive in salinity ranges of 22-49%.