Microfossils from Chesapeake Bay Sediments: Illustrations and

Species Database

by

Thomas M. Cronin, Robert S. Wagner, and Moira Slattery, editors

with the following sections: 

Benthic Foraminifera by Scott E. Ishman, Alex W. Karlsen, Thomas M. Cronin

Diatoms by Lisa M. Weimer

Dinoflagellates by Stacey Verardo

Ostracodes by Thomas M. Cronin and Deena Grinbaum

Pollen by Debra A. Willard

Open-File Report: 99-45

This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological

Survey editorial standards or with the North American Stratigraphic Code. Any use of

trade, product or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply

endorsement by the U.S. government
Introduction

This report presents scanning electron microscope (SEM) photomicrographs of 64 

species and genera of benthic foraminifers, diatoms, dinoflagellate cysts, ostracodes and 

pollen that represent the most common microfossil species preserved in sediments from 

Chesapeake Bay. In addition to SEM photomicrographs, this report also presents 

quantitative abundance data documenting the stratigraphic distribution of most microfossil 

species in 25 sediment cores in five appendices, one for each major group of microfossils.

This study is part of an interdisciplinary research project designed to investigate the 

environmental trends and functioning of the bay ecosystem over interannual through 

millennial time scales through paleoecological studies of radiometrically dated sediment 

cores. The primary goal is to use ecologically sensitive species to understand temporal and 

spatial variability in salinity, sediment accumulation rates and budgets, dissolved oxygen, 

temperature, and faunal and floral trends in Chesapeake Bay and its major tributaries 

(Cronin et al. in press). These species' census data together with the SEM photographs 

form the taxonomic basis for studies on Chesapeake Bay ecosystem history (Cronin et al. 

submitted; Karlsen et al. submitted).

Chesapeake Bay is 320 km long, -20-40 km wide, covers an area of 6,500 km2 , 

and drains 166,000 km2 of watershed mainly in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, the 

District of Columbia and New York (Figure 1). As the nation's largest and most 

productive estuary, Chesapeake Bay faces complex environmental issues related to 

eutrophication and anoxia, turbidity and sedimentation, toxic dinoflagellates, and sea level 

rise, coastal erosion and submergence. For example, Chesapeake Bay experiences large 

seasonal and interannual variability in salinity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen (DO) 

that are strongly influenced by precipitation and river discharge from the watershed. 

Nutrient concentrations in its tributaries and ecological (microbial degradation) and physical 

processes (such as wind advection) in the estuary are also important factors in determining
seasonal and interannual variability in oxygen depletion. Many questions regarding the 

causes of environmental changes in the bay, particularly the contributions of anthropogenic 

factors like pollution, and climatological factors like precipitation and stream runoff can be 

answered through the reconstruction of paleoecological trends using microfossils.

To successfully apply microfossils to the reconstruction of Chesapeake Bay 

environments, however, one needs firm taxonomic and ecological foundations for the key 

species preserved in sediments. The literature on the major benthic and phytoplankton 

microfossil groups in east coast estuaries is sparse and widely scattered. Moreover, 

although there is a large amount of information on living macrobenthos, zooplankton and 

phytoplankton in Chesapeake Bay, there is relatively little published information available 

on the micropaleontology of Chesapeake Bay sediments. Among the exceptions, are 

studies of benthic foraminifers by Ellison and Nichols (1976), plant macrophytes by Davis 

(1985) and Brush and Davis (1984), and diatoms by Cooper and Brush (1991, 1993) and 

Cooper (1995), and ostracodes by Cronin (1979). This study attempts to assemble into a 

single report SEM illustrations and updated taxonomic identifications of the most important 

species of foraminifera, diatoms, dinoflagellate cysts, and ostracodes used in our 

paleoecological studies of the bay. It also provides SEM photographs of the major pollen 

types that have been transported into the bay from vegetation living in the surrounding 

watershed. Pollen in Chesapeake sediments is extremely useful in determining land-use 

changes and their impacts on the bay (e.g., Brush and DeFries, 1981; DeFries, 1986).

This study focused on microfossils from sediment cores taken in the middle regions 

of Chesapeake Bay (mostly mesohaline and lower polyhaline salinity regimes) and its 

major tributaries (Patuxent, Potomac, Choptank Rivers) (Figure 1). It is limited to 

microfossils preserved in sediments deposited during the late Holocene, the period 

covering the past 2000 years. Therefore, species characteristic of the lower bay (upper 

polyhaline and euhaline) and upper bay (oligohaline) regions and species that may have 

inhabited the bay during the early and middle Holocene (10,000 to 2,000 years ago) are not
included. Table 1 gives location information on the sediment cores for which microfossil 

data are presented below.

Format of the Microfossil Database

This report presents information on Chesapeake Bay microfossils in five sections 

one each for benthic foraminifers, diatoms, dinoflagellates, ostracodes and pollen. Each 

section contains the following. First, a short summary is given on the biology and ecology 

of the group and its occurrence in Chesapeake Bay sediments. These sections are meant to 

provide introductory background material and important references to the primary literature 

on the group's taxonomy and ecology for those readers wishing more information. A 

table lists the species for each group in each section.

Second, SEM plates and plate captions illustrate the most common species using 

specimens taken from the sediment cores listed in Table 1. This section is not intended to 

be a formal taxonomic treatment of a group. Rather it is intended to illustrate important 

species using the most up-to-date generic and specific nomenclature. In the case of many 

species, these are the first published scanning electron photomicrographs of the species 

from Chesapeake Bay.

Third, at the end of each section, there is an appendix giving the abundance of each 

species in sediment core samples. For some cores only one or two groups were analyzed 

depending on preservation and time constraints. In these appendices, species and genera 

are given in the columns and samples are ordered stratigraphically in the rows. Because 

radiometric dating for many sediment cores is still in progress, chronostratigraphic 

information is not given. For the dinoflagellate cysts, there is also a data file in the 

appendix giving species' distributions in 48 surface sediment samples from Chesapeake 

Bay, in addition to species' occurrences in two long sediment cores.
Acknowledgments

This research was funded though the USGS INATURES program. We appreciate 

the comments of John Barron, Joan Bernhard, Marty Buzas, Sherri Cooper, Lucy 

Edwards, Joseph Hazel, and Barun Sen Gupta with taxonomy of various groups of 

microfossils. Neil Waibel and Patrick Buchanan assited in collecting, processing and 

identifying pollen; Rob Stamm and Jean Self-Trail provided assistance on the scanning 

electron microscope. We are greatful to Walter Boynton and Jerry Frank of University of 

Maryland's Chesapeake Bay Lab, and Randy Kerhin of Maryland Geological Survey, and 

Rick Younger of Maryland Department of Natural Resources and their crews, for 

assistance in obtaining sediment cores.

References

Brush, G. A., and R. S. DeFries, 1981. Spatial distributions of pollen in surface

sediments of the Potomac Estuary. Limnology and Oceanography, 26: 295-309. 

Brush, G. A. and F. W. Davis, 1984. Stratigraphic evidence of human disturbance in an

estuary. Quaternary Research, 22: 91-108. 

Cooper, S. R., 1995. Chesapeake Bay watershed historical land use: impact on water

quality and diatom communities. Ecological Applications, 5: 703-723. 

Cooper, S. R. and G. S. Brush, 1991. Long-term history of Chesapeake Bay anoxia.

Science, 254: 992-996. 

Cooper, S. R. and. G. S. Brush, 1993. A 2,500 year history of anoxia and eutrophication

in Chesapeake Bay. Estuaries 16: 617-626.
Cronin, T. M., 1979. Late Pleistocene marginal marine ostracodes from the southeastern

Atlantic Coastal Plain and their paleoenvironmental interpretation. Geographic

Physique et Quaternaire 33: 121-173. 

Cronin, T., S. Colman, D. Willard, R. Kerhin, C. Holmes, A. Karlsen, C. Larsen, S.

Verardo, S. Phillips, G. Dwyer, J. Bratton, L. Darrell, J. Hill, S. Ishman, L.

Weimer, in press. Research examines Chesapeake Bay Sedimentary Record of

Holocene Climatic variability and human ecosystem disturbance. EOS, AGU

Transactions. 

Cronin, T. M., D. A., Willard, R. T. Kerhin, A. Karlsen, C. Holmes, S. E. Ishman, S.

Verardo, J. McGeehin, A. Zimmerman, submitted. Climatic variability over the

last millennium from the Chesapeake Bay sedimentary record, (to be submitted to

Science). 

Davis, F. W., 1985. Historical changes in submerged macrophyte communities of upper

Chesapeake Bay. Ecology 66: 981-993. 

DeFries, R. S., 1986. Effects of land use history on sedimentation in the Potomac Estuary,

Maryland. USGS Water Supply Paper 2234-K, 21 pp.

Ellison, R. L. and M. M. Nichols, 1976. Modern and Holocene foramimfera in the

Chesapeake Bay region, p. 131-151. In, International Symposium on Benthonic 

Foraminifera of Continental Margins, Part A. Maritime Sediments Special

Publication 1.

Karlsen, A. W., T. M. Cronin, S. E. Ishman, D. A. Willard, C. W. Holmes, M. Marot, 

R. T. Kerhin, submitted. Trends in Chesapeake Bay dissolved oxygen based on 

benthic foraminifera from sediment cores, (to be submitted to Estuaries).
Figure 1. Map showing core locations on main transects in Chesapeake Bay and its 

tributaries. See Table 1 for details.
Longitude

7615

5 _

7610 7605

7630'

5 -

10-

15-

, 76,25* , , , ,76,20', . , , 76,15', , , , 76, 10',

Parker Creek - Choptank

HNPTB

76 35' 7630' 7625' 7620' 7615'

BUVAB

"MRPTB

u STLC B PTXT 2 patuxent

BRISB PTXT1 .,..

PTXT 3 &

7630' 7615'

5 - 

10 - 

15 - 

20 - 

25 -

30 - 

35

Potomac

RGPTB

7630' 7620' 7610' 76

5 -I

10 -

15 -

20 -

25

Rappahannock

Chesapeake Bay 

Core Transects
Chesapeake Ecosystem Project Core Summary

Transect Site Core type Water Depth (m) Latitude L

Potomac Potomac-1

Potomac-1

Potomac-1

Potomac-2

Potomac-2

Potomac-3

Potomac-3

Potomac-3

Potomac-3

Ragged Point

Patuxent Patuxent-1

Patuxent-1

Patuxent-1

Patuxent-2

Patuxent-2

Patuxent-2

Patuxent-2

Patuxent-2

Patuxent-3

Patuxent-3

Patuxent-3

Buena Vista

Marsh Point

Broomes Island

St. Leonard Creek

PTMC1-P-2

PTMC 1-B-2

PTMC 1-G

PTMC 2-P-2

PTMC 2-B-2

PTMC 3-P-2

PTMC 3-B-2

PTMC 3-G

PTMC 3-G-2

RGPT

PTXT 1-P-3

PTXT1-B-3

PTXT 1-G

PTXT 2-P-3

PTXT2-B-3

PTXT 2-G-2

PTXT 2-G-3

PTXT 2-G-4

PTXT 3-P-2

PTXT3-B-2

PTXT 3-G

BUVA

MRPT

BRIS

STLC

Piston

Box

Gravity

Piston

Box

Piston

Box

Gravity

Gravity

Box

Piston

Box

Gravity

Piston

Box

Gravity

Gravity

Gravity

Piston

Box

Gravity

Box

Box

Box

Box

19

19

19

13.2

12

23.1

22

20

24.1

16.5

16.5

15

16.3

11.5

10

11.5

11.5

11.5

22.5

21

22.5

5

7

15

6

38°01.839'N

38°01.839'N

38°01.839'N

37°58.400'N

37°58.400'N

3801.6118'N

3801.6118'N

38°01.668'N

3801.6118'N

38°09.86' N

38°18.583'N

38°18.583'N

38°1 8.581 'N

38°19.584'N

38°19.584'N

38°19.586'N

3819.588'N

3819.588'N

38°20.0007'N

38o2o.ooo7'N

38°20.0007'N

38°31.12'N

38°26.81'N

38°23.64' N

38°22.88' N

76

76

76

76

76

761

761

76

761

76

76

76

76

76

76

76

76 

76 

76°

76°

76°

76

76

76

76

fee
Chesapeake Ecosystem Project Core Summary

Transect Site Core type Water Depth (m) Latitude Lo

Parker Creek

Susquehanna

Rappahannock

Mainstem

Parker Creek-1

Parker Creek-2

Parker Creek-3

Parker Creek-1

Parker Creek-2

Parker Creek-2

Parker Creek-3

Parker Creek-3

Little Choptank-1

Little Choptank-1

Little Choptank-1

Horn Point

Sassafras-1

Sassafras-1

Sassafras-2

Sassafras-2

Still Pond

Rappahannock-1

Rappahannock-2

Rappahannock-2

R-64

Point No Point

PRCK 1-G

PRCK 2-G

PRCK 3-G

PRCK1-P-2

PRCK2-P-1

PRCK 2-P-2

PRCK 3-P-2

PRCK 3-B-2

LCPTK1-P-1

LCPTK1-B-1

LCPTK1-G

HNPT

SASS1-P

SASS1-G

SASS 2-P

SASS 2-G

STPD

RAPRV 1-P-2

RAPRV 2-G

RAPRV 2-P-2

R-64

PNPT

Gravity

Gravity

Gravity

Piston

Piston

Piston

Piston

Box

Piston

Box

Gravity

Box

Piston

Gravity

Piston

Gravity

Box

Piston

Gravity

Piston

Box

Box

10.7

11.4

24.3

10.7

11.4

11.4

24.3

23

13.9

13.5

13.9

8

?

?

?

?

10.5

19.7

-19

11.5

16.5

14

38° 32.8657'N

38° 33.1 552

38° 32.6359'N

38 32.519'N

38 33.93'N

38 33.93'N

38° 32.6349N

38° 32.6349N

38° 31. 491 6*N

38°31.4916'N

38°31.4916'N

38°37.18'

39 22.7583'N

39 22.7583'N

39 25.2493'N

39 25.2493'N

39°20.809'

37 35'53.30"

37 32.47'N

37 32.47'N

38°33.59'

38°07.99'

76° 

76° 

76° 

76 

76 

76 

762

76 

76°

76°

76°

7

76 0

76 

76 

76 

76

76

761

761

7

7

lithologic logs and X-radiographs are found in Kerhin et al. 1998
Chesapeake Bay Benthic Foraminifera 

By Scott E. Ishman, Alex W. Karlsen, Thomas M. Cronin

Benthic foraminifera are single-celled organisms similar to amoeboid organisms in 

cell structure. The foraminifera differ in having granular rhizopodia and elongate fllopodia 

that emerge from the cell body. Foraminifera are covered with an organic test that varies 

from a simple single chamber with an aperture to a complex, multichambered, perforate, 

calcitic wall, to an agglomeration of mineral grains embedded in the organic test. Benthic 

foraminifera occupy a wide range of marine environments, from brackish estuaries to the 

deep ocean basins and occur at all latitudes. Many species have well defined salinity and 

temperature preferences making them particularly useful for reconstructing past trends in 

ocean water salinity and temperature.

The distribution of modern benthic foraminifera from the Atlantic coastal margin of 

the United States and Gulf of Mexico have been studied extensively over the past several 

decades (see Buzas and Culver, 1980 and 1981 for comprehensive reviews). Many of the 

taxa have widespread distributions, inhabiting marshes, coastal estuaries, bays, lagoons, 

and the continental shelf. Comprehensive studies of benthic foraminiferal distributions and 

ecology in the Chesapeake Bay and its estuaries include papers by Ellison et al., 1965; 

Nichols and Norton, 1969; Ellison, 1972; Buzas, 1974; and Ellison and Nichols, 1976; 

and in Gulf Coast Bays by Phleger, 1951, 1954, 1965; Parker et al., 1953; Bandy, 1954; 

Phleger and Lankford, 1957; Benda and Puri, 1962; Frerichs, 1969; Lamb, 1972; Otvos, 

1978; and Poag, 1981.

Several studies have contributed toward our understanding of the distribution of 

modern benthic foraminifera in Chesapeake Bay estuaries. Ellison et al. (1965) and Ellison 

and Nichols (1970) clearly illustrated distinct benthic foraminiferal assemblage distributions

10
associated with environmental changes from the marsh to the estuary, into the Bay and 

culminating on the Atlantic Shelf. Buzas (1974) described the vertical distribution of 

living Ammobaculites from the Rhode River estuary of the Chesapeake Bay. These studies 

have contributed greatly to the interpretation of benthic foraminiferal assemblages recovered 

from sediment cores to evaluate past changes in salinity, water temperature, and sea level. 

Ellison and Nichols (1976) have shown significant environmental changes in the 

Rappahannock River Estuary for the past 1500 to 3000 years.

The present study is part of a large study to document the benthic foraminiferal 

fauna in the Chesapeake Bay and its estuaries, and to determine temporal changes in the 

benthic foraminiferal communities throughout the last few millennia in the sedimentary 

record. Following the format used for other microfossil groups, there are two sections 

given here. The first consists of five plates of scanning electron photomicrographs 

illustrating 11 benthic foraminiferal taxa found in the mesohaline parts of the bay (Table 2). 

The species illustrated include the most common benthic foraminiferal species now living, 

or having lived in the middle regions of Chesapeake Bay over the past millennium. The 

second part consists of species census data for benthic foraminifera obtained from the box, 

piston, and gravity cores (Table 1).

11
Table 2. Some Benthic Foraminifer species from mid-Chesapeake Bay

Ammobaculites exiguus (Cushman and Bronnimann 1948)

Ammonia tepida (Cushman 1926)

Ammotium salsum (Cushman and Bronnimann 1948)

Buccella frigida (Cushman 1922)

Elphidium clavatum Cushman 1930

Elphidium excavatum (Terquem 1876)

Elphidium selseyense (Heron-Alien and Earland 1911)

Polymorphinidae

Quinqueloculina sp.

Trochammina macrescens (Brady 1870)

Trochammina inflata (Montagu 1808)

Trochammina sp.

12
References

Bandy, O.L., 1954. Distribution of some shallow-water foraminifera in the Gulf of

Mexico. United States Geological Survey Professional Paper, 254-F: 123-141. 

Benda, W.R. and Puri, H.S., 1962. The distribution of foraminifera and ostracoda off the

Gulf Coast of the Cape Romano Area, Florida. Transactions, Gulf Coast

Association of Geological Societies, 12: 303-341. 

Buzas, M.A., 1974. Vertical distirbution of Ammobaculites in the Rhode River, Maryland.

Journal ofForaminiferal Research, 4:144-147. 

Buzas, M.A. and Culver, S.J., 1980. Distribution of Recent Benthic Foraminifera off the

North American Atlantic Coast. Smithsonian Contributions to the Marine Sciences,

6: 512 p. 

Buzas, M.A. and Culver, S.J., 1981. Distribution of Recent Benthic Foraminifera in the

Gulf of Mexico. Smithsonian Contributions to the Marine Sciences, 8, vols. I and

II: 898 p. 

Ellison, R.L., Nichols, M.M., and Hughes, J., 1965. Distribution of Recent foraminifera

in the Rappahannock River Estuary. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Special

Science Report, 47: 1-35. 

Ellison, R.L., 1972. Ammobaculites, foraminiferal proprietor of the Chesapeake Bay

estuaries, in Nelson, B.W. (ed.}, Environmental framework of coastal plain

estuaries: Geological Society of America, Memoir, 133: 247-262. 

Ellison, R.L. and Nichols, M.M., 1970. Estuarine foraminifera from the Rappahannock

River, Virginia. Contributions from the Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal

Research, 21: 1-17. 

Ellison, R.L. and Nichols, M.M., 1976. Modern and Holocene foraminifera in the

Chesapeake Bay region, in Schafer, C.T. and Pelletier, B.R. (eds.}, First

International Symposium on Benthonic Foraminifera of the Continental Margins.

13
Part A - Ecology and Biology: Maritime Sediments, Special Publication, 1: 131-

151. 

Frerichs, W.E., 1969. Recent arenaceous foraminifera from the Gulf of Mexico.

University of Kansas Paleontological Contributions. 46: 1-2. 

Geslin E., J.P. Debenay and M. Lesourd, 1998. Abnormal wall textures and test

deformation in Ammonia (hyaline Foraminifer). Journal of Foraminiferal Research,

28: 148-156. 

Lamb, G.M., 1972. Distribution of Holocene Foraminiferida in Mobile Bay and the effect

of salinity changes. Geological Survey of Alabama, 82: 1-12. 

Otvos, E.G., 1978. Calcareous benthic foraminiferal fauna in a very low salinity setting,

Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana. Journal of Foraminiferal Research, 8: 262-269. 

Nichols, M.M. and Norton, W., 1969. Foraminiferal populations in a coastal plain

estuary. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 6:197-213. 

Parker, F.L., Phleger, F.B., and Peirson, 1953. Ecology of foraminifera from San

Antonio Bay and Environs, Southwest Texas. Cushman Foundation for

Foraminiferal Research, Special Publication, 2: 1-75. 

Phleger, F.B., 1951. Ecology of foraminifera, northwest Gulf of Mexico, part 1:

foraminifera distribution. Geological Society of America, Memoir, 46: 1-88. 

Phleger, F.B., 1954. Ecology of foraminifera and associated microorganisms from

Mississippi Sound environs. American Association of Petroleum Geologists,

Bulletin, 38: 584-687. 

Phleger, F.B., 1965. Patterns of marsh foraminifera, Galveston Bay, Texas. Limnology

and Oceanography, 10: R 169-R184.

14
Phleger, F.B. and Lankford, R.R., 1957. Seasonal occurrences of living benthonic 

foraminifera in some Texas bays. Contributions from the Cushman Foundation for 

Foraminiferal Research, 8: 93-105.

Poag, C.W., 1981. Ecologic atlas of benthic foraminifera of the Gulf of Mexico. Marine 

Science International, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 174 p.

15
Plate 1

1) Buccellafrigida, umbilical, PTMC 3-P-2 224-226 cm., x 212.

2) Buccellafrigida, dorsal, PTMC 3-P-2 224-226 cm., x 242.

3) Trochammina macrescens, umbilical, JP-3 0-10 cm., x 160.

4) Trochammina inflata, dorsal, JP-3 0-10 cm., x 200.

5) Trochammina sp., dorsal, JP-3 0-10 cm., x 180.

16

Plate 2

1) Ammobaculites sp., side view, PRCK 3-P-2 0-2 cm., x 220.

2) Ammobaculites sp., side view, BUVA 0-2 cm., x 200.

3) Ammobaculites sp., side view, RGPT 8/96 19-20 cm., x 160.

4) Polymorphinid, PTMC-3 Archive 358-360 cm., x 130.

5) Miliamminafusca, side view, JP-3 0-10 cm., x 300

18

Plate 3

1) Elphidium selseyense, umbilical, R-64 0-2 cm., x 220.

2) Elphidium selseyense, large, PTMC 3-P-2A 36-38 cm., x 130.

3) Elphidium clavatum, small, PTMC 3-P-2A 36-38 cm., x 200.

4) Elphidium clavatum, small, PTMC-3 Archive 344-346 cm., x 200.

20

Plate 4

1) Ammonia tepida, dorsal, Tangiers-5 0-2 cm., x 160.

2) Ammonia tepida, umbilical, Tangiers-5 0-2 cm., x 200.

3) Ammonia tepida, spiral view, PTXT 2-P-5 286-288 cm., x 260.

4) Ammonia tepida, umbilical view, PTXT 2-P-5 214-216 cm., x 260.

5) Ammonia tepida, umbilical view, RGPT 8/96 7-8 cm., x 130.

6) Ammonia tepida, spiral view, PTXT 2-P-5 10-12 cm., x 130.

22
if*
Plate 5-Deformed Foraminifera

All photographs are of Ammonia

1) Normal test, dorsal view, BRIS 6/97 0-10 cm., x 160.

2) Normal test, umbilical view, BRIS 6/97 0-10 cm., x 180.

3) Abnormal chamber shape, HNPT 7/96 0-10 cm., x 300.

4) Reduced-size chamber, HNPT 7/96 0-10 cm., x 260.

5) Distorted chamber shape or change in coiling direction, PTXT 2-P-5 0-10 cm., x 240.

6) Development of the high spiral face, PRCK 3-P-2 0-10 cm., x 180.

7) Non-developed test, BRIS 6/97 0-10 cm., x 130.

8) "Protruded umbilical", HNPT 7/96 0-10 cm., x 130.

9) Distorted chamber shape or change in coiling direction, PTXT 2-P-5 0-10 cm., x 320. 

See Geslin et al. 1998 for discussion of terminology of test morphological deformities.

24

Core: PTMC 3-P-2 Appendix 1: Benthic Foraminifera

i"

H <u

Q

1

3

5

7

9

1 1

13

15

17

19

21

23

25

27

29

31

33

35

37

39

' 41

43

45

47

49

51

53

55

57

59

61

63

65

67

69

71

73

75

77

79

81

83

85

87

89

91

93

95

97

99

101

103

105

107

109

1 1 1

1 13

1 15

1 17

119

121

123

125

127

129

131

133

135

137

139

141

143

3/excavatum

E. selseyensi

4

48

10

33

101

24

25

110

106

70

54

79

92

65

72

16

21

47

56

48

43

22

29

1

16

94

21

1 1

1

15

6

14

15

2

18

10

20

18

38

4

3

3

5

1

4

3

1

25

24

60

32

26

12

9

1

1

1

10

4

9

4

6

7

1

ui «i!

1

44

3

1 1

3 2

15 1

21

23

8

28 2

20 13

15 2

85

49 4

45 1

27 2

18 2

1

3 1

3 3

20

82

97

92

83

26 4

78

77

86

72

35

40

64

53

69

91

25

10

83

7

24

16

1 1

54

97

65

6

25

61

29

35

64 3

89

70 3

36

17

54 1

28

27

90

44

96

33

32 1

35

24 1

25

1-Q *O

| ^ 3

f. 03 K

5

3 95

1 1 1

3 36

104

24

25

121

11 1

86

2 77

102

100

2 97

105

33

106

100

102

77

63

23

33

1

22

1 14

103

108

93

98

36

92

92

88

90

45

60

82

91

73

94

28

10

88

7

25

6 22

3 14

54

101

1 69

7

25

1 87

53

95

99

115

12 97

45

17

56

29

28

100

44

100

42

37

41

32

26

Chesapeake Bay Microfossils
Core: PTMC 3-P-2 Appendix 1: Benthic Foraminifera

 

J^

&

*"

Q

145

147

149

151

153

155

157

159

161

163

165

167

169

171

173

175

177

179

181

183

185

187

189

191

193

195

197

199

201

203

205

207

209

21 1

213

215

217

219

221

223

225

227

229

231

233

235

237

239

241

243

245

247

249

251

253

255

257

259

261

263

265

267

269

271

273

275

277

279

281

283

285

287

289

291

293

295

297

1

§

-SJ 1 w (6 11

<n Z:

5? TO § *

fill

uj uj <<: <c

6 1 1

25 12 2

2

1

4 1 1

8

8 1

3

6 1

6 1

27

4

20 1

5

21

121 1

40 4

39

12

52

76

98 1 1

104

76

100

62 16

15 6 2

6 1

4

66 15

5

14

63

29

37

53 47 1

73 24 5

52 4 25

17 4 3

41 64 5

5 1

4

8

49 10 15

24

17

89

6

51 30

9

16

8

9

12

59 40 1

7

2

1

1

28 8

4

6

1

1

1

93 6

2

2

2

15

89 1 1

1

3

 §

1" ra

ffi \ 

1 7

39

0

0

2

1

6

0

6

9

3

7

7

27

4

21

5

21

122

44

39

12

52

76

1 101

104

76

100

1 99

23

7

4

61

5

14

63

29

37

101

102

3 84

24

110

6

4

8

74

24

17

1 90

6

0

81

9

16

8

9

12

100

7

2

1

1

36

4

6

1

1

1

99

2

2

2

15

100

1

3

Chesapeake Bay Microfossils
Core: PTMC 3-P-2 Appendix 1: Benthic Foraminifera

"e 

a.

£Q

299

301

303

305

307

309

31 1

313

315

317

319

321

323

325

327

329

331

333

335

337

339

341

343

345

347

349

351

353

355

357

359

361

363

365

367

369

371

373

375

377

379

381

383

385

387

389

391

393

395

397

399

401

403

405

407

409

411

413

415

417

419

421

423

425

427

429

431

433

435

437

439

441

443

445

447

449

E

3

2

§

 S> « fi <u

1 1 « 1 lit!E

Hi Hi «* «*

6

2

1

1

6

3

23 4

9

2

8

3

30 4

1

4 8

3

1

57 48

1

100

77

36 5

66 33 4

1

2

6

5652

3

3

8

21 2

3

4

32 3

34 1

2

89 1 2

33 7

2

40

65 1 1

2

73 1

8

3

3

27

8 1 1

5

6

40

3

1 - i CO

03 h0

0

0

0

6

0

2

1

1

6

0

0

3

27

9

2

8

3

34

0

1

0

0

3 1 5

0

0

3

0

1

2 107

1

100

3 80

41

5 108

0

1

0

2

6

3 66

0

3

3

0

8

0

0

23

0

3

4

35

35

0

2

3 95

40

2

0

40

67

2

0

1 75

8

3

0

3

0

27

10

5

6

40

3

Chesapeake Bay Microfossils
Core: PTXT 2-G-2 Appendix 1: Benthic Foraminifera

^

.c

Q. 

CD 

Q

1

6

1 1

16

21

26

31

36

41

46

51

56

61

66

71

76

81

86

91

96

101

106

111

Elphidium

8

5

5

107

1 1

34

53

47

101

88

76

64

53

39

79

53

79

90

117

118

100

93

102

Ammonia

1

12

1

3

27

28

17

1

1

3

18

9

26

25

5

3

1

Ammobacul

2

1

2

31

22

24

17

1

3

8

25

49

48

32

33

41

1

12

OJ

o

H

11

18

6

112

1 1

92

103

88

118

90

80

75

96

97

153

110

117

134

119

118

100

105

102

Chesapeake Bay Microfossils t>^/
Core PTXT-2-P-5 Appendix 1: Benthic Foraminifera

1

*j?

0)

Q

1

3

5

7

9

1 1

13

15

17

19

21

23

25

27

29

31

33

35

37

39

41

43

45

47

49

51

53

55

57

59

61

63

65

67

69

71

73

75

77

79

81

83

85

87

89

91

93

95

97

99

101

103

105

107

109

111

113

115

1 17

119

121

123

'excavatum

$ 

1

1 S3

0)w

Uj

21

23

23

37

22

1 1

16

55

84

84

62

60

51

39

38

24

46

47

39

26

32

36

55

42

54

69

81

78

77

62

58

62

52

65

77

62

59

61

69

81

61

56

63

51

52

48

43

65

16

26

7

60

10

63

10

25

32

17

32

37

18

71

1

2TO

O

Uj

3

4

3

10

14

17

42

22

15

34

29

38

16

8

3

16

15

12

5

6

9

14

14

17

14

27

29

41

58

39

36

32

41

25

17

17

23

29

13

19

23

6

1 1

52

2

8

10

8

1

12

7

3

9

1

1 1

1 ffi

*i

77

73

69

60

68

86

83

30

6

2

2

13

29

32

19

10

32

26

25

37

42

53

54

33

52

1 1

4

12

7

8

7

3

2

3

2

7

8

7

19

10

23

20

9

3

1 1

6

26

6

63

20

7

25

12

12

13

3

14

<nto 

Z

TO a 

o

^c

<C

5

3

5

3

1

13

28

1

19

33

21

6

16

19

15

8

1

4

5

9

2

3

1

4

1

2

4

1

5

9

10

25

33

14

106

93

89

68

77

48

66

59

48

115

56

98

77

10

!

o

! ,

a

*r

\ 

103

99

92

100

94

100

99

95

104

108

106

95

98

106

99

100

95

100

100

100

95

117

133

96

123

94

100

111

103

106

96

109

1 11

110

113

94

101

91

92

106

97

92

104

80

85

102

107

140

127

138

102

164

93

182

96

92

1 17

151

103

157

99

106

Chesapeake Bay Microfossils
Core PTXT-2-P-5 Appendix 1: Benthic Foraminifera

(^

H. 

S

125

127

129

131

133

135

137

139

141

143

145

147

149

151

153

155

157

159

161

163

165

167

169

171

173

175

177

179

181

183

185

187

189

191

193

195

197

199

201

203

205

207

209

211

213.

215

217

219

221

223

225

227

229

231

233

235

237

239

241

243

245

247

249

251

253

255

257

259

261

E.selseyense/excav

33

74

51

47

64

42

58

50

65

88

86

83

70

30

127

68

57

73

40

28

64

58

65

61

87

60

64

14

43

55

87

76

82

63

59

56

84

57

70

53

69

43

101

79

90

33

51

56

70

86

149

63

112

89

163

69

89

53

78

69

45

87

96

45

58

23

77

57

108

E.clavatum

8

1 1

7

23

24

17

36

36

29

21

21

8

29

33

50

67

34

13

21

2

1 1

8

9

8

22

31

39

90

72

56

13

30

14

20

22

7

21

13

23

14

37

15

18

16

37

18

4

8

27

22

61

22

16

13

30

19

21

48

32

35

38

1 1

8

10

4

7

16

28

22

"1 « 

 <*:

1 1

24

16

11

10

19

7

27

8

6

2

3

4

5

1

13

1

2

1

1

2

1

2

7

3

3

2

24

1

8

24

13

33

1

33

32

54

1 1

34

8

11

2

12

13

4

4

5

4

1

1

8

8

7

1

6

1

2

2

3

4

Ammobaculites

21

23

44

8

6

14

4

4

1

3

26

5

2

5

28

28

70

16

32

29

13

1

7

1

12

1

8

9

16

37

18

17

2

14

1

7

2

5

5

61

5

3

35

2

10

46

58

60

7

17

5

Quinqueloculina sp.

Total

73

132

118

89

104

92

105

117

102

115

110

94

106

94

183

137

96

114

102

100

92

100

104

82

111

100

104

117

118

126

100

118

115

120

101

104

108

92

94

98

121

96

120

133

159

105

127

103

105

119

212

100

176

108

197

93

114

102

111

112

91

105

115

107

121

92

102

105

139

Chesapeake Bay Microfossils
Core PTXT-2-P-5 Appendix 1: Benthic Foraminifera

£ 

Q.

Q

263

265

267

269

271

273

275

277

279

281

283

285

287

289

291

293

295

297

299

301

303

305

307

309

311

313

315

317

319

321

323

325

327

329

331

333

335

337

339

341

343

345

347

349

351

353

355

357

359

361

363

365

367

369

371

373

375

377

379

381

383

385

387

389

391

393

395

397

399

E.selseyense*

36

148

90

82

85

119

73

124

81

106

44

93

9

56

28

33

61

105

64

72

75

81

93

91

55

76

73

51

34

33

58

61

94

69

62

59

68

67

71

74

78

57

59

49

12

28

38

49

65

87

15

84

86

138

74

62

66

64

56

65

74

111

72

41

71

75

105

103

116

E.clavatum

69

32

27

14

3

11

18

14

13

14

8

6

3

8

3

1

7

6

24

15

28

28

27

18

38

27

56

39

81

61

45

50

32

19

27

46

22

20

15

12

21

20

13

12

1

8

14

35

11

6

3

4

11

4

21

45

43

37

46

19

14

38

20

55

21

38

24

15

18

|

1

1

1

3

1

4

2

4

2

3

1

2

2

1

1

1

1

3

1

2

1

1

5

1

1

4

2

3

1

6

1

1

2

2

2

3

5

1

1

1

1

1

Ammobaculih

7

2

2

3

12

16

1

4

1

38

3

86

36

65

58

33

2

3

4

4

2

1

2

1

1

2

1

1

3

9

7

6

10

6

10

4

19

86

66

40

4

15

6

3

1

2

9

Quinqueloculil 

Total

1 114

183

120

99

100

133

108

143

100

125

90

104

101

100

97

92

101

115

93

91

1 109

110

123

111

98

104

131

90

119

95

103

112

128

91

103

106

97

94

100

92

111

84

92

61

105

103

93

90

93

101

21

91

103

142

95

107

109

101

102

84

89

152

92

96

93

113

130

118

144

Chesapeake Bay Microfossils
Core: PTXT 2-G-3 Appendix 1: Benthic Foraminifera

E

.c

Q. 

0)

Q

1

3

5

7

9

1 1

13

15

17

19

21

23

25

27

29

31

33

35

37

39

41

43

45

47

49

51

53

55

57

59

61

63

65

67

69

71

73

75

q> p

8 1 £ §

1 1

q> >< (/> Q>

ui uj

1

5

5

14

10

3

1

6

4

9

4

4

1

2

6

3

10

6

1

2

7

Q

3

2

2

2

3

1

2

1

2

3

5

 * » 3

§

-2 

o

Ui

1

8

10

43

20

39

61

78

87

90

50

44

34

61

25

28

28

42

65

63

57

64

88

93

96

66

53

57

81

67

80

99

47

32

36

43

41

41

1^

23

54

57

75

59

23

1 1

5

8

1 1

6

1

7

1 1

37

42

21

19

27

17

10

3

1

8

9

9

13

24

13

2

33

24

24

30

40

32

(/>

1"3

0

CO

-Q 

O

5 

5<*

1

5

2

0

2

0

2

1

5

1

33

50

57

54

60

37

28

41

16

10

26

16

5

5

4

19

34

31

4

13

9

30

44

46

26

19

24

o

H

2

36

66

101

102

103

100

100

100

100

100

104

101

126

100

103

100

104

106

103

100

100

102

100

102

100

104

100

100

106

104

104

110

101

108

100

102

100

Chesapeake Bay Microfossils 7 '
Core: PTXT 2-G-3 Appendix 1: Benthic Foraminifera

CO 

CD

qj P $

fc

.c

Q. 

CD

Q

77

79

81

83

85

87

89

91

93

95

97

99

E.selseyen

3

2

E.excavatL

2

1

2

2

4

4

8

7

9

15

5

1

E.clavatun

29

18

20

30

16

30

36

58

52

73

98

96

1

29

21

10

3

6

4

6

5

6

3

1

2

Ammobaa

40

60

73

67

74

68

57

43

36

13

2

1

CO

4 >

0

100

100

105

102

100

106

107

113

106

106

106

100

Chesapeake Bay Microfossils
Core: PTXP 2-P-2 Appendix 1: Benthic Foraminifera

I

.c

Q.

0)

Q

101

111

121

131

141

151

161

171

181

191

201

211

221

231

241

251

Iseyense/exca turn va 

Q)

CO

ui

75

93

78

79

74

60

85

87

82

88

78

75

94

63

75

73

CQ

CQ "o

ui

13

5

8

8

18

12

16

9

9

1 1

9

4

10

5

8

4

'S.

.& + *

^

16

6

13

17

9

14

2

2

3

3

13

6

13

obaculites

P ~~ 5

5 o

 ^ h1 105

104

1 100

1 105

1 102

2 88

101

1 92

93

101

90

79

107

81

89

90

Chesapeake Bay Microfossils
Core: PTXT 2-P-3 Appendix 1: Benthic Foraminifera

1

£

Q. 

CD 

Q

e/clavatum

CO

1

~2

CD 

CO

uj

^

H §cts

o

Uj

cts

.J"

t

CO

§"3

0

cts

-Q

0

E 

E

4 &

o

91

101

111

121

131

5

75

93

78

79

93

13

5

8

8

2

16

6

13

17

1

1

1

100

105

104

100

105

141 74 18 9 1 102

Chesapeake Bay Microfossils
Core: PRCK 3-P-2 Appendix 1: Benthic Foraminifera

o.

JZ"5.

CO

Q

1

3

5

7

9

1 1

13

15

17

19

21

23

25

27

29

31

33

35

37

39

41

43

45

47

49

51

53

55

57

59

61

63

65

67

69

71

73

75

77

79

81

83

85

3nse/excavatum

x

"5

03

Ui

6

30

20

65

43

62

46

66

35

63

31

55

36

51

36

33

5

20

20

20

23

58

53

54

65

72

57

55

35

89

93

76

75

75

80

90

84

79

69

49

33

-1

O

ui

4

19

41

20

40

33

54

18

47

25

55

37

28

38

55

65

90

42

10

3

9

41

37

50

35

28

40

27

23

12

5

18

1 1

13

12

8

17

18

26

45

o

I

^

90

58

39

17

19

5

2

16

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Chesapeake Bay Microfossils
Chesapeake Bay Diatoms 

By Lisa M. Weimer

Diatoms are golden brown algae (Class Bacillariophyaceae) whose cellular material 

is contained within a highly silicified cell wall called a frustule, which is often fossilized in 

marine, estuarine and lacustrine sediments. They are generally classified on the basis of 

symmetry of the frustule; those with radial symmetry are called centric diatoms and those 

with axial symmetry are called pennate diatoms. Upon death, the diatom cell walls become 

incorporated into the sediment where they comprise some of the most abundant 

microfossils, often achieving nearly 200 million diatoms per square centimeter of sediment.

Diatoms preserved in sediments can provide records of environmental change at 

time scales ranging from seasonal to millennial (Battarbee, 1986, 1991). Diatoms have 

been widely used to reconstruct past changes in pH (Gasse and Tekaia, 1983; Birks et al, 

1990), salinity (Kjemperud, 1981; Fritz, 1990), nutrients (Whitmore, 1989; Agbeti, 1992; 

Fritz et al, 1993), and climatic changes (Haworth, 1977; Brugan, 1980; Dean et al, 

1984).

Previous studies and taxonomic lists of diatoms for the Chesapeake Bay have 

focused primarily on the phytoplankton component of the diatom flora (Wolfe et al, 1926; 

Morse, 1947; Griffith, 1961; Mulford, 1962; Patten et al, 1963; Marshall, 1984, 1986). 

More recently, Wilderman (1987) examined distribution patterns of both planktonic and 

benthic diatoms in the Severn River (a Chesapeake Bay tributary). In a series of papers, 

Cooper has documented the diatom community structure changes in relation to land-use 

changes over approximately the past 2,000 years (Cooper, 1993; Cooper, 1995a; Cooper, 

1995b; Cooper and Brush, 1991; Cooper and Brush, 1993).

53
The present study is an effort to document both the modern distribution of diatoms 

in Chesapeake Bay sediments as well as reconstructing the communities that have been 

present over the past few millennia. By understanding the relationship between modern 

diatom community structure and environmental conditions, it may be possible to make 

reliable inferences about past events in the bay. Here in Plates 1-5, we illustrate diatom 

taxa from the past 1,000 years from the mesohaline region the Chesapeake Bay and some 

important diatom taxa found in mid-Bay sediments are listed in Table 3.

54
Table 3. Some Diatom Taxa found in Chesapeake Bay sediments

Actinocyclus octonarius Ehrenberg

Actinoptychus senarius Ehrenberg

Biddulphia spp.

Cocconeis pediculus Ehrenberg

Cocconeis placentula Hustedt

Coscinodiscus sp. Ehrenberg

Cyclotella spp.

Diploneis didyma Ehrenberg

Diploneis domblittensis (Grunow) Cleve

Diploneis weissflogii (A.S.) Cleve

Diploneis spp.

Endictya oceanica Ehrenberg

Melosira sp. Agardh

Rhaphoneis amphiceros Ehrenberg

Terpsinoe americana (Bail) Rolfs

Thalassiosira baltica (Grunow) Ostenfeld

Thalassiosira sp.

Triceratium favus Ehrenberg

Campylodiscus spp.

55
References

Agbeti, M.B., 1992. Relationship between diatom assemblages and trophic variables: a

comparison of old and new approaches. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic

Sciences, v. 49, p. 1171-1175. 

Battarbee, R.W., 1986. Diatom Analysis, in Berglund, B.E., (ed.}, Handbook of

Holocene Palaeoecology and Palaeohydrology. Chichester, John Wiley, p. 527-

557. 

Battarbee, R.W., 1991. Recent palaeolimnology and diatom-based environmental

reconstruction, in Gushing, L.C.K.S.a.E.J., ed., Quaternary Landscapes:

Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, p. 127-174. 

Birks, H.J.B., Line, J.M., Juggins, S., Stevenson, A.C. and ter Braak, C.J.F., 1990.

Diatoms and pH reconstruction. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of

London, v. 327, p. 263-278. 

Brugam, R.B., 1980, Diatom Stratigraphy of Kirchner Marsh, Minnesota. Quaternary

Research, v. 13, p. 133-146. 

Cooper, S.R., 1995a, Chesapeake Bay watershed historical land use: impacts on water

quality and diatom communities. Ecological Applications, v. 5, no. 3, p. 703-723. 

Cooper, S.R., 1995b, An abundant, small brackish water Cyclotella species in Chesapeake

Bay, U.S.A., in Sullivan, J.P.K.M.J., ed., A Century of Diatom Research in

North America: A tribute to the Distinguished Careers of Charles W. Reimer and

Ruth Patrick: Champaign, Koeltz Scientific Books, U.S.A., p. 127-134. 

Cooper, S.R. and Brush, G.S., 1991. Long-term history of Chesapeake Bay anoxia.

Science, v. 254, p. 992-996. 

Cooper, S.R. and Brush, G.S., 1993. A 2,500-year history of anoxia and eutrophication

in Chesapeake Bay. Estuaries, v. 16, p. 617-626.

56
Dean, W.E., Bradbury, J.P., Anderson, R.Y., and Barnowsky, C.W., 1984. The

variability of Holocene climate change: Evidence from varied lake sediments.

Science, v. 226, p. 1191-1194. 

Fritz, S.C., 1990. Twentieth-century salinity and water-level fluctuations in Devils Lake,

North Dakota: Test of a diatom transfer function. Oceanography, v. 35, p. 1771-

1781. 

Fritz, S.C., Kingston, J.C., and Engstrom, D.R., 1993. Quantitative trophic

reconstruction from sedimentary diatom assemblages: a cautionary tale. Freshwater

Biology, v. 30, p. 1-23. 

Gasse, F., and Tekaia, F., 1983. Transfer functions for estimating paleoecological

conditions (pH) from East African diatoms. Hydrobiologica, v. 103, p. 85-90. 

Griffith, R.E., 1961. Plankton of the Chesapeake Bay, An illustrated guide to the genera.

University of Maryland Natural Resources Institute 172. pp. 1-79. 

Haworth, E.Y., 1977. Two late glacial (Late Devensian) diatom assemblage profiles from

northern Scotland. New Phytol, v. 77, p. 227-256. 

Kjemperud, A., 1981. Diatom changes in the sediments of basins possessing

marine/lacustrine transitions in Frosta, Nord-Trondelag, Norway. Boreas, v. 10, p.

27-38. 

Marshall, H.G., 1984. Seasonal phytoplankton composition and concentrations in the

lower Chesapeake Bay and vicinity. Old Dominion University Research Foundation

Grant DACW65-81-C-0051. 

Marshall, H.G., 1986. Diatom associations of the northeastern Continental Shelf and Slope

Waters of the United States, in Richard, M., (ed.), Proceedings of the 18th

International Diatom Symposium: Koenigstein, Koeltz Scientific Books, p. 539-

548. 

Morse, D.C., 1947. Some observations on seasonal variations in plankton population:

Patuxent River, Maryland 1943-1945. Chesapeake Biological Lab 65, pp. 1-31.

57
Mulford, R.A., 1962. Diatoms from Virginia tidal waters, 1960 and 1961. Virginia

Institute of Marine Science 30, ppl-33. 

Patten, B.C., Mulford, R.A., and Warinner, I.E., 1963. An annual phytoplankton cycle in

the lower Chesapeake Bay. Chesapeake Science, v. 4, p. 1-20. 

Whitmore, T.J., 1989. Florida diatom assemblages as indicators of trophic state and pH.

Oceanography, v. 34, p. 882-895. 

Wilderman, C.C., 1987. Patterns of Distribution of Diatom Assemblages Along

Environmental Gradients in the Severn River Estuary, Chesapeake Bay, Maryland.

J. Phycol., v. 23, p. 209-217. 

Wolfe, J.J., Cunningham, B., Wilkerson, N.F. and Barnes, J.T., 1926. An Investigation

of the Microplankton of the Chesapeake Bay. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell

Scientific Society, v. 42, p. 25-54.

58
Plate 1

1) Actinocyclus octonarius Ehrenberg, PTMC 3-P-2 0-2 cm., x 2200.

2) Actinocyclus octonarius Ehrenberg, PTMC 3-P-2 46-48 cm., x 3600.

3) Actinoptychus senarius Ehrenberg, PTMC 3-P-2 422-424 cm., x 2000.

4) Actinoptychus senarius Ehrenberg, PTMC 3-P-2 48-50 cm., x 1800.

5) Actinoptychus senarius Ehrenberg, PTMC 3-P-2 364-366 cm., x 2200.

59

Plate 2

1) Cyclotella sp., PTMC 3-P-2 0-2 cm., x 3000.

2) Cocconeis pediculus Ehrenberg, PTMC 3-P-2 364-366 cm., x 4800.

3) Cyclotella sp., PTMC 3-P-2 364-366 cm., x 3600.

4) Cocconeis placentula Hustedt, PTXT 2-P-3 100-102 cm., x 6000.

5) Cyclotella sp., PTMC 3-P-2 0-2 cm., x 2600.

6) Terpsinoe americana (Bail.) Rolfs, PTMC 3-P-2 422-424 cm., x 2000.

61

Plate 3

1) Diploneis sp., PTMC 3-P-2 80-82 cm., x 4400.

2) Diploneis sp., PTMC 3-P-2 364-366 cm., x 3600.

3) Diploneis didyma Ehrenberg, PTMC 3-P-2 222-224 cm., x 2200.

4) Diploneis domblittensis (Grunow) Cleve, PTMC 3-P-2 48-50 cm., x 2400.

5) Diploneis weissflogii (A.S.) Cleve, PTMC 3-P-2 364-366 cm., x 4000.

6) Rhaphoneis amphiceros Ehrenberg, PTMC 3-P-2 364-366 cm., x 2600.

63

Plate 4

1) Endictya oceanica Ehrenberg 1845, PTMC 3-P-2 0-2 cm., x 6600.

2) Thalassiosira baltica (Grunow) Ostenfeld, PTMC 3-P-2 0-2 cm., x 3600.

3) Thalassiosira baltica (Grunow) Ostenfeld, PTMC 3-P-2 222-224 cm., x 2200.

4) Thalassiosira sp., PTMC 3-P-2 46-48 cm., x 2400.

5) Triceratiumfavus Ehrenberg, PTMC 3-P-2 422-424 cm., x 720.

6) Triceratiumfavus Ehrenberg, PTMC 3-P-2 422-424 cm., x 660.

65

Plate 5

1) Biddulphia sp. Gray, PTXT 2-G-3, x 507.

2) Biddulphia sp. Gray 1821, PTXT 2-G-3, x 391.

3) Campylodiscus sp. Kutzing, PTXT 2-G-3, x 472.

4) Campylodiscus sp. Kutzing, PTXT 2-G-3, x 366.

5) Coscinodiscus sp. Ehrenberg, PTXT 2-G-3, x 432.

6) Melosira sp. Agardh, PTXT 2-G-3, x 792.

67

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bodanica Cyclotella 

striata Cyclotella 

meneghiniana Cyclotella 

pseudostelligera Cyclotella 

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senarius Actinopthycus 

octonarius Actinocyclus 

normanii Actinocyclus 

scoticus Hyalodiscus 

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placentula Cocconeis 

scutellum Cocconeis 

disculus Cocconeis 

clandestina Cocconeis 

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diverse-striata Pleurosigma 

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antillarum Nitzschia 

marginulata Nitzschia 

panduriformis Nitzschia 

palea Nitzschia 

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abunda Navicula 

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Chesapeake Bay Dinoflagellates 

By Stacey Verardo

The present report is part of a study to document modern dinoflagellate cysts in 

Chesapeake Bay sediments and temporal trends in cysts over the last few millennium from 

sediment cores of the middle Bay. Dinoflagellates, which are part of the division 

Dinoflagellata, are primarily organic-walled, single-celled organisms that often occur as 

motile cells, called theca, in marine, brackish, and freshwater environments. Living 

dinoflagellates may be autotrophs, heterotrophs or symbionts. Photosynthetic forms 

(autotrophs) account for approximately 50% of the dinoflagellate genera. Free living 

genera are a major component of marine phytoplankton and are important primary 

producers in the oceans. When dinoflagellates leave fossil remains, they usually consist of 

their nonmotile or cyst stage. Dinoflagellate cysts are produced within the motile 

dinoflagellate theca and are also made of organic material (Fensome et al, 1996).

The dominant dinoflagellate cyst genus in modern Chesapeake Bay sediments is 

Spiniferites (see Lewis & Rochon, 1998 for discussion on Spiniferites). In the Bay, this 

taxonomic complex includes several morphotypes, but primarily representatives of the 

species Spiniferites ramosus (Harland, 1977). Today, Spiniferites ramosus cysts occur 

mainly in oceanic environments along the southeastern United States as well as within the 

Caribbean. It is generally considered a warm surface water species (Wall et al, 1911', 

Harland, 1983). In Recent Bay sediments, Spiniferites spp. comprises -80% of the total 

dinoflagellate population. In samples from the 16th-17th century, Spiniferites spp. 

comprises approximately 50% of the total population. Another species, Spiniferites 

mirabilis, also increases in abundance over the past few centuries (from 1% in the 16th 

century to -20% in modern sediments). The increase in Spiniferites mirabilis may be

72
related to increased nutrient concentrations of phosphate, and nitrate, lower salinities, and 

warm surface waters (Harland, 1983; Turon, 1984).

Operculodinium centrocarpum is the second most abundant dinoflagellate cyst type 

occurring in Chesapeake Bay sediments. Its modern distribution shows that it is often 

associated with the North Atlantic current and estuarine and coastal waters in mild to cooltemperate regions (Harland, 1977, 1983; Brenner, 1998). During the past 1000 years, the 

abundance of this species has decreased in the Chesapeake Bay.

Other species found in lower abundances in Chesapeake Bay sediments, are 

Polysphaeridium zoharyi (an indicator of polyhaline waters), Lingulodinium 

machaerophorum, Nematosphaeropsis labyrintha, Tuberculodinium vancampoae and 

Multispinulaquanta (Waller al, 1977;Harland, 1983; Edwards & Anderle, 1992). These 

cyst species decreased in abundance during the past 1000 years and signify an overall long 

term decrease in cyst species diversity. Natural and anthropogenic factors in the Bay 

region, including natural climate and land use practices may be a cause of decreasing 

dinocyst diversity.

The two sections given below are three plates of scanning electron micrographs 

illustrating nine dinoflagellate species found in the mesohaline parts of the Bay, and species 

census data in Appendix 3. Dinoflagellate taxa are listed in Table 4.

73
Table 4. Some Dinoflagellate cysts from Chesapeake Bay sediments

Achomosphaera sp.

Impagidinium sp.

Lingulodinium machaerophorwn Wall 1967

Multispinula quanta Bradford 1975

Nematosphaeropsis labyrintha (Ostenfeld) Reid 1974

Operculodinium centrocarpum (Deflandre and Cookson) Wall 1967

Polysphaeridium zoharyi Bujaketal. 1980

Spiniferites mirabilis Sarjeant 1970

Spiniferites ramosus (Ehrenberg) Loeblich and Loeblich 1966

Spiniferites sp.

Tectatodiniwn sp.

Tuberculodiniwn vancampoae (Rossignol) Wall 1967

74
References

Brenner, W., 1998. Low salinity dinoflagellate cysts from the Baltic Sea. Norges Teknisk

Naturvitenskapelige Universitet Vitenstapmuseet Rapport botanisk Serie 1. 

Edwards. L., and V. Anderle, 1992. Distribution of selected dinoflagellate cysts in modern

marine sediments. In: Neogene and Quaternary Dinoflagellate Cysts and Acritarchs

(eds.) Head, M., and Wrenn, J., American Association of Stratigraphic

Palynologists, 259. 

Fensome, R., J. Riding, F. Taylor, 1996. Dinoflagellates. In: Palynology: Principles and

Applications (eds.) Jansonius, J and D. McGregor, American Association of

Stratigraphic Palynologists, 107. 

Harland, R., 1977. Recent and late Quaternary (Flandrian and Devensian) dinoflagellate

cysts from marine continental shelf sediments around the British Isles.

Palaeontographica, Abt.B, 164:87. 

Harland, R., 1983. Distribution maps of recent Dinoflagellate cysts in bottom sediments

from the North Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. Paleontology, 26:321. 

Lewis, J. and Rochon, A., 1998. Cyst-Theca relationships in the Spiniferites complex.

Norges Teknisk Naturvitenskapelige Universitet Vitenstapmuseet Rapport botanisk

Serie 1. 

Turon, J., 1984. Le palynoplancton dans 1'environnement de 1'Atlantique nord-oriental.

Evolution climatique et hydrologique depuis le dernier maximum glaciaire.

Memoires de I'lnstitut de Geologic duBassin d'Aquitaine, 17: 1-313, pi. 1-5. 

Wall, D., B. Dale, G. Lohmann and W. Smith, 1977. The environmental and climatic

distribution of dinoflagellate cysts in modern marine sediments from regions in the

North and South Atlantic Oceans and adjacent seas. Marine Micropaleontology, 2:

121-200.

75
Plate 1

1) Spiniferites ramosus, (Ehrenberg) Loeblich and Loeblich 1966, PRCK l-P-2 90-92 

cm., x 2000.

2) Spiniferites sp., PTMC 3-P-2 106-108 cm., x 1800.

3) Spiniferites sp., PTMC 3-P-2 446-448 cm., x 1800.

4) Spiniferites mirabilis Sarjeant 1970, PTMC 3-P-2 106-108 cm., x 1300.

5) Spiniferites mirabilis Sarjeant 1970, PTMC 3-P-2 106-108 cm., x 1500.

6) Lingulodinium machaerophorum Wall 1967, PTMC 3-P-2 200-202 cm., x 1300.

76

Plate 2

1) Spiniferites mirabilis Sarjeant 1970, PTMC 3-P-2 446-448 cm., x 1300.

2) Spiniferites mirabilis and Spiniferites sp. PTMC 3-P-2 190-192 cm., x 1300.

3) Operculodinium centrocarpum (Deflandre and Cookson) Wall 1967, PRCK l-P-2 

90-92 cm., x 1200.

4) Operculodinium sp., PTMC 3-P-2 106-108 cm., x 1600.

5) Nematosphaeropsis labyrinthea (Ostenfeld) Reid 1974, PTMC 3-P-2 446-448 cm., 

x 1300.

6) Nematosphaeropsis labyrinthea (Ostenfeld) Reid 1974, PTMC 3-P-2 446-448 cm., 

x 1200.

78

Plate 3

1) Polysphaeridium zoharyi Bujak et al. 1980, PTXT 2-P-3 110-112 cm., x 1300.

2) Polysphaeridium zoharyi Bujak et al 1980, PRCK l-P-2 90-92 cm., x 1400.

3) Polysphaeridium zoharyi Bujak et al 1980, PTMC 3-P-2 106-108 cm., x 1500.

4) Polysphaeridium zoharyi Bujak et al 1980 and Multispinula quanta Bradford 1975, 

PTXT 2-P-3 110-112 cm., x 1500.

5) Multispinula quanta Bradford 1975, PTMC 3-P-2 106-108 cm., x 1100.

6) Tuberculodinium vancampoae (Rossignol) Wall 1967, PTMC 3-P-2 106-108 cm., light 

microscope.

80

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Impagidinium sp.

2

2

4

2

2

4

1

2

2

2

2

2

10

m

E

1

2

1

1

1

1

2

3

4

3

6

2

to

0 

0)

2

1

2

1

1

1

1

1

unidentified

1

1

1

1

1

5

1

2

1

1

1

To 

o

318

358

313

344

397

65

372

114

175

164

236

252

186

126

326

248

ophorum

c

Melitosphaeridium choa

2

1

2

6

2

1

Hystrichokolpsp

2

2

fro

Total does not include reworked dinoflagellates 
Core: PRCK 1-P-2 

rew

.c

Q. 

CD 

Q

1

11

21

31

41

5-\

61

71

81

91

101

111

121

131

141

151

161

171

181

191

201

Tectatodinium sp.

1

2

2

2

2

2

5

4

1

3

2

4

Spiniferites spp.

86

84

44

28

68

50

62

50

48

140

110

22

70

120

22

46

24

12

4

8

4

Spiniferites mirabilis

8

4

6

4

2

4

6

2

14

24

14

4

4

4

2

4

'carpum

P

Operculodinium centi

58

54

30

28

24

20

34

14

16

78

40

22

32

16

20

24

6

4

8

Multispinula quanta

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

4

6

m

Polysphaeridium zohi

2

2

2

2

6

6

2

2

rophorum

0)

Lingulodinium macha

8

2

6

6

2

8

4

CO

c:

I

CO

Nematosphaeropsis 1

2

2

4

4

10

4

2

8

4

0)

CO

o

s

Tuberculodinium vai

2

2

4

8

4

10

24

2

Achomosphaera sp.

Impagidinium sp.

4

T3 

CD

OJ CO CD 

c o -o «

111?

1 163

145

84

64

100

1 81

4 116

2 76

1 4 89

4 1 266

3 8 207

37 59

1 4 128

22 166

2 68

2 3 113

34

1 19

1 5

20

8

Total does not include reworked dinoflagellates 
a. o

CD 

V) c

Q. 

CDi

o 

* 

CD 

Q.

03 

(Q 

CDO

CD 

V)

to

CD

CD

03

1- 01 rv> 

oo

(cm) Depth 

sp. Tectatodinium 

spp. Spiniferites 

mirabilis Spiniferites 

centrocarpum Operculodinium 

quanta Multispinula 

zoharyi Polysphaeridium 

machaerophorum Lingulodinium 

labyrintha Nematosphaeropsis 

vancampoae Tuberculodinium 

sp. Achomosphaera 

sp. Impagidinium 

B forma 

theca

unidentified 

Total*

O O

CD

-g 

33 

O 

7(

CO

 JD 

rb

choanophorum Melitasphaeridium 

sp. Wetzeliella 

sp. Homotryblium 

CD 

Q.

CD 

x'

Q. oD'

(Q 

CD
Q. 

O 

0>

Q. 

0>

CD O

(Q 

0>

- j- -' ro ro 

ro en o A 

ro -i oo ro 

ro -* -* ^ -* 

-* ro 01 IT co 

-si ro 01 ° oo 

ro o

ro co A <o 

ro ro co co ro 

ro _i. _i. _i. _i. 

01 01 <o o <o o -* 01 <o oo 

(cm) Depth 

sp. Tectatodinium 

sp. Spiniferites 

merabilis Spiniferites 

centrocarpum Operculodinium 

quanta Multispinula 

zoharyi Polysphaeridium 

machaerophorum Lingulodinium 

labyrintha Nematosphaeropsis 

vancampoae Tuberculodinium 

sp. Achomosphaera 

unidentified 1 Total

sp. Wetzeliella 

Oo

33

03 

(Q 

(Q 

0) 

Q.

of

(Q 

0)

O

CD I

CD 

SO

ro

0)

0) 

(Q 

0)
Box Core Tops (0-1 cm) 

0)

03

Q 

08

0) 

03

BRIS 6/1/1996

BRIS 7/1/1996

BRIS 8/1/1996

BRIS 9/1/1996

BRIS 6/1/1997

BRIS 6/1/1998

BUVA 6/1/1996

BUVA 7/1/1996

BUVA 8/1/1996

BUVA 9/1/1996

BUVA 6/1/1997

BUVA 6/1/1998

HNPT 7/1/1996

HNPT 8/1/1996

HNPT 9/1/1996

HNPT 6/1/1997

MRPT 6/1/1996

MRPT 7/1/1996

MRPT 8/1/1996

MRPT 9/1/1996

MRPT 6/1/1997

MRPT 6/1/1998

PNPT 6/1/1996

Q. 

CO

|,O

C

^ 

o

Is

o

£

1

1

2

2

Q. 

Q.

V)

<0

 2

'C

]c

2

190

264

46

256

140

4

2

6

2

1

8

2

110

36

28

48

60

52

22

140

84

 2

5

.5

g

</>

Q)

£

C 

&

2

18

2

16

6

2

2

4

2

10

12

rtrocarpum

8

5

.3

c 6

.0 

1

Q>

24

18

12

14

20

4

2

2

2

12

10

10

2

10

16

 2

c

o-

 2

^

c

.1

i

6

2

2

8

0

5

1 I

 S, t t C^C .Q

t5 ^ -2

 ^ f^-

o -s .<o

N m <0

1 6 I5 E 0)

^ § to 

c: .s .c

q> c ex

t« * w

1 1 i

1 i1 1

0. Ci ^

8 1

682

2

2 4

4 2

2

4

2

442

622

Q> 

CO 

O

1

ro

d.

E W

 i §

"6 -s

5 -S

=3 ^

S '5, «

0) CB 2

 § Q. a)

1

2

2

2

2 1

"

 

1 

*Total does not include reworked dinoflagellates 
Box Core Tops (0-1 cm) 

08 

Q

o£$

0)

CO

PNPT 7/1/1996

PNPT 8/1/1996

PNPT 6/1/1997

R-64 6/1/1996

R-64 7/1/1996

R-64 8/1/1996

R-64 6/1/1996

RGPT 6/1/1996

RGPT 7/1/1996

RGPT 8/1/1996

RGPT 9/1/1996

STLC 6/1/1996

STLC 7/1/1996

STLC 8/1/1996

STLC 6/1/1998

STPD 7/1/1996

STPD 8/1/1996

PRCK 1- 6/1/1998

PRCK 3-6/1/1998

PTMC 1-2-6/1/1997

PTMC 2-2-6/1/1997

d. w

I

.5 

"Q

Q

to

o

I 

1

3

10

9

4

2

2

1

1

4

Q. 

Q. 

0)

Q)

:* -

C 

5.

CO

84

206

25Q

60

168

212

110

58

138

232

170

72

126

112

184

6

4

142

124

240

25Q

1 

CD :* - 'c 

5.

CO

4

36

46

2

2

6

6

16

52

26

2

12

16

6

2

16

44

54

 ulodinium centrocarpum

S

<U

O

54

42

20

48

14

68

16

4

36

24

18

12

6

12

16

16

4

12

26

 2

c

§ 

CP

-to

c 

5.

.«

3=

,5

5

2

2

2

6

1

2

2

jhaeridium zoharyi

Cft

^>

Q.

10

2

4

2

6

18

6

2

16

4

2

6

'odinium machaerophorum

^

£

~j

2

2

4

4

4

2

4

2

4

2

2

4

4

tosphaeropsis labyrintha

to

E

1

8

2

2

4

2

4

2

2

2

4

4

4

10

culodinium vancampoae 

tidiinium sp.

s- "> «

| | i

I -S £

4 3

12

6

1 3

1

2

4 5

2

2

4

4

6

6

2 2

4

6

 

"

T

2 

*Total does not include reworked dinoflagellates 
Q. 

O 

CD W

O. c

Q. 

CD

CD O

CD

Q.

Q.

3" O

CO 

CDO

00

 s

^ 1 x 1 x 1 x o H H H w N) N) CO 

N> 5? s 4 5? 

CO 

CO 

00

^ CD 

CO ^ 

co _; 

0° CO 

CO

-vl

CO 

CD

rv> -«. rv> rv> 

co o CD ^ 

ro -& o o 

CO CO 

co ^ 

ro co ro 

co co ro 

CO -* CO CO 

-* O1 CO CO 

CO O O O 

Date & Site 

sp. Tectatodinium 

spp. Spiniferites 

mirabilis Spiniferites 

centrocarpum Operculodinium 

quanta Multispinula 

zoharyi Polysphaeridium 

machaerophorum Lingulodinium 

labyrintha Nematosphaeropsis 

vancampoae Tuberculodinium 

sp. Impagidiinium 

theca

unidentified

Total'

O o

(D

Q.

sp. Wetzeliella 

sp. Hystrichokolpoma 

T3 

T3 

(D

Q. x'

CO

Q}

CO 

CD
Chesapeake Bay Ostracodes 

By Thomas M. Cronin and Deena Grinbaum

Ostracodes are bivalved Crustacea whose shells are often fossilized and used to 

reconstruct environmental trends in lakes, estuaries and coastal bays, and in the world's 

oceans. Ostracode species live in virtually all aquatic environments, including fresh, 

brackish, and marine waters. Most species have well-defined salinity and temperature 

tolerances (Hazel, 1970) such that changes in the relative frequencies of species in 

sedimentary sequences make them ideally suited for quantitative estimation of paleosaliniry 

(Cronin, 1977) and paleotemperature trends (Valentine, 1971; Cronin and Dowsett, 1990).

Modern ostracodes from coastal environments of eastern North American and the 

Gulf of Mexico have been intensely studied for decades. Many species are geographically 

widespread, inhabiting many bays, lagoons, sounds and estuaries in eastern North 

America. The most comprehensive publications documenting and reviewing the taxonomy 

and ecology of the species that inhabit Chesapeake Bay include papers by Morales (1966), 

King and Kornicker (1970), Garbett and Maddocks (1979), and Cronin (1987) on faunas 

from Texas and Mexican Bays, and those by Cronin (1979), Schweitzer and Lohmann 

(1990), Grigg and Siddiqui (1993) on assemblages from the Atlantic coast.

The most important study of ostracodes from Chesapeake Bay itself is the classic 

ecological study by Tressler and Smith (1948) who, in a 2-year sampling program lasting 

from June, 1940 until June, 1942, determined the seasonal ecology of ostracode species 

living off Solomons, Maryland. Tressler and Smith's study also provided a benchmark 

fauna! assessment of a major benthic group prior to recent nutrient application in the 

watershed against which the ostracode database presented here can be compared. Other

91
early studies include the paper by Sohn (1965) who reported on the genus Cyprideis from 

South River, Maryland, and Elliott et al. (1966) who documented the ecology of ostracodes 

living in the Rappahannock River estuary. Sandberg and Plusquellec (1974) reported 

Cyprideis mexicana Sandberg 1964 from the Patuxent River area and re-classified the 

Cyprideis described by Sohn (1965) from the South River as Cyprideis americana Sharpe 

(1909).

There are also numerous publications describing and illustrating the fossil 

ostracodes from Neogene sediments from the Chesapeake Bay area. These include Ulrich 

and Bassler (1904), Malkin (1953), Forester (1980), Valentine (1971), Hazel (1971, 

1985), Cronin (1979), Cronin and Dowsett (1990). The paleontological data contained in 

these papers are especially useful because they demonstrate that many ostracode species 

living in Chesapeake over the past millennium have been living in the mid-Atlantic region 

from hundreds of thousands to millions of years.

The present study is an effort to document both the living ostracodes of Chesapeake 

Bay and the temporal trends in ostracodes that have taken place over approximately the past 

millennium, by documenting fossil assemblages in sediment cores. Following the format 

used for other microfossil groups, there are two sections given here. These include a 

section containing six plates of scanning electron photomicrographs illustrating 26 

ostracode species found in the mesohaline parts of the bay (Table 5), and a section 

containing the species census data for ostracodes obtained from the box, piston, and 

gravity cores described in the introduction (Appendix 4). The species illustrated in the 

plates include most ostracode species now living, or having lived in the middle regions of 

Chesapeake Bay over the past millennium.

92
Table 5. Some Ostracode Species from Chesapeake Bay

Actinocythereis captionis Hazel 1983

Cyprideis cf. americana Sharp 1908

Cyprideis mexicana Sandberg 1964

Cyprideis salebrosa van den Bold 1963

Cyprideis sp.

Cytheromorpha curta Edwards 1944

Cytheromorpha fuscata (Brady 1869)

Cytheromorpha newportensis Williams 1966

Cytherura cf. forulata Edwards 1944

Cytherura sp. D of Valentine 1971

Hemicytherura sp.

Hulingsina rugipustulosa (Edwards 1944)

Leptocythere nikraveshae Morales 1966

Loxoconcha matagordensis Swain 1955

Loxoconcha aff. granulata Sars 1865

Malzella floridana Benson and Colman 1963

Neolophocythere subquadrata Grossman 1967

Paracytheridea altila Edwards 1944

Paracytheroma repexa Garbett and Maddocks 1979

Paradoxostoma sp.

Pellucistoma magniventra Edwards 1944

Perissocytheridea brachyforma Swain 1955

Perissocytheridea sp. A of Grigg and Siddiqui 1993

Pontocythere sp.

Proteoconcha nelsonensis (Grossman 1967)

Protocytheretta cf. sahnia (Puri 1952)

93
References

Cronin, T.M., 1977. Late-Wisconsin marine environments of the Champlain Valley (New

York, Quebec). Quaternary Research 7: 238-253. 

Cronin, T. M., 1979. Late Pleistocene marginal marine ostracodes from the southeastern

Atlantic Coastal Plain and their paleoenvironmental interpretation. Geographic

Physique et Quaternaire 33: 121-173. 

Cronin, T. M., 1987. Ostracodes from late Quaternary deposits, south Texas coastal

complex. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 1328-C. 

Cronin, T. M. and H. E. Dowsett, 1990. A quantitative micropaleontologic method for

shallow marine paleoclimatology: Application to Pliocene deposits of the western

North Atlantic Ocean. Marine Micropaleontology 16: 117-147. 

Elliott, H. A., R. Ellison, M. M. Nichols, 1966. Distribution of recent Ostracoda in the

Rappahannock Estuary, Virginia. Chesapeake Science 7: 203-207. 

Forester, R. M., 1980. A systematic revision of the ostracode species described by Ulrich

and Bassler and by Malkin from the Chesapeake Group in Maryland and Virginia.

U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 1128. 

Garbett, E. C. and R. F. Maddocks, 1979. Zoogeography of Holocene cytheracean

ostracodes in the bays of Texas. Journal of Paleontology 53: 841-919. 

Grigg, U. M. and A. A. Siddiqui, 1993. Observations on distribution and probable vectors

of five cytheracean ostracod species from estuaries and mudflats near Dartmouth,

Nova Scotia, Canada. Proceedings llth International Conference on Ostracoda

(Warrnambool, Australia), pp. 503-514, (Balkema: Rotterdam). 

Hazel, J.E., 1970. Atlantic continental shelf and slope of the United States- Ostracode

zoogeography in the southern Nova Scotian and northern Virginian fauna!

provinces. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 529-E.

94
Hazel, J. E., 1971. Ostracode biostratigraphy of the Yorktown Formation (upper Miocene

and lower Pliocene) of Virginia and North Carolina. U.S. Geological Survey

Professional Paper, 704. 

King, C. E. and L. S. Kornicker, 1970. Ostracoda in Texas bays and lagoons ~ an

ecologic study. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 24: 1-92. 

Malkin, D. S., 1953. Biostratigraphic study of Miocene Ostracoda of New Jersey,

Maryland, and Virginia. Journal of Paleontology 27: 761-799. 

Morales, G. A., 1966. Ecology, distribution, and taxonomy of recent Ostracoda of the

Laguna de Terminos, Campeche, Mexico. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de

Mexico, Instituto de Geologica Boletin 81. 

Sandberg, P. A. and P. L. Plusquellec, 1974. Notes on the anatomy and passive dispersal

of Cyprideis (Cytheracea, Ostracoda). In. B. F. Perkins ed., Geoscience and Man

Volume VI, Ostracoda, Henry V. Howe Memorial Volume, W. A. van den Bold

ed., pp. 1-26. 

Schweitzer, P. N. and G. P. Lohmann, 1990. Life-history and the evolution of ontogeny

in the ostracode genus Cyprideis. Paleobiology 16: 107-125. 

Sharpe, R. W., 1909. A further report on the Ostracoda of the United States. U. S.

National Museum Proceedings 35: 399-430. 

Sohn, I. G., 1965. Late Quaternary ostracodes from the southern part of the Dea Sea,

Israel. Ocean Science and Ocean Engineering 1965 1: 82-94. 

Tressler, W. L. and B. M. Smith, 1948. An ecological study of seasonal distribution of

Ostracoda, Solomons Island, Maryland, region. Maryland Board of Natural

Resources, Chesapeake Bay Laboratory, Publication no. 71. 

Ulrich, E. O. and R. S. Bassler, 1904. Systematic paleontology, Miocene (Ostracoda).

Maryland Geological Survey Miocene Text, p. 98-130. 

Valentine, P. C., 1971. Climatic implication of a late Pleistocene ostracode assemblage

from southeastern Virginia. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 683-D.

95
Chesapeake Bay Ostracodes. Cyprideis 

Plate 1

1) Cyprideis mexicana Sandberg 1964, left valve, male, PTXT 2-G-3 90-92 cm., x 100.

2) Cyprideis mexicana Sandberg 1964, left valve, female, PTXT 2-G-3 60-62 cm., xlOO.

3) Cyprideis cf. americana Sharp 1908, left valve, male, Hog Island-4, 7/96, x 86.

4) Cyprideis species, external, right valve, female, Hog Island-4, 7/96, x 86.

5) Cyprideis species, internal, right valve, male, Hog Island-4, 7/96, x 86.

6) Cyprideis species, left valve, male, weakly noded form, Hog Island-4, 7/96, x 86.

7) Cyprideis salebrosa van den Bold 1963, left valve, female, Hog Island-4, 7/96, x 86.

8) Cyprideis salebrosa van den Bold 1963, left valve, male, Hog Island-4, 7/96, x 86.

96

Chesapeake Bay Cytheromorpha 

Plate 2

1) Cytheromorpha newportensis Williams 1966, left valve, male, PTXT 2-P-5 204-206 

cm., x 160.

2) Cytheromorpha newportensis Williams 1966, left valve, female, PTXT 2-P-5 204-206 

cm., x 160.

3) Cytheromorpha curta Edwards 1944, left valve, female, PTXT-2 0-1 cm., 6/98, x 160.

4) Cytheromorpha curta Edwards 1944, internal, right valve, female, PTXT-2 0-1 cm., 

6/98, x 160.

5) Cytheromorpha fuscata (Brady 1869), right valve, female, PTXT-2-P-5 110-112 cm., 

x 160.

6) Cytheromorpha fuscata (Brady 1869), right valve, male, PTXT-2-P-5 204-206 cm., 

x!60.

98

Chesapeake Bay Mesohaline Ostracodes 

Plate 3

1) Perissocytheridea brachyforma Swain 1955, PTXT 2-3-G 96-98 cm., x 143.

2) Perissocytheridea brachyforma Swain 1955, PTXT 2-3-G 96-98 cm., x 143

3) Neolophocythere subquadrata Grossman 1967, left valve, male, Hog Island-2 6/18/96, 

x!47.

4) Neolophocythere subquadrata Grossman 1967, left valve, female, Hog Island-2 

6/18/96, x 133.

5) Leptocythere nikraveshae Morales 1966, PTXT 2-3-G 96-98 cm., x 172.

6) Leptocythere nikraveshae Morales 1966, PTXT 2-3-G 96-98 cm., x 200.

100

Chesapeake Bay Polyhaline/Euhaline Taxa 

Plate 4

1) Actinocythereis captionis Hazel 1983, left valve, male, PTXT 2-P-5 378-380 cm., 

x!30.

2) Actinocythereis captionis Hazel 1983, left valve, female, PTXT 2-P-5 374-376 cm., 

x!30.

3) Cythemra sp. D of Valentine 1971, right valve, female, PTXT 2-G-3 74-76 cm., x 200.

4) Cythemra sp. D of Valentine 1971, right valve, male, PTXT 2-P-5 196-198 cm., x 200.

5) Paracytheridea altila Edwards 1944, juvenile, left valve, female, PTXT 2-P-5 180-182 

cm., x 260.

6) Malzella floridana Benson and Colman 1963, juvenile, right valve, female, PTXT 2-P-5 

180-182 cm., x 240.

7) Protocytheretta cf. sahnia (Puri 1952), left valve, female, PTMC 3-P-2 222-224 cm., 

x!02.

102

Chesapeake Bay Polyhaline/Euhaline Ostracodes 

Plate 5

1) Pellucistoma magniventra Edwards 1944, external, left valve, female?, PTXT-2-P-5 

204-206 cm., x 160.

2) Pellucistoma magniventra Edwards 1944, internal, left valve, female, PTXT 2-P-5 

196-198 cm., x 160

3) Hemicytherura sp., right valve, female, PTXT 2-P-5 116-118 cm., x 220.

4) Proteoconcha nelsonensis (Grossman 1967), right valve, female, PTXT 2-G-3 72-74 

cm., x 180.

5) Hulingsina rugipustulosa (Edwards 1944), left valve, male, PTXT 2-P-5 180-182 cm., 

x!30.

6) Paradoxostoma sp., internal, right valve, female, PTXT 2-P-5 180-182 cm., x 150.

7) Pontocythere, right valve, male, Hog Island-2 6/18/96, x 112.

8) Pontocythere, right valve, female, Hog Island-2 6/18/96, x 141.

104

Chesapeake Bay Epiphytal (Loxoconcha) and other Ostracodes 

Plate 6

1) Loxoconcha matagordensis Swain 1955, left valve, female, Dameron Marsh #11, 6/98, 

x!50.

2) Loxoconcha aff. granulata Sars 1865, left valve, male, PTMC 3-2 228-230 cm., x 258.

3) Paracytheroma repexa Garbett and Maddocks 1979, left valve, female, York River, 

TF4.2, x200

4) Cytherura cf. forulata Edwards 1944, juvenile, left valve, female, PTXT 2-P-5 110-112 

cm., x 240.

5) Perissocytheridea sp. A of Grigg and Siddiqui 1993, right valve, female, PTXT 2-P-5 

184-186 cm., x 110.

6) Perissocytheridea sp. A of Grigg and Siddiqui 1993, left valve, female, PTXT 2-P-5 

112-114 cm., x 130.

106

Core: PTMC 1-G Appendix 4: Ostracodes

o.

CO

^o, 

.c

Q. 

CD 

Q

1

6

1 1

16

21

26

31

36

41

46

51

56

61

66

71

76

81

86

91

96

101

106

111

116

121

Loxoconcha

4

1

CO *-" o

H

4

1

Chesapeake Bay Microfossils 

10 &
Core: PTMC 3-P-2 Appendix 4: Ostracodes

 . 0)

1 1 r- Q. "t

0. 8 0 

CD

Q «t O

1

3

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7

9

1 1

13

15

17

19

21

23

25

27

29

31

33

35

37

39

41

43

45

47

49

51

53 1

55

57

59

61

63

65

67

69

71 1

73

75

77

79

81

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85

87

89

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95

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103

I I i ! 1 |

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1

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309

311

313

315

317

319

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329

331

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347

349

351

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357

359

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Chesapeake Bay Microfossils
Chesapeake Bay Pollen 

By Debra A. Willard

Pollen is part of the life cycle of seed plants, the haploid male gametophyte, and 

pollen grains commonly are preserved as fossils. They are useful for reconstruction of past 

plant communities and, by extension, climatic and environmental trends from lacustrine, 

estuarine, and marine sediments. Plants have evolved a number of mechanisms to ensure 

successful reproduction, including pollination by wind, insects, and birds, among others. 

The type of pollination strategy used by a plant is a major control on the abundance and 

distribution of its pollen in sediments, with wind-pollinated plants the best represented in 

most sediments. Because virtually all pollen is transported some distance from the source 

plant, it is critical to correlate pollen abundance in surface samples with that of the source 

vegetation before interpreting past vegetational composition from fossil pollen 

assemblages. Such studies have been undertaken in lacustrine and wetland sediments from 

eastern North America by Davis (1963), Davis and Webb (1975), Delcourt, Delcourt, and 

Davidson (1983), Overpeck, Webb, and Prentice (1985), Webb and McAndrews (1976), 

and Willard and Weimer (1997). In an ongoing study, we are augmenting existing data by 

sampling annual pollen accumulation in both pollen traps and clay pads in forested 

wetlands as well as examining pollen from the surface centimeter of Chesapeake Bay 

sediment. These data are helping to establish how much variability is introduced by 

analysis of time-averaged surface samples as compared to analysis of annual samples.

Databases with abundance and distribution of modern pollen in offshore sediments 

have been compiled for quantitative paleoecological analysis of pollen assemblages from 

estuarine and marine systems. These include research by Mudie (1982) on the coastal and 

continental shelf areas off eastern Canada; Heusser (1983/84) on slope and rise sediments 

between Florida and Greenland; and Groot (1966) on sediments in the Delaware River

135
estuary. In the Chesapeake Bay region, extensive work by Brush and others has provided 

the groundwork for interpretation of vegetational patterns from pollen assemblages 

preserved in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries (see Brush and DeFries (1981) and 

DeFries (1986)). Pollen from major plant taxa in eastern North America has been 

illustrated in several publications, including McAndrews et al. (1973), Bassett et al. 

(1978), and Jones et al (1995).

In this report, we illustrate several of the most common pollen types found in the 

Chesapeake Bay (Table 6) and provide pollen census data from box, piston, and gravity 

cores collected in the bay (Appendix 5). Ongoing research on pollen assemblages from the 

Chesapeake Bay region is documenting the distribution of pollen in the modern estuary and 

surrounding watershed and establishing temporal patterns in plant distribution in response 

to changes in both climate and land use over the last millennium.

136
Table 6. Pollen from the Chesapeake Bay

Scientific Name

Acer

Alnus

Ambrosia

Artemisia

Asteraceae

Betula

Carya

Castanea

Celtis

Cephalanthus

Chenopodiaceae

Cornus

Corylus

Cyperaceae

Ericaceae

Euphorbiaceae

Fabaceae

Fagus

Fraxinus

Ilex

Juglans

Liquidambar

Liriodendron

Myrica

Nyssa

Ostrya/Carpinus

Picea

Pinus

Plantago

Poaceae

Polygonum

Quercus

Salix

Taxodiaceae/Taxaceae/Cupressaceae

Tilia

Tsuga

Typha

Ulmus

Common Name

Maple

Alder

Ragweed

White Sage

Aster family

Birch

Hickory

Chestnut

Hackberry

Buttonbush

Pigweed family

Dogwood

Hazelnut

Sedge family

Heath family

Spurge family

Legume family

Beech

Ash

Holly

Walnut

Sweet-gum

Tulip Poplar

Wax Myrtle

Black Gum

Ironwood/Hornbeam

Spruce

Pine

Plantain

Grass family

Knotweed

Oak

Willow

Cypress/Yew/Cedar families

Bass wood

Hemlock

Cattail

Elm

137
References

Bassett, I.J., Crompton, C.W., and Parmelee, J.A., 1978. An atlas of airborne pollen

grains and common fungus spores of Canada. Canada Department of Agriculture

Monograph, v. 18, p. 1-321. 

Brush, G.S., and DeFries, R.S., 1981. Spatial Distributions of Pollen in Surface

Sediments of the Potomac Estuary. Limnology and Oceanography, v. 26, no. 2, p.

295-309. 

Davis, M.B., 1963. On the theory of pollen analysis. American Journal of Science, v. 261,

p. 897-912. 

Davis, R.B., and Webb III, T., 1975. The contemporary distribution of pollen in eastern

North America: a comparison with the vegetation. Quaternary Research, v. 5, p.

395-434. 

DeFries, R.S., 1986. Effects of Land-Use History on Sedimentation in the Potomac

Estuary, Maryland. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper, v. 2234-K, p.

K1-K23. 

Delcourt, P.A., Delcourt, H.R., and Davidson, J.L., 1983. Mapping and calibration of

modern pollen - vegetation relationships in the southeastern United States. Review

of Palaeobotany and Palynology, v. 39, p. 1-45. 

Groot, J.J., 1966. Some observations on pollen grains in suspension in the estuary of the

Delaware River. Marine Geology, v. 4, p. 409-416. 

Heusser, L.E., 1983/84. Pollen distribution in the bottom sediments of the western North

Atlantic Ocean. Marine Micropaleontology, v. 8, p. 77-88. 

Jones, G.D., Bryant, J., Vaughn M., Lieux, M.H., Jones, S.D., and Lingren, P.D.,

1995. Pollen of the southeastern United States: with emphasis on

melissopalynology and entomopalynology. AASP Contributions Series, v. 30, p.

1-180.

138
Me Andrews, J.H., Berti, A. A., and Norris, G., 1973. Key to the Quaternary Pollen and

Spores of the Great Lakes Region. Royal Ontario Museum Life Sciences

Miscellaneous Publication: Toronto, Ontario, Royal Ontario Museum, 61 p. 

Mudie, P.J., 1982. Pollen distribution in recent marine sediments, eastern Canada.

Canadian Journal of Earth Science, v. 19, p. 729-749. 

Overpeck, J.T., Webb, T., Ill, and Prentice, I.C., 1985. Quantitative interpretation of

fossil pollen spectra: dissimilarity coefficients and the method of modern analogs.

Quaternary Research, v. 23, p. 87-108. 

Webb, T., Ill, and McAndrews, J.H., 1976. Corresponding patterns of contemporary

pollen and vegetation in central North America. Geological Society of America

Memoir, v. 145, p. 267-299. 

Willard, D.A., and Weimer, L.M., 1997. Palynological census data from surface samples

in south Florida. U.S. Geological Survey Open-file Report, v. 97-867, p. 1-12.

139
Plate 1

1) Juglans Linnaeus (Walnut), PRCK 100-102 cm., x 2600.

2) Liquidambar Linnaeus (Sweet Gum), PTMC 3-2 106-108 cm., x 2800.

3) Chenopodiaceae Ventenat (Pigweed Family)/Amaranthaceae Jussieu (Goosefoot 

Family), PTXT 50-52 cm., x 2600.

4) Quercus Linnaeus (Oak), PRCK 100-102 cm., x 4800.

5) Tsuga Carriere (Hemlock), PRCK 100-102 cm., x 1300.

140
J4-/
Plate 2

1) Pinus Linnaeus (Pine), PTMC 3-2 422-424 cm., x 1800.

2) Ambrosia Linnaeus (Ragweed), PTXT 50-52 cm., x 2600.

3) Pinus Linnaeus (pine grain with air bladder broken off), PRCK 100-102 cm., x 1800.

4) Poaceae Barnhart (Grass Family), PTXT 50-52 cm., x 1600.

5) Pinus Linnaeus (Pine), PTMC 3-2 422-424 cm., x 2000.

142

Core: PTMC 3-P-2 

E 

.c

Q. 

CD 047

1 1

15

19

21

23

27

31

35

39

43

77

107

129

151

157

161

165

167

171

175

181

185

191

195

201

205

211

215

237

261

307

335

357

395

419

447

to

155

166

150

150

146

161

200

213

202

217

201

116

175

186

194

230

143

192

170

148

201

150

170

149

199

175

144

172

161

151

141

142

133

148

189

159

194

181

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1 1

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1295

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15

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22

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17

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110

89

104

104

105

96

65

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73

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40

90

99

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174

142

105

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120

118

147

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136

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126

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39

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129

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171

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76

81

86

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160

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97

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244

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Quercus

81

59

69

68

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90

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10

22

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20

13

12

19

23

343

58

58

50

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(cm) Depth 

Castanea

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Ilex 

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Cephalanthus 

Poaceae 

Chenopodiaceae 

Ambrosia 

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Artemisia 

Fabaceae 

Comus 

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Euphorbiaceae 

Ericaceae 

Typha 

Plantago 

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206

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159

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