DOI: 10.5061/dryad.349h0
title: Data from: Testing the applicability of a benthic foraminiferal-based transfer function for the reconstruction of paleowater depth changes in Rhodes (Greece) during the early Pleistocene

description: We present paleo-water depth reconstructions for the Pefka E section
 deposited on the island of Rhodes (Greece) during the early Pleistocene.
 For these reconstructions, a transfer function (TF) using modern benthic
 foraminifera surface samples from the Adriatic and Western Mediterranean
 Seas has been developed. The TF model gives an overall predictive accuracy
 of ~50 m over a water depth range of ~1200 m. Two separate TF models for
 shallower and deeper water depth ranges indicate a good predictive
 accuracy of 9 m for shallower water depths (0-200 m) but far less accuracy
 of 130 m for deeper water depths (200-1200 m) due to uneven sampling along
 the water depth gradient. To test the robustness of the TF, we randomly
 selected modern samples to develop random TFs, showing that the model is
 robust for water depths between 20 and 850 m while greater water depths
 are underestimated. We applied the TF to the Pefka E fossil data set. The
 goodness-of-fit statistics showed that most fossil samples have a poor to
 extremely poor fit to water depth. We interpret this as a consequence of a
 lack of modern analogues for the fossil samples and removed all samples
 with extremely poor fit. To test the robustness and significance of the
 reconstructions, we compared them to reconstructions from an alternative
 TF model based on the modern analogue technique and applied the
 randomization TF test. We found our estimates to be robust and significant
 at the 95% confidence level, but we also observed that our estimates are
 strongly overprinted by orbital, precession-driven changes in
 paleo-productivity and corrected our estimates by filtering out the
 precession-related component. We compared our corrected record to
 reconstructions based on a modified plankton/benthos (P/B) ratio,
 excluding infaunal species, and to stable oxygen isotope data from the
 same section, as well as to paleo-water depth estimates for the Lindos Bay
 Formation of other sediment sections of Rhodes. These comparisons indicate
 that our orbital-corrected reconstructions are reasonable and reflect
 major tectonic movements of Rhodes during the early Pleistocene.
description: Pefka_E_census_countsThis file contains complete fossil benthic foraminiferal census counts (fraction &gt;150 µm), total foraminiferal numbers, sample split, and (modified) plankton to benthos ratios (of the &gt;125µm fraction) from the Pefka E section. In the first column the adjusted section depth (in cm) is given.WMed_census_countsThis file contains the complete modern dead benthic foraminiferal census counts (fraction &gt;150 µm), total foraminiferal numbers, sample split, and sample volume from three study areas in the Western Mediterranean Sea (Alboran Platform, Oran Bight and Mallorca Shelf). In the first two columns the station IDs and the water depth (in m) is given.Reduced_modern_dataThis file contains the relative abundance of modern benthic foraminifera in the combined modern data set used for the development of the transfer function in this study. In the first two columns the station IDs and water depth (in m) is given.Modern_station_IDsThis file contains the station IDs used in the Reduced_modern_data.txt, their original station IDs, water depth (in m) and station location (Adriatic Sea or Western Mediterranean Sea (Alboran Platform, Oran Bight and Mallorca Shelf)). The data from the Adriatic Sea are from Jorissen (1987, 1988): -Jorissen FJ. The distribution of benthic foraminifera in the Adriatic Sea. Mar Micropaleontol. 1987;12:21-48. doi: 10.1016/0377-8398(87)90012-0. -Jorissen FJ. Benthic foraminifera from the Adriatic Sea: principles of phenotypic variation. Utrecht Micropaleontological Bulletins. 1988;37:1-174.Reduced_Pefka_E_dataThis file contains the relative abundance of fossil benthic foraminifera from the Pefka E section used for the application of the transfer function in this study. In the first column the adjusted section depth (in cm) is given.ReadmeReadme file