Description: Colonization structures of the large parasitic foraminifer Hyrrokkin sarcophaga Cedhagen, 1994 on Lophelia pertusa, Acesta excavata and Delectopecten vitreus are described from a deep-water coral reef mound on the mid-Norwegian shelf at 240 to 300 m water depth. Hyrrokkin sarcophaga is the only epibiont which is capable of attaching itself on the soft tissue-protected coral skeleton where it tends to form clusters of 3 to 8 specimens close to the tentacles of Lophelia. The foraminifer excavates a pit up to 1.5 mm deep and etches a straight channel through the skeleton of the host which ends within the soft tissue. In contrast to Lophelia, infested bivalves show a strong wound repair reaction and seal the etched channels by intense calcification. The etching is only performed by adult specimens. Substrate pitting is considered to improve the attachment strength while boring enables the parasite to secure a persistent nutrient source.

Description: An undisturbed 16 m late Pliocene-Pleistocene sediment core spanning 2.6 Myr of deposition was recovered from the Manihiki Plateau by the German research vessel Sonne in 1990. This core 34KL complements the heavily disturbed late Pliocene-Pleistocene core sections of DSDP Site 317, and is well suited for stratigraphic correlation. The sediments consist of calcareous microfossils (93–97% CaCO3), minor portions of siliceous microfossils and detrital minerals. All important calcareous microfossil zones could be identified and correlated with the magnetostratigraphic and isotope stratigraphic events, stages and periods. Due to the high degree of silica dissolution, the late Quaternary radiolarian Buccinosphaera invaginata Zone is the only siliceous fossil zone which could be identified. An interval with Globigerinoides gomitulus/pink was found within the middle Pleistocene which is clearly distinguished from the Globigerinoides ruber/pink interval of the late Pleistocene. The magnetostratigraphic Gauss-Matuyama and Matuyama-Brunhes boundaries as well as the Olduvai and Jaramillo events were clearly identified. The δ180 curve displays the 100 kyr (Milankovitch) and the 41 kyr (Laplace) cyclicity periods. The beginning of the Laplace Period and the last occurrence of the calcareous nannofossil Discoaster brouweri, which marks the end of the Pliocene, fall within the base of the Olduvai Event. There is also a marked drop in sedimentation rates around this time, which seems to be a regional phenomenon. Prominent 3.5 kHz subbottom reflectors at 8 ms and 15 ms reflection time are related to lithologic changes near the Mid-Pleistocene Revolution (MPR) and the beginning of the Laplace Period or the Pleistocene, respectively. It is possible to trace these reflectors laterally to the eroded eastern edge of the Manihiki Plateau where they can be tied to older strata.

Description: Benthic foraminifera and surface sediments were analyzed from 23 box-core and core-top samples from 250 to 3600 m depth at the southern Portuguese continental margin between 37 and 38 °N. This area is affected by the MOW which flows northwards along the slope between 600 and 1500 m waterdepth. Sediment structures, grain-size distribution and clay mineral assemblages of surface sediments indicate active winnowing in the upper part of the MOW, and deposition of the fine fraction near its lower boundary. R-mode cluster analyses of foraminiferal census data from the 〉 250 μm fraction revealed four associations. The ‘Shelf Edge Association’ occurs on glauconitic shelf and upper slope sands down to 268 m. The ‘Upper Slope Association’ is recognized between 498 and 1300 m where sand-silt-clays to clayey silts are encountered. The ‘Lower Slope Association’ is found between 1405 and 2985 m and differs markedly from assemblages below 3000 m (‘Deep Water Association’) where the near-surface sediments are soft hemipelagic clays. The ‘Boundary Layer Association’ shows no significant depth limits but abundance maxima both in the density interface above the MOW and in the interval of decreasing turbulence below it. The boundaries of the ‘Shelf Edge’ and ‘Upper Slope Association’ correspond to these hydrographic boundary layers whereas the boundary between ‘Lower Slope’ and ‘Deep Water Assemblage’ is related to threshold values of nutrient flux to the benthic community. Examination of hard-substrates reveals 27 different species of epibenthic foraminifera. Six of these, the ‘Epibenthos Group’, were found attached to elevated substrates only within the MOW. Above the MOW, elevated substrates were inhabited by different species, whilst below the MOW they were not used by any epibenthic foraminifers. Evidently, the hydrodynamic environment of the MOW current provides an ecological niche which is efficiently used by opportunistic suspension feeders. The ‘Epibenthos Group’ is more abundant in the middle part of the study area between 37 °20′ and 37 °40′N where the sand content of surface sediments is also higher. Both indicate an enhanced sediment-water interaction in this area which results from an obstruction of the MOW flow by the ‘Principes d'Avis’ basement spur.