DEEP-SEA BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA COMMUNITY VARIABILITY BETWEEN LAST GLACIAL AND PRESENT INTERGLACIAL MARINE ISOTOPIC STAGES OF POTIGUAR BASIN.

Benthic foraminifera are recognised for their high resolution in marine records. This study aims to analyse and compare the high-resolution benthic foraminiferal morphogroups from the Potiguar Basin, through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The results reveal marked ecological shifts across MIS 2-1, as faunal transitions from epifaunal to infaunal dominance tracebottom-water oxygenation and carbon flux variations, thereby supporting regionally consistent palaeoceanographic reconstructions and validating morphogroup distribution as a proxy for glacial-interglacial bathyal dynamics.