Planktic foraminiferal response to the earliest Danian Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic events at Caravaca (Murcia)

The recovery of ecosystems after the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary mass extinction is still highly debated. In order to assess the environmental and climate changes over the first 260 ka of the Danian, we carried out a quantitative study of the planktic foraminiferal assemblages and biometric measurements in three selected planktic foraminiferal species. A rapid evolution of very simple planktic foraminiferal species occurred during the first 32 ka, reoccupying the empty niches after the K/Pg extinction. An increase in the size of the measured species is recorded across the study section, mainly during episodes of environmental stability (probably cooling). The increase in their size halted during the two Chiloguembelitria acmes identified, which mark ecological stress episodes. Our results suggest that the environmental perturbations in the most superficial layer of the water column were driven by Deccan volcanic forcing