Data from: Influence of abiotic and biotic factors on benthic marine community composition, structure and stability: a multidisciplinary approach to molluscan assemblages from the Miocene of northern Germany

The Miocene mica-clay deposits of Groß Pampau (northern Germany) are well known for their diverse assemblages of marine mammals, particularly whales. Despite numerous systematic and biostratigraphic studies, an in-depth palaeoecological analysis of its diverse molluscan assemblages and a comprehensive palaeoenvironmental reconstruction are lacking. Here, we integrated new faunal, sedimentological, and geochemical data to reconstruct the marine palaeo-ecosystem of the late Miocene sedimentary succession of Groß Pampau, and to identify the drivers controlling the composition, ecological structure and temporal dynamics of its macrobenthic molluscan assemblages. Fossil evidence, coupled with analyses of clay mineral composition, grain size distribution, and geochemical data (total organic carbon, total nitrogen, δ13C, δ18O, δ15N of sediment and shells), suggest a warm-temperate, mesotrophic, low-energy, offshore marine setting mostly below storm wave base and a pronounced surface-to-bottom water temperature gradient. Low variability in sedimentological and geochemical signals indicates generally stable physico-chemical conditions, whereas occurrences of opportunistic species (Varicorbula gibba) point at occasionally less favourable bottom conditions, possibly related to transient hypoxia. Canonical correspondence analysis reveals that the distribution of molluscan assemblages correlates with total organic carbon and nitrogen content, suggesting organic matter availability at the seafloor as a controlling factor. A pattern of repetitive punctuated stasis of molluscan assemblages is defined by the temporal persistence in taxonomic and ecological composition, occasionally interrupted by shifts to a different faunal configuration. We suggest that both stable environmental conditions and biotic interactions, i.e. the top-down control exerted by carnivorous gastropods and environmental modification by ubiquitous burrowing deposit feeders, probably contributed to the observed temporal stability. Whereas comparison with Miocene molluscan assemblages of Gram, Denmark, revealed differences in the presence and relative abundance of genera, functional congruence indicates that offshore benthic ecosystems of the southern North Sea Basin functioned similarly.Funding provided by: ZKFL Lübeck/Gemeinnützige Sparkassenstiftung zu Lübeck*Crossref Funder Registry ID: Award Number