Benthic foraminiferal response to sedimentary processes in a prodeltaic environment. The Gulf of Patti case study (southeastern Tyrrhenian Sea)

Analyses of benthic foraminiferal assemblages were carried out on sediment samples collected in the Gulf of Patti (NE Sicily, Tyrrhenian Sea), where high sedimentation rates in front of the Mazzarrà River led to the growth of a prodelta. The frequency of riverine sedimentary fluxes is testified by the widespread occurrence of erosional and depositional bedforms indicative of highenergy processes on the prodelta slope.The frequency of riverine sedimentary fluxes suggests the widespread occurrence of erosional and depositional bedforms indicative of high-energy processes on the prodelta slope. The study aimed to assess the spatial distribution of benthic foraminiferal assemblages and sediment grain size along different sectors of this prodelta to define any relationship between the foraminiferal assemblages, the environmental gradients and the sedimentary processes. In particular, we focused on the role of the highly energetic impulsive torrential inputs that dominate the depositional environment and likely affect food supply and its control on the foraminiferal density and biodiversity. The dominance of opportunistic agglutinated taxa associated with hyaline eutrophic species is a distinctive character likely related to organic matter enrichment and physical disturbance associated with inputs from torrential rivers.