Répartition et organisation des foraminifères actuels dans le golfe de Kalloni (Grèce)

As part of a global investigation of foraminifera importance in the Mediterranean paralic realm, the distribution of present foraminifera in Kalloni Bay was studied through species determination and counting. From these basic data, density, species richness, Shannon Index and dominance were calculated for several stations covering the whole basin. In addition, a factorial analysis of correspondances between stations and species assemblages was performed. All these methods concur in showing that the organization of foraminifera populations follows sc principal longitudinal gradient from the entrance towards the most continental reaches and a subsidiary transverse gradient. When compared with sedimentological data, the distribution of foraminifera does not display the usual correlation with organic matter of fine fraction contents of sediments. Thus, it seems that the organization of foraminifera populations in Kalloni Bay must be principally related to confinement. The present study confirms the interest and relevance of foraminifera populations as bioindicators for the understanding of the organisation of paralic basins.