Cushman Foundation For Foraminiferal Research

10/12/2026

CFFR Booth #626 at

10/11/2026

We held our annual Board of Director’s meeting on Saturday October 10th/2026. We are proud to announce Sebastián Garrido as the new Early Career Director 2027-2028. We also thank Lisa White and Fabiana Almeida for their tenures as Directors, who unfortunately will rotate out at the end of 2026

10/01/2026

We look forward to seeing paleobiologists, geoscientists, and anyone doing foraminiferal research in a few days. We will be at by the Geological Society of America in Colorado, October 11-14 2026. We have plenty of interesting sessions, our annual symposium on Tuesday, Oct 13th, and later that evening, our reception, where we will announce the Joseph A. Cushman Award 2026. Visit our booth #626 at the Colorado Convention Center and mingle with us- and why not renew your membership or become a new member!

09/30/2026

The Cushman Foundation For Foraminiferal Research will be at the Geological Society of America Connects Meeting (11-14 October 2026) Denver, CO, USA
These are our ENDORSED SESSIONS. A week to rediscover our love for foraminifera and geoscience.

09/28/2026

Congratulations to Board Director, Dr. Lisa White for her most recent achievement. She is the recipient of the 2026 Claudia Alexander Award for Advancing Inclusive Excellence in STEM given by the American Geophysical Union (AGU)

Dr. Lisa White, the UCMP’s Director of Education and Outreach, will receive the American Geophysical Union’s (American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2026 Claudia Alexander Award for Advancing Inclusivity in STEM! The late Claudia Alexander was a planetary geoscientist at JPL and a Berkeley alum. The award honors an individual or team for developing programs and networks that have led to advancing diversity and inclusion within the Earth and space sciences.

Congrats Lisa!

09/25/2026

DID YOU
KNOW....🕵️‍♀️🕵️‍♂️🕵️

Foraminiferal eDNA Can
Help Reconstruct Past Sea
Levels ?

Liu et al. (2026) took a look at how stable intertidal foraminiferal eDNA are through time, and what that means for reconstructing relative sea level (RSL). Over two years, the researchers sampled mangrove and mudflat environments at different tidal elevations in Hong Kong, covering both wet and dry seasons.
They found that mid-mangrove assemblages were relatively stable across seasons, while upper-mangrove and mudflat assemblages, particularly monothalamous foraminifera have shown much greater seasonal variability. Despite this variability, eDNA-based elevation estimates from the mangroves consistently matched the observed elevations. Mudflat samples were more problematic, tending to overestimate elevation, especially during the wet season. The results suggest that not all intertidal environments are equally useful for RSL reconstruction. Stable mangrove communities provide a promising basis for calibration, while more dynamic mudflat environments need to be treated with greater caution.

09/18/2026

DID YOU KNOW...
Sediment trap time series provide powerful frameworks for testing hypotheses about planktic foraminiferal assemblage composition, seasonality, and geochemical responses to environmental variability?

SYNTHESIZING A TWELVE-YEAR SEDIMENT TRAP TIME SERIES OF PLANKTIC FORAMINIFERAL FLUX IN THE GULF OF AMERICA (MEXICO)

The authors present high resolution foraminiferal assemblage data from a long-running sediment trap (2008-2020) in the northern Gulf of America (Mexico). The study summarizes the species composition, seasonality, and size distribution of the fifteen most abundant species of planktic foraminifera, which account for 98% of total flux. Foraminiferal flux peaks in winter and reaches a minimum in summer, following the seasonal pattern of primary production in the northern Gulf. Winter assemblages are dominated by non-spinose taxa, whereas spinose taxa prevail during summer. Across nearly all species, average monthly test size covaries with temperature, independent of seasonal flux trends.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Journal of Foraminiferal Research (2026) 56 (3): 105-124.
Julie N. Richey; Caitlin E. Reynolds; Emily B. Osborne;
Maoli Vizcaíno; Eric J. Tappa.
https://doi.org/10.61551/gsjfr.56.3.105

09/16/2026

✋ Did you know that, around 40 million years ago, serpulid polychaetes made their homes on living Discocyclina, attaching their calcareous tubes to the tests of these giant foraminifera?
SERPULIDS ON LIVING EOCENE LARGER FORAMINIFER DISCOCYCLINA

This study reports the first known symbiotic association between a serpulid polychaete and the Eocene larger foraminifer Discocyclina. Serpulid larvae settled and grew on the tests while the foraminifera were still alive. Remarkably, Discocyclina continued growing after colonization, eventually incorporating the polychaete tubes into its test through bioimmuration. The relationship may have benefited the foraminifer through the serpulid’s filtering activity, although attachment sometimes caused abnormal test growth. Some individuals survived two or even three successive colonization events, suggesting a lifespan of 1–3 years and providing a rare glimpse into the ecology of these extinct larger foraminifera.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-018-0554-3

09/15/2026

09/04/2026

Today we feature Monica Duque-Castaño, who received the first Ruth Todd Award from the CFFR.

🔬 This week’s : The rise and fall of Neogloboquadrina atlantica
🌊 Did you know that the two coiling morphotypes of Neogloboquadrina atlantica followed different ecological and extinction histories across the North Atlantic?
New high-resolution records show that its disappearance was not a single synchronous event. The sinistral morphotype disappeared near ~2.4 Ma, with regional differences, while the dextral form persisted longer and progressively contracted southward, surviving until ~1.3 Ma in the northern subtropical gyre.
🌀 These contrasting histories reveal how ecological preferences and increasing climatic variability shaped the distribution and eventual extinction of this characteristic Neogene–Early Pleistocene species.
Learn more:
Duque-Castaño et al. (2026). The Rise and Fall of Neogloboquadrina atlantica: Distribution and Extinction in the North Atlantic. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 41, e2026PA005550.

Read the article: https://doi.org/10.1029/2026PA005550