Benthic foraminifera are an abundant and important component of modern and ancient deep-sea ecosystems, and these single-celled organisms generate a fossil record that facilitates the assessment of paleoceanographic changes through time. Despite recent advances in taxonomic and ecological information about deep-sea foraminifera, many basic questions remain, requiring a better understanding of ecological tolerances, morphologic plasticity, and distribution of deep-sea foraminiferal species. This study focuses on the phylogenetics, morphology, and colonization dynamics of deep-sea foraminifera at abyssal Station M in the eastern Pacific Ocean. After 368 days at 4000 m on the Pacific Ocean seafloor, 546 foraminifera ~80% of which were calcareous species, occupied elevated substrate experiments. Genetic analyses of the most abundant calcareous foraminiferal taxon indicate that this trochospiral species is a morphological variant of Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi (referred to as C. wuellerstorfi var. lobatulus). Although Pyrgo and other milioline foraminifera are commonly found within sediments, two morphological variants of Pyrgo colonized elevated substrates at the Station M study site. Many Pyrgo spp. and C. wuellerstorfi var. lobatulus, were covered in an organic cyst, perhaps as a feeding structure. These results suggest that these calcareous foraminifera are able to flourish in deep-sea settings where hard substrates are available, and may be more widely distributed and diverse in lower bathyal and upper abyssal habitats when elevated substrates are present.

底栖有孔虫是现代和古代深海生态系统中丰富而重要的组成部分，这些单细胞生物产生化石记录，有助于评估随时间的古海洋变化。尽管有关深海有孔虫的分类学和生态学信息最近取得了进展，但仍然存在许多基本问题，需要更好地了解生态容忍性，形态可塑性和深海有孔虫物种的分布。这项研究的重点是在东太平洋深海站M的深海有孔虫的系统发育，形态和定植动力学。在太平洋海底4000 m处368天后，有546种有孔虫（约占钙质物种）占据了较高的底物实验。Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi（称为C. wuellerstorfi变种lobatulus）。虽然Pyrgo等milioline有孔虫通常沉积物中发现，两种形态变异Pyrgo在台M研究网站殖民升高基板。许多Pyrgo物种。和C.wuellerstorfi var。桔梗被有机物囊肿所覆盖，也许是一种觅食结构。这些结果表明，这些钙质有孔虫能够在深海环境中蓬勃发展，那里有坚硬的底物，当底物含量较高时，在下部的海底和深海生境中可能分布更广泛，种类繁多。