Foraminifera are unicellular protists and play a major role in the deep-sea ecosystems. This study focusses on the faunal analysis of living benthic foraminiferal assemblages and their vertical distribution along a transect in the Rockall Trough in the NE Atlantic. Therefore, seven multicorer cores from the Rockall Trough (RT-1 – RT-7), NE Atlantic, were collected at water depths between 1008 and 2205 m on the RRS Discovery cruise DY051 in spring 2016.

Surface sediment samples of the collected material were analysed up to 10 cm sediment depth for living (Rose Bengal stained) benthic foraminifera to gain insight into the recent distribution of the foraminiferal fauna. The cores were sliced from 0 to 3 cm into 0.5 cm intervals and from 3 to 10 cm in 1 cm slices. Sediments were divided into the fractions >125 μm and 125–63 μm by wet-sieving. The analysis showed that stations differed in live assemblages, diversity, abundances and vertical distribution. Standing stock values of 92–168 ind./10 cm² for the total, 54–130 ind./10 cm² for the calcareous and 24–59 ind./10 cm² for the agglutinated assemblages were obtained.

Living deep-sea foraminiferal assemblages differed between the three shallower (RT-1 – RT-3) and the four deeper sites (RT-4 – RT-7), indicating that the different water masses could be a main factor controlling the deep-sea benthic fauna in the Rockall Trough. This area is characterised by two main water masses: the upper more saline Eastern North Atlantic Water (ENAW) and the lower North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW).

Basically, Nonionella iridea occurred at all sites, while Cibicidoides species (except C. wuellerstorfi) and Melonis barleeanus were limited to water depths between 1008 and 1610 m (RT-1 – RT-3). Soft-shelled foraminifera increased sharply with water depth. Saccamminid sp. 1 contributed significantly to this increasing proportion of soft-shelled individuals with its maximum at 1857 m water depth (RT-5). Further characteristics of this transect include a mass occurrence of Uvigerina mediterranea, which was only present at 1008 m (site RT-1) or Globobulimina sp. 1 with its highest densities at 1610 m (RT-4), where it accounted for 20% of the total living foraminiferal fauna. The general microhabitat preferences where consistent with those of other studies, although the Rockall Trough is a very dynamic region considering food supply or other physical parameters.

有孔虫是单细胞生物，在深海生态系统中起主要作用。这项研究的重点是对东北大西洋Rockall槽中底栖有孔虫组合及其沿样带的垂直分布的动物学分析。因此，2016年春季，在RRS Discovery邮轮DY051上，从大西洋深处的Rockall槽（RT-1 – RT-7）的七个多芯岩心中收集了1008至2205 m的水深。

分析了收集到的物质的表面沉积物样本，直到沉积物深度达到10厘米为止，以用于活（底色为孟加拉红）的底栖有孔虫，以了解有孔虫动物群的最新分布。将芯从0到3厘米切成0.5厘米的间隔，从3到10厘米切成1厘米的片。通过湿筛将沉积物分为> 125μm和125–63μm的部分。分析表明，电台的现场组合，多样性，丰度和垂直分布各不相同。站立的92-168 ind./10厘米库存值²总量，54-130 ind./10厘米²为石灰质和24-59 ind./10厘米²的凝集组合获得。

在三个较浅的地点（RT-1 – RT-3）和四个较深的地点（RT-4 – RT-7）之间，活的深海有孔虫组合有所不同，这表明不同的水团可能是控制深海有孔虫的主要因素。 Rockall槽中的海洋底栖动物区系。该地区的特点是有两个主要的水团：北部北大西洋东部水域（ENAW）的盐分较高，而北大西洋深海下部水域（NADW）的盐分较低。

基本上，Nonionella iridea发生在所有站点，而Cibicidoides物种（除了C. wuellerstorfi）和枯病barleeanus物1008和1610米（RT-1 - RT-3）之间限定于水的深度。甲壳有孔虫随着水深的增加而急剧增加。Saccamminid sp。1对有壳个体这一比例的增加做出了重大贡献，其最大水深为1857 m（RT-5）。该断面的进一步特征包括大量出现的乌维格里纳地中海，仅存在于1008 m（RT-1站点）或球形鳞翅目sp。1的密度最高，为1610 m（RT-4），占总有孔有虫动物种群的20％。尽管洛克洛克海槽是一个考虑食物供应或其他物理参数的非常动态的区域，但一般的微生境偏好与其他研究一致。