Reconstruction of light conditions within a submarine cave during the past 7000 years based on the temporal and spatial distribution of algal symbiont-bearing large benthic foraminifers

Coral reef cavities, crevasses, and caves are inhabited by cryptic communities. The sediments within the submarine Daidokutsu Cave (29 m water depth) on the fore-reef slope of Ie Island, Okinawa, Japan, preserve a fossil record of cryptic bivalve species over the past 7000 years. The record suggests that infilling of cavities caused a progressive decrease in the exchange of water between the interior and exterior of the cave, resulting in a decline in food supply to the cave. To test this hypothesis, the light conditions within the cave were reconstructed from the spatial and temporal distributions of algal symbiont-bearing large benthic foraminifers, based on the assumption that infilling of reef cavities would have resulted in reduced light intensity within the cave. The results show that progressive darkening of the cave occurred by about 5130 yr BP, synchronous with a weakening in water flow within the cave. This synchronicity indicates that infilling of cavities and narrowing of the cave entrance might cause declines in the exchange of water between the interior and exterior of the cave, as well as in light intensity within the cave. These resulted in a deficiency in food in the cave, thereby affecting the species composition of cavernicolous bivalves.