We present the first ever species-specific fossil dinoflagellate cyststable carbon isotope (δ13C) records, from the Bass River Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) section in New Jersey (USA),established using a novel coupled laser ablation– isotope ratio massspectrometer setup. Correspondence with carbonate δ13C recordsacross the characteristic negative carbon isotope excursion indicatesthat the δ13C of dissolved inorganic carbon exerts a major control ondinocyst δ13C. Pronounced and consistent differences between species,however, reflect different habitats or life cycle processes and differentresponse to pCO2. Decreased interspecimen variability duringthe PETM in a species that also drops in abundance suggests a morelimited niche, either in time (seasonal) or space. This opens a newapproach for ecological and evolutionary reconstructions based onorganic microfossils.
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