Large benthic foraminifera (LBF) are unique model organisms to document diversity changes in tropical marine biodiversity over the past 65 million years. For this reason, they have also been used as biostratigraphical marker. Currently LBF are more frequently used as sentinels for water quality in shallow marine tropical environments. By using samples from sediment cores, you can even look back in time, something that is really hard using other tools.
The basis for these applications lies in a solid understanding of their morphological variation, and how this is underpinned by phenotypic plasticity and genetic variation. I am using new techniques, such as micro CT scanning, to build a solid reference framework for the taxonomy of LBF.