Benthic foraminifera in a gravity core from Shatsky Rise (northwestern Pacific, water depth 2612 m) show large fluctuations in accumulation rate, species composition and diversity over the last 298 kyr. The most important fluctuations (explaining more than 90% of the faunal variance) result from variations in relative abundance of the three most abundant species: Epistominella exigua, Alabaminella weddellensis and Uvigerina peregrina. High accumulation rates of U. peregrina, a species linked to high, continuous productivity, occurred with a 100 kyr periodicity at the end of glacial stages, and correspond to high mass accumulation rates of organic carbon. Peak accumulation rates of E. exigua occurred during glacial stage 4 and the middle part of glacial stages 8 and 6, whereas A. weddellensis was dominant in the early part of stages 8 and 6, and the late part of stage 3. A high abundance of these species probably indicates lower overall productivity than a high abundance of U. peregrina, and their relative and absolute abundances may be linked not simply to the amount of organic matter delivered to the sea floor, but to the intermittent delivery of fresh, easily degraded organic matter. The overall species diversity is negatively correlated to the relative abundance of E. exigua, but not to that of A. weddellensis, implying that these species have different environmental preferences, although both have been linked to periodic phytodetritus deposition in the present oceans.