Applying modern analogs to understand the pollen content of coprolites

Assessing diet and seasonality in the Lower Pecos canyonlands: an evaluation of coprolite specimens as records of individual dietary decisions

“…Analysis of the microscopic fraction of specimens is an important part of coprolite studies. Most of this work has focused on the identification of pollen grains, which can inform on diet, seasonality of deposition, and medical practices (Carrion et al 2005;Carrion et al 2001; Dean 1993Dean , 2006Horrocks et al 2003;Horrocks et al 2004;Horrocks et al 2002;Kelso and Solomon 2006;Reinhard et al 2006;Reinhard et al 1991;Riskind 1970;Sobolik 1988a). The second most common microscopic component identified in coprolite studies are ova and other evidence of parasites Dittmar and Steyn 2004;Evans et al 1996;Fry and Moore 1969;Fugassa et al 2006;Horrocks et al 2004;Jouy-Avantin et al 1999;Ortega and Bonavia 2003;Shin et al 2009;Toker et al 2005).…”

“…Since the first studies of coprolite pollen by Paul Martin in the 1960s (Fry 1985;Martin et al 1961;Martin and Sharrock 1964), pollen analysis has become a routine part of both human and animal coprolite studies (Bryant 1974a(Bryant , c, 1975Bryant and Holloway 1985;Carrion et al 2005;Carrion et al 2001;Chaves and Reinhard 2006;Horrocks et al 2003;Horrocks et al 2004;Horrocks et al 2002;Horrocks et al 2008;Irwin et al 2004;Kelso and Solomon 2006;Reinhard et al 2006;Riskind 1970;Williams-Dean 1978), because it is preserved remarkably well in fecal matter (Reinhard and Bryant 1992). The pollen spectrum of a coprolite is often the primary data set used to assess seasonality of consumption Reinhard and Bryant 1992;Williams-Dean 1978).…”

“…Experimental studies demonstrate that pollen types can appear in fecal samples days or even weeks after the recorded ingestion of that type (Dean 2006;Kelso and Solomon 2006;Williams-Dean 1978). There is also an ongoing debate about the importance of concentration values in a coprolite specimen to better establish the purposeful ingestion of pollen (Dean 1993(Dean , 2006Reinhard et al 2006;Reinhard et al 1991).…”

“…These pollen types would inform on seasonality of deposition as well as changes in vegetative communities and, potentially, climate through correlation with pollen samples recovered from dated stratigraphic sequences (Fry 1985;Reinhard and Bryant 1992). Other pollen types are zoophilous (animalt-borne) and are usually directly correlated with ingestion of flowers as food or drink (Bryant and Dean 2006;Chaves and Reinhard 2006;Dean 1993Dean , 2006Fry 1985;Kelso and Solomon 2006;Reinhard et al 2006;Reinhard et al 1991;Sobolik 1988a). …”

“…Prior studies of pollen from coprolites had concentration values ranging from as high as seven million pollen grains/gram (Dean 1993;Kelso and Solomon 2006;Reinhard et al 2006;Reinhard et al 1991;Sobolik 1988a). These extremely high pollen concentration values require that a multitude of marker spores be added to ensure a relatively equitable abundance of pollen and marker spores during the counting process (Faegri and Iversen 1989;Moore et al 1991).…”