Non-pollen palynomorphs in freshwater sediments and their palaeolimnological potential and selected applications

Abstract

The earliest eukaryotes recorded in continental environments are non-pollen palynomorphs (NPP) in Mesoproterozoic strata, and NPP provide our best insights into lacustrine ecosystems through the Paleogene. They have been underexploited in studies of younger lake sediments, either ignored or only qualitatively observed, because many NPP are destroyed by standard processing techniques for pollen and embryophyte spores. The palaeoenvironmental potential of palynomorphs, with representatives from all eukaryotic kingdoms as well as cyanobacteria and from all trophic levels in various lacustrine environments, has been recognized by a few Quaternary palynologists in the past few decades. NPP have proven particularly valuable in archaeological and environmental monitoring studies of human impact on freshwater ecosystems, with spores of some fungi and eggs/ egg cases of some flatworms and roundworms associated with feces of humans and livestock, and the acid-resistant remains of various life stages of cyanobacteria, algae, and their aquatic consumers responding to increased turbidity and nutrient influx associated with permanent human settlements, particularly those associated with agricultural activity. Descriptions of NPP commonly encountered in Quaternary lake sediments and case studies illustrating applications to various research questions should encourage more palynologists that ‘Quaternary non-pollen palynomorphs' deserve our attention!’, to quote Prof. Bas van Geel, undisputed Father of NPP Research.Supplementary material at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5244661

NPP-ID: Non-Pollen Palynomorph Image Database as a research and educational platform

“…Gill et al 2009;van Geel et al 2011b;Basumatary and McDonald 2017;van Asperen et al 2021). Algal palynomorphs, zoological microfossils, and many fungal spores provide information on former local processes like natural and human-induced fire, hydrological conditions and erosion processes (Kuhry 1997;Montoya et al 2010;van Geel et al 2011a;Kołaczek et al 2013;Schlütz and Shumilovskikh 2013;Shumilovskikh et al 2015aShumilovskikh et al , b, 2017McCarthy et al 2021;Mudie et al 2021). In geoarchaeology, NPPs contribute to a more holistic view of the past (Brinkkemper and van Haaster 2012;Revelles et al 2016;Shumilovskikh and van Geel 2020;Shumilovskikh and Schlütz 2021).…”

Dung analysis of the East Milford mastodons: dietary and environmental reconstructions from central Nova Scotia at ∼75 ka years BP

“…The interpretation that the mastodons were living near a freshwater habitat is further supported by the abundant algal palynomorphs present in the dung with trophic preferences ranging from mesotrophic to eutrophic (McCarthy et al 2018(McCarthy et al , 2020 and several aquatic protozoan and invertebrate taxa, including Cladocera (mainly Daphnia), Chironomidae, Porifera, Simuliidae, and Acari. The chironomid assemblage (Table 3) is dominated by the profundal genus Chironomus.…”

“…Pollen identifications followed McAndrews et al (1973). Identification of non-pollen palynomorphs followed Hansen (1995), van Geel (2002, van Geel and Aptroot (2006), Haas (1996), Turton and McAndrews (2006), van der Linden et al (2012), and McCarthy et al (2020. Palynomorph data are presented as relative abundances and concentrations per millilitre sediment estimated by comparison with a known quantity of Lycopodium clavatum marker spores (Stockmarr 1971).…”

Anthropogenic impact on a seacoast landscape during the last 1300 years in central Latvia, Northeastern Europe

“…The percentage of terrestrial taxa was estimated using arboreal and nonarboreal pollen sums (excluding sporomorphs of aquatic and wetland plants). Nonpollen palynomorphs (NPP) were identified alongside pollen following NPP keys (Gauthier & Jouffroy‐Bapicot, 2021; http://nonpollenpalynomorphs.tsu.ru/; McCarthy et al, 2021) and taxonomy (O'Keefe et al, 2021; Shumilovskikh et al, 2021).…”