TY - JOUR
T1 - Determining the absolute abundance of dinoflagellate cysts in recent marine sediments: The Lycopodium marker-grain method put to the test
AU - Mertens, K
AU - Verhoeven, null
AU - Verleye, null
AU - Louwye, null
AU - Amorim, null
AU - Ribeiro, Sofia
AU - Deaf, Amr S.
AU - Harding, Ian C.
AU - Schepper, Stijn De
AU - González, Catalina
AU - Kodrans-Nsiah, Monika
AU - Vernal, Anne De
AU - Henry, Maryse
AU - Radi, Taoufik
AU - Dybkjaer, Karen
AU - Poulsen, Niels E.
AU - Feist-Burkhardt, Susanne
AU - Chitolie, Jonah
AU - Heilmann-Clausen, Claus
AU - Londeix, Laurent
AU - Turon, Jean-Louis
AU - Marret, Fabienne
AU - Matthiessen, Jens
AU - McCarthy, Francine M.G.
AU - Prasad, Vandana
AU - Pospelova, Vera
AU - Hughes, Jane E. Kyffin
AU - Riding, James B.
AU - Rochon, André
AU - Sangiorgi, Francesca
AU - Welters, Natasja
AU - Sinclair, Natalie
AU - Thun, Christian
AU - Soliman, Ali
AU - Nieuwenhove, Nicolas Van
AU - Vink, Annemiek
AU - Young, Martin
N1 - Keywords: dinoflagellate cyst; concentration; Lycopodium clavatum tablets; spike; inter-laboratory calibration
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Absolute abundances (concentrations) of dinoflagellate cysts are often determined through the addition of Lycopodium clavatum marker-grains as a spike to a sample before palynological processing. An inter-laboratory calibration exercise was set up in order to test the comparability of results obtained in different laboratories, each using its own preparation method. Each of the 23 laboratories received the same amount of homogenized splits of four Quaternary sediment samples. The samples originate from different localities and consisted of a variety of lithologies. Dinoflagellate cysts were extracted and counted, and relative and absolute abundances were calculated. The relative abundances proved to be fairly reproducible, notwithstanding a need for taxonomic calibration. By contrast, excessive loss of Lycopodium spores during sample preparation resulted in non-reproducibility of absolute abundances. Use of oxidation, KOH, warm acids, acetolysis, mesh sizes larger than 15 µm and long ultrasonication (> 1 min) must be avoided to determine reproducible absolute abundances. The results of this work therefore indicate that the dinoflagellate cyst worker should make a choice between using the proposed standard method which circumvents critical steps, adding Lycopodium tablets at the end of the preparation and using an alternative method.
AB - Absolute abundances (concentrations) of dinoflagellate cysts are often determined through the addition of Lycopodium clavatum marker-grains as a spike to a sample before palynological processing. An inter-laboratory calibration exercise was set up in order to test the comparability of results obtained in different laboratories, each using its own preparation method. Each of the 23 laboratories received the same amount of homogenized splits of four Quaternary sediment samples. The samples originate from different localities and consisted of a variety of lithologies. Dinoflagellate cysts were extracted and counted, and relative and absolute abundances were calculated. The relative abundances proved to be fairly reproducible, notwithstanding a need for taxonomic calibration. By contrast, excessive loss of Lycopodium spores during sample preparation resulted in non-reproducibility of absolute abundances. Use of oxidation, KOH, warm acids, acetolysis, mesh sizes larger than 15 µm and long ultrasonication (> 1 min) must be avoided to determine reproducible absolute abundances. The results of this work therefore indicate that the dinoflagellate cyst worker should make a choice between using the proposed standard method which circumvents critical steps, adding Lycopodium tablets at the end of the preparation and using an alternative method.
U2 - 10.1016/j.revpalbo.2009.05.004
DO - 10.1016/j.revpalbo.2009.05.004
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0034-6667
VL - 157
SP - 238
EP - 252
JO - Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology
JF - Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology
IS - 3-4
ER -
