W2: L7 = Palynology & Miocene Case Study (Prof. Bamford)

Question 1

List of plants where life cycle was mentioned? (5)

Answer 1

• Ferns.
• Lycopods.
• Gymnosperms.
• Conifers.
• Angiosperms.

Question 2

Overview of this? (4)

Answer 2

• Plant general life cycle.
• Plants that produce palynomorphs.
• A = Spores & Pollen.
• B = Phytoliths.

Question 3

Lower plants that produce spores & pollen? (4)

Answer 3

• Bryophytes.
• Lycopods.
• Sphenophytes.
• Ferns.

Question 4

Higher plants that produce spores & pollen? (3)

Answer 4

• Pteridosperms.
• Gymnosperms.
• Angiosperms.

Question 5

General importance of pollen?

Answer 5

Pollen is not used to infer Palaeoclimate, it’s only used to identify a plant, which is then used to reconstruct Palaeoclimate.

Question 6

Why is pollen only used to identify a plant?

Answer 6

It’s because pollen is species-specific, i.e., pollen of plants are unique/distinct.

Question 7

Reasons for studying palynology? (3)

Answer 7

• Evolution.
• Palaeoenvironmental changes.
• Biostratigraphy.

Question 8

Why use pollen? (5)

Answer 8

• Pollen/spores are numerous.
• Small & behave like sedimentary particles.
• Durable exine (outer layer).
• Species specific (complex).
• Environmentally sensitive.

Question 9

Application 1: Time & origin of plant groups (Evolution)? (4)

Answer 9

• Silurian.
• Devonian.
• Carboniferous.
• Cretaceous.

Question 10

Silurian plant groups? (3)

Answer 10

• Lycopods.
• Sphenophytes.
• Psilophytes.

Question 11

Devonian plant group?

Answer 11

Ferns

Question 12

Carboniferous plant group?

Answer 12

Progymnosperms.

Question 13

Cretaceous plant group?

Answer 13

Angiosperms.

Question 14

Application 2: Quaternary palaeoclimate?

Answer 14

Read graph from bottom (=old) to top (=young).

Question 15

Application 3: Permian biostratigraphy?

Answer 15

Read graph from left (=old) to right (=young).

Question 16

Transportation of pollen attributes? (5)

Answer 16

• Saccate pollen travels far.
• Wind pollinated forms also travel far (size).
• More solid ones don’t travel far.
• Wind velocity is also important (canopy vs understorey).
• Numbers produced by plant important.

Question 17

Collection/Sampling of pollen?

Answer 17

Depends on your question & the length of your core.

Question 18

Phytolith overview? (7)

Answer 18

-Take on shape of the cell (usually epidermal).

• Very resistant to degradation.
• Produced by grasses, palms, woody dicots & monocots.
• Absent in lower plants, roots & tubers.
• Used extensively (for what?).
• Each plant produces a suite of morphotypes.
• Redundant morphotypes.

Question 19

What are phytoliths extensively used for? (3)

Answer 19

• Archaeological reconstructions/crops/foods.
• Hominid sites (vegetation).
• Diet of hominids & ungulate herbivores.

Question 20

Case Study: Miocene Project attributes? (2)

Answer 20

• Gorongosa National Park.
• Fossils recovered help indicate possible coastal, estuarine & forest setting.