How to extract and analyze pollen from internal organs and exoskeletons of fossil insects?

Author(s)
Fridgeir Grimsson, Silvia Ulrich, Reinhard Zetter, Thomas Hörnschemeyer, Michael S. Engel, Sonja Wedmann
Abstract

Summary This protocol explains how to extract pollen from fossil insects with subsequent descriptions of pollen treatment. We also describe how to document morphological and ultrastructural features with light-microscopy and electron microscopy. It enables a taxonomic assignment of pollen that can be used to interpret flower-insect interactions, foraging and feeding behavior of insects, and the paleoenvironment. The protocol is limited by the state of the fossil, the presence/absence of pollen on fossil specimens, and the availability of extant pollen for comparison. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Wappler et al. (2015), Ulrich and Grímsson (2020), and Wedmann et al. (2021).

Organisation(s)
Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, Department of Palaeontology
External organisation(s)
Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, University of Kansas
Journal
STAR Protocols
Volume
2
Pages
1-19
No. of pages
20
ISSN
2666-1667
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100923
Publication date
2021
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
105117 Palaeobotany, 106008 Botany, 105118 Palaeontology
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Medicine(all), Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all), Immunology and Microbiology(all), Neuroscience(all)
Portal url
https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/how-to-extract-and-analyze-pollen-from-internal-organs-and-exoskeletons-of-fossil-insects(b8f0383c-3707-4c17-96bd-eddea0a83454).html