I was wondering whether fossilised pollen looks very different from normal pollen when you use bright field microscopy? In particular, do the following change significantly:
- Morphology
- Colour
- Surface texture
I was specifically wondering whether an AI trained on images of normal pollen would be able to work effectively on a dataset of fossilised pollen images
Any thoughts would be very appreciated!
Hi.,
When viewing pollen under the microscope, the stained slide is clearer ... The unstained slide is more translucent and does not give a clear view of the grain surface. ... used to remove the oily layer and thus get a better look at the grain surface. ... For best possible results, students are advised to use freshly collected pollen.
For more info:
http://www.microlabgallery.com/PollenFile.aspx
Dear Alexis,
Despite due to the different pressure and temperature, the color of a fossil pollen sample of Pre-Quaternary period can be changed (See Chung Nguyen answer), the feature of the fossil pollen of Quaternary samples is the same as the fresh pollen samples (this is the logic of using reference collection slides). Although, in some cases the degree of corrosion can change some feasters of pollen exine.
the bests
T.T
Hi Alexis,
Modern pollen grains are usually colorless or pale yellow and pale brown in thick wall grains. As mentioned correctly by Taravat Talebi , older grains get darker over time due to diagenesis process, but this is not the sole factor controlling the grains' color. I have seen very dark grains in peat records of the past millennium that have been frequently burned.
One more important difference between fresh and fossil grains is the presence of cellulose inside fresh grains, while fossil grains lose their inner content over time. Noting this, it is possible to distinguish contamination of fossil samples with modern pollen grains, in the case that samples are not acetolysed during pollen extraction.
Best,
Reza
Thank you all for sharing your insights! Your thoughts have been extremely useful
In fresh pollen exine contain Cytoplasm whereas cytoplasm has been destroyed in fossilsed pollen
Other than the change in color and color index in which the fossilized pollen and spores behave than the modern. The recent or modern pollen usually absorb well the pigmentation material such as the safranin-red than the fossilized spores and pollen do.
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