Great Strategies for Teaching Paleontology: Paleobotany – 200,000 Years of Pollen and Environmental Change Christopher L. Hill Boise State University, Boise, Idaho; On the Cutting Edge - Teaching Paleontology in the 21st Century Cornell University and the Paleontological Research Institute, Ithaca, NY

Outline of Presentation Introduction: What is this activity? Context Goals Activity Description Adaptations

Introduction: What is this activity? This is a “virtual lab” homework asignment Students experience the scientific process by: ◦Observation, identification ◦Data organization and analysis ◦Final product is a report Students use online resources ◦Identification key ◦Pollen slides to count ◦Basic table format and isotope curve provided

Context Designed for upper-division undergraduate course in Quaternary Paleontology Majors in geosciences, geoarchaeology, environmental studies, anthropology

Goals Introduction to Palynology; Students will… ◦Identify different fossil forms (pollen taxa) ◦Link pollen to vegetation/climate ◦Recognize changing patterns over time ◦Compare local pollen change to global isotope record Skills: “Scientific Process/Critical Thinking” ◦Observation, identification, counting ◦Organizing data ◦Analysis of data ◦Interpretations and Write-up

Description Pre-activity introduction to paleobotany Provided online via BLACKBOARD: ◦Pollen key ◦Pollen slides ◦Step-by-step instructions for data organization and analysis ◦Stable isotope curve for last 300,000 years ◦Guide for report

A Pollen Key for Quaternary Paleontology

Ambrosia - Spherical - Exine: Echinate (short spines) - Favors warm, temperate climates Ragweeds (Ambrosia), also called bitterweeds and bloodweeds, are a genus of flowering plants from the sunflower family (Asteraceae)

Picea - Vesiculate - Reticulum Bladders -The cap exine is a verrucate texture - Favors cold climates A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea, a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen coniferous trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate or boreal regions.

Paleobotany Project In this exercise you will 1) study a set of samples collected from the western North America, 2) compare your result to the global isotope climate record. The samples are from a sediment core from a lake basin. There are 8 samples. The top of the core dates to today, the bottom of the core extends to about 220,000 years ago. Sample 1 Today (or Recent) Sample 2 Sample 3 20,000 years ago Sample 4 Sample 5 130,000 years ago Sample 6 Sample 7 Sample 8 220,00 years ago

Paleobotany Project Make a chart with the raw counts. Convert these into relative frequencies (percentages) for each slide (time level). Here is an example of a count sheet: Pollen Type 1 Pollen Type 2 Pollen Type 3 Total Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4 Sample 5

Paleobotany Project Climate Set 1 Climate Set 2 Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4 Sample 5 Sample 6 Sample 7 Sample 8 Can they be grouped into sets based on what kinds of environments or climates they might indicate?

Paleobotany Project Stable Isotope Curve to Compare with Pollen Diagram

Paleobotany Project Written Report: “Guide to Paleobotany (Pollen) Assignment Report for Quaternary Paleontology” 1. Title 2. Introduction 3. Materials and Methods 4. Results 5. Interpretations/Discussion/Conclusion 6. Bibliography

Adaptations Most students used EXCEL although this wasn’t part of the required assignment Some students presented data in an unconventional manner ◦Emphasize “standard” pollen chart? Different regions or timescales Links to other paleo-proxy data