The perils of taxonomic inconsistency in quantitative palaeoecology: experiments with testate amoeba data |
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| Authors: | RICHARD J PAYNE MARIUSZ LAMENTOWICZ EDWARD A D MITCHELL |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Environmental & Geographical Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Street, Manchester M1 5GD, UK;2. Geography, School of Environment and Development, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK;3. Department of Biogeography and Palaeoecology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Dziêgielowa 27, 61‐680 Poznań, Poland;4. WSL, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Ecosystem Boundaries Research Unit, Wetlands Research Group, Station 2, CH‐1015 Lausanne, Switzerland;5. école Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Laboratory of Ecological Systems, Station 2, CH ‐ 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland;6. Laboratory of Soil Biology, University of Neuchatel, Rue Emile Argand 11, CH‐2009 Neuchatel, Switzerland |
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| Abstract: | Payne, R. J., Lamentowicz, M. & Mitchell, E. A. D. 2010: The perils of taxonomic inconsistency in quantitative palaeoecology: experiments with testate amoeba data. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00174.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. A fundamental requirement of quantitative palaeoecology is consistent taxonomy between a modern training set and palaeoecological data. In this study we assess the possible consequences of violation of this requirement by simulating taxonomic errors in testate amoeba data. Combinations of easily confused taxa were selected, and data manipulated to reflect confusion of these taxa; transfer functions based on unmodified data were then applied to these modified data sets. Initially these experiments were carried out one error at a time using four modern training sets; subsequently, multiple errors were separately simulated both in four modern training sets and in four palaeoecological data sets. Some plausible taxonomic confusions caused major biases in reconstructed values. In the case of two palaeoecological data sets, a single consistent taxonomic error was capable of changing the pattern of environmental reconstruction beyond all recognition, totally removing any real palaeoenvironmental signal. The issue of taxonomic consistency is one that many researchers would rather ignore; our results show that the consequences of this may ultimately be severe. |
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