Palynological analysis of a unique, large-scale apiary from the tenth—early ninth centuries BCE town at Tel Reḥov (Jordan Valley, northern Israel) was aimed at identifying the plants used for honey production, reconstructing ancient environments and identifying exotic plants that may indicate the geographical origin of apiculture at the site. Pollen samples from various contexts represent the local environment, whether the more general (soil samples, cylinder wall) or bee-biased (hives, combs). High Ziziphus and Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae ratios accord with the Irano—Turnanian vegetation of the site's vicinity. The ancient hives were placed within the old town, hence the dominance of ruderal plants. The fossil pollen represents the full spring to autumn flowering season. Nothing in the pollen spectra suggests an exotic source of the hives' contents or the material the cylinders were made of. If the bees were originally brought from afar, they subsequently exploited the local plants.

The present study shows new evidence of morphological traits that supports the hypothesis of diversification between two genetic variants of Pelliciera rhizophorae (Tetrameristaceae), the most ancient species in the Neotropical mangrove ecosystem. Previous studies using molecular markers identified two variants of this species. Our new study, using pollen grain morphology, revealed differences in pollen sculpture between the two variants; that is, in Variant A the exine is characterised as perforate—verrucose, while in Variant B, it is punctuate. Pollen size in Variant A is larger than in Variant B, whereas the exine is thicker in Variant B than in Variant A. The differences in pollen morphology between the two variants represent new evidence suggesting that a diversification process might be occurring within P. rhizophorae, possibly due to adaptive processes in response to environmental conditions or pollination vectors.

Seventy-five samples of honey produced by honeybees from the Department Diamante (Entre Rios, Argentina) were analysed for pollen content. One hundred and forty-two morphological types were identified, belonging to 62 botanical families. Unifloral honeys were predominant (59%). The main type of honey produced was from Glycine max (21%), Lotus corniculatus (15%), ‘clovers’ (11%), Ammi spp. (5%), Melilotus albus, Salix humboldtiana (3%) and Medicago sativa (1%). By means of quantitative analysis, 85% of the honeys were classified as Classes I and II. Foraging behaviour and pollen diversity were analysed in honey samples. Geographical markers are proposed for these honeys. The expected differentiation of samples attributable to sub-environments and harvest dates is discussed.

This paper presents the first study on the relationship between vegetation and modern pollen rain along a 200-km elevational gradient (275–2600 m above sea level), in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of northwestern Pakistan. A vegetation survey of 24 plots (six plots of 10 × 10 m from four elevational zones) was carried out following the Braun-Blanquet method. The percentage cover of all taxa was documented and species were assigned to their respective families. Twenty-four surface samples (taken from the same plots from which the vegetation data were recorded), were processed according to standard methods for retrieving pollen grains. Based on a count of 300 pollen grains per sample, the percentage abundance of taxa in the pollen assemblages was compared to the corresponding percentage of cover abundance in the vegetation, at the family level. Results of the constrained incremental sum of squares (CONISS) derived from the pollen data reveal that the natural vegetation zonation is well reflected in pollen assemblages despite alteration of the vegetation by human activities. The identification of key taxa for the different vegetation zones improves our confidence to draw vegetation boundaries and distinguish the elevational zones along the gradient. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient at P < 0.05 indicates a significant correlation between vegetation cover and pollen rain in Acanthaceae, Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Poaceae, and Verbenaceae, whereas weak correlations were observed in Apiaceae, Balsaminaceae, Boraginaceae, Rubiaceae, and Saxifragaceae. Results based on the comparison of vegetation and the pollen spectra at the family level, and their transfer factors (TF), reveal that large-sized Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Cannabaceae, Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae, Myrtaceae, Poaceae/cereal pollen grains > 45 mm, and Polygonaceae reflect the proximity of cultivated land and human habitation in the lower three vegetation zones of Peshawar valley, lower montane Malakand hills and Swat valley. Contrarily, the abundance of the Dryopteridaceae, Pinaceae, Pteridaceae and certain spores reflects natural vegetation in the upper montane Malam Jabba zone.

The Proterozoic—Phanerozoic transition recorded a general trend of decrease in phytoplankton cell size, in contrast to the earlier and much larger Ediacaran acritarchs. Particularly minute, unornamented but sculptured organicwalled microfossils have been recovered from the lower Cambrian Lükati Formation in northern Estonia. The lack of any significant thermal alteration in this formation allowed for excellent preservation of fine microstructures on these microfossils. Among the rich palynomorph assemblages in the Lükati Formation, a new species of tiny, spheroidal eukaryotic microfossil is recorded: Reticella corrugata gen. et sp. nov. It is characterised by a corrugated and flexible vesicle wall that is densely perforated by nano-scale pores. Despite its unique morphology, the new species shares diagnostic characters with fossil and extant prasinophyte algae. Reticella corrugata is among the smallest microfossils with typical eukaryotic morphology (conspicuous wall sculpture) and contributes to the diversity of the size class of small acritarchs. Size, abundance, inferred prasinophyte affinity and eukaryotic wall sculpture make this new taxon a likely member of the early eukaryotic picoplankton.

This study describes the detailed palynology of the Eagle Ford Group at Lozier Canyon, its principal outcrop reference section in west Texas. Prominent marine phytoplankton assemblages are consistent with a proposed depositional setting for Lozier Canyon on a submarine platform within the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway (KWIS) of the USA. The Lower Eagle Ford Formation (middle to upper Cenomanian) was deposited under restricted marine conditions with oxygen-deficient, probably anoxic bottom waters, as indicated by the black, organic-rich (ca. 1 to > 6% total organic carbon) shale lithology. The formation comprises two fourth-order stratigraphical sequences, each showing sedimentary evidence of increasing water depth during deposition. Palynomorph assemblages from the sequences are dominated by green algal prasinophyte phycomata in the lower parts and peridinioid dinoflagellate cysts in the upper parts. The productivity of these marine phytoplankton groups may have been stimulated by availability of ammonium (prasinophytes) and nitrite (peridinioids) from upwelling, or vertical expansion of the oxygen-minimum zone. The transition from prasinophyte- to peridinioid-dominated assemblages may reflect elevation of the photic zone to a level less regularly encroached by deeper, ammonium-enriched waters of the denitrification zone. The overlying Upper Eagle Ford Formation (upper Cenomanian to upper Turonian or Coniacian) was deposited under deeper, relatively open marine conditions, as indicated by a decrease in organic carbon content and an increase in carbonate content. This is supported by the presence of diversified dinoflagellate cyst assemblages, including inter-regional (high- to mid-latitude) marker events; in the upper Cenomanian, base and acme Cyclonephelium compactum-membraniphorum, top consistent and frequent Litosphaeridium siphoniphorum, and top Adnatosphaeridium tutulosum; in the middle to upper Turonian, range bases of Heterosphaeridium difficile and Senoniasphaera rotundata. The stratigraphical resolution offered by palynology indicates potential application to wellsite ‘geosteering’ of commercial shale oil and shale gas wells drilled in the Eagle Ford Group.

A well-preserved and moderately diverse organic-walled microphytoplankton assemblage was recovered from the subsurface Lower Ordovician Nambeet Formation, Canning Basin, Western Australia. The microphytoplankton assemblage consists of prasinophyte phycomata (Leiosphaeridia spp.), acritarchs, cyanobacteria (Eomerismopedia maureeniae), degraded algae, chitinozoans and graptolite fragments. The acritarch assemblage comprises 13 genera, one of which is new (Aciculasphaera), 13 named species, three of which are new (Aciculasphaera interrupta, Gorgonisphaeridium martiniae and Loeblichia nambeetense), five species left in open nomenclature (sp.), and one cf. designation. The acritarch assemblage indicates an Early Ordovician (late Tremodocian through Floian) age and displays some similarities with comparable-age assemblages reported from North and South China, Australia and Laurentia. The paleogeographic distribution of the acritarch assemblage indicates that this assemblage represents a low- to mid-paleolatitude occurrence. Sedimentologic and palynologic evidence signifies deposition in a normal marine offshore environment.

The new dinoflagellate cyst Bianchina hieroglyphica gen. et sp. nov. with the unique combination of archaeopyle type 3Ia3Pa_3–5″ and a characteristic penitabular, hieroglyph-like surface ornament is described from rocks of Late Aptian to Middle Cenomanian age (mid-Cretaceous) from the New Zealand East Coast Basin.