Marine Palynologie

We showed that:

• The molecular characteristics and thickness of the cyst walls of the toxic Alexandrium speciesAlexandrium catenella and Alexandrium pacificum cause that they do not have a high preservation potential in marine sediments (Ando et al., 2024). In contrast to the species Lingulodinium machaerophorum they have the higher percentage of α− /β-glucosidic linkages and that the thickness of their cyst walls is about one-third of that of L. machaerophorum.
• By studying the molecular characteristics of two cyst species that are among the most resistant organic matter particulate organic matter (Impagidinium patulum and Impagidinium aculeatum) and compare this with that of more vulnerable species we discovered that their walls primarily consist of a carbohydrate-based polymer (Versteegh and Zonneveld, 2022). Compared to I. patulum, cyst walls of I. aculeatum contain more C-O probably of secondary alcohols that might imply a slightly higher resistance to decay of I. patulum. Cyst species that represent particular organic matter being extremely sensitive and slightly resistant against aerobic degradation in natural settings reveals that most vulnerable cysts show C=N, N-H, N-O, C-N bending/stretching, as well as the presence of C=O and C-O bounds. Cyst species that are somewhat less sensitive have a strong indication of the presence of nitrogen in their macromolecules. More resistant species lack nitrogen whereas the most resistant cyst species I. aculeatum and I. patulum show low amounts of C=O.