Factors affecting consistency and accuracy in identifying modern macroperforate planktonic foraminifera

被引:18
作者
Fenton, Isabel S. [1 ]
Baranowski, Ulrike [2 ]
Boscolo-Galazzo, Flavia [3 ]
Cheales, Hannah [1 ,4 ]
Fox, Lyndsey [5 ]
King, David J. [5 ,6 ]
Larkin, Christina [7 ]
Latas, Marcin [1 ,6 ]
Liebrand, Diederik [8 ]
Miller, C. Giles [5 ]
Nilsson-Kerr, Katrina [9 ]
Piga, Emanuela [3 ,5 ]
Pugh, Hazel [1 ,10 ]
Remmelzwaal, Serginio [11 ]
Roseby, Zoe A. [12 ]
Smith, Yvonne M. [13 ]
Stukins, Stephen [5 ]
Taylor, Ben [14 ]
Woodhouse, Adam [13 ]
Worne, Savannah [15 ]
Pearson, Paul N. [3 ]
Poole, Christopher R. [6 ]
Wade, Bridget S. [6 ]
Purvis, Andy [1 ,10 ]
机构
[1] Nat Hist Museum, Dept Life Sci, London SW7 5BD, England
[2] Univ Birmingham, Sch Geog Earth & Environm Sci, Birmingham B15 2TT, W Midlands, England
[3] Cardiff Univ, Sch Earth & Ocean Sci, Cardiff CF10 3AT, S Glam, Wales
[4] UCL, Dept Genet Evolut & Environm, London WC1E 6BT, England
[5] Nat Hist Museum, Dept Earth Sci, London SW7 5BD, England
[6] UCL, Dept Earth Sci, London WC1E 6BT, England
[7] Univ Cambridge, Dept Earth Sci, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, England
[8] Univ Bremen, MARUM Ctr Marine Environm Sci, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
[9] Open Univ, Sch Environm Earth & Ecosyst Sci, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, Bucks, England
[10] Imperial Coll London, Dept Life Sci, Silwood Pk Campus, Ascot SL5 7PY, Berks, England
[11] Univ Bristol, Sch Earth Sci, Bristol BS8 1RJ, Avon, England
[12] Univ Southampton, Natl Oceanog Ctr Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, Hants, England
[13] Univ Leeds, Sch Earth & Environm, Leeds LS2 9JT, W Yorkshire, England
[14] Univ St Andrews, Sch Earth & Environm Sci, St Andrews KY16 9AL, Fife, Scotland
[15] Univ Nottingham, Sch Geog, Nottingham NG7 2RD, England
关键词
CRETACEOUS-TERTIARY BOUNDARY; EL KEF; RECONSTRUCTION; EXTINCTION; AGREEMENT;
D O I
10.5194/jm-37-431-2018
中图分类号
Q91 [古生物学];
学科分类号
0709 ; 070903 ;
摘要
Planktonic foraminifera are widely used in biostratigraphic, palaeoceanographic and evolutionary studies, but the strength of many study conclusions could be weakened if taxonomic identifications are not reproducible by different workers. In this study, to assess the relative importance of a range of possible reasons for among-worker disagreement in identification, 100 specimens of 26 species of macroperforate planktonic foraminifera were selected from a core-top site in the subtropical Pacific Ocean. Twenty-three scientists at different career stages - including some with only a few days experience of planktonic foraminifera - were asked to identify each specimen to species level, and to indicate their confidence in each identification. The participants were provided with a species list and had access to additional reference materials. We use generalised linear mixed-effects models to test the relevance of three sets of factors in identification accuracy: participant-level characteristics (including experience), species-level characteristics (including a participant's knowledge of the species) and specimen-level characteristics (size, confidence in identification). The 19 less experienced scientists achieve a median accuracy of 57 %, which rises to 75 % for specimens they are confident in. For the 4 most experienced participants, overall accuracy is 79 %, rising to 93 % when they are confident. To obtain maximum comparability and ease of analysis, everyone used a standard microscope with only 35x magnification, and each specimen was studied in isolation. Consequently, these data provide a lower limit for an estimate of consistency. Importantly, participants could largely predict whether their identifications were correct or incorrect: their own assessments of specimen-level confidence and of their previous knowledge of species concepts were the strongest predictors of accuracy.
引用
收藏
页码:431 / 443
页数:13
相关论文
共 40 条
[1]   Vertical niche separation control of diversity and size disparity in planktonic foraminifera [J].
Al-Saboui, Nadia ;
Kucera, Michal ;
Schmidt, Daniela N. .
MARINE MICROPALEONTOLOGY, 2007, 63 (1-2) :75-90
[2]  
Al-Sabouni N., 2018, J MICROPALAEONTOL
[3]   The cryptic and the apparent reversed: lack of genetic differentiation within the morphologically diverse plexus of the planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides sacculifer [J].
Andre, Aurore ;
Weiner, Agnes ;
Quillevere, Frederic ;
Aurahs, Ralf ;
Morard, Raphael ;
Douady, Christophe J. ;
de Garidel-Thoron, Thibault ;
Escarguel, Gilles ;
de Vargas, Colomban ;
Kucera, Michal .
PALEOBIOLOGY, 2013, 39 (01) :21-39
[4]  
[Anonymous], 2003, Statistical Methods for Rates and Proportions
[5]   A revised taxonomic and phylogenetic concept for the planktonic foraminifer species Globigerinoides ruber based on molecular and morphometric evidence [J].
Aurahs, Ralf ;
Treis, Yvonne ;
Darling, Kate ;
Kucera, Michal .
MARINE MICROPALEONTOLOGY, 2011, 79 (1-2) :1-14
[6]   A phylogeny of Cenozoic macroperforate planktonic foraminifera from fossil data [J].
Aze, Tracy ;
Ezard, Thomas H. G. ;
Purvis, Andy ;
Coxall, Helen K. ;
Stewart, Duncan R. M. ;
Wade, Bridget S. ;
Pearson, Paul N. .
BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS, 2011, 86 (04) :900-927
[7]   Fitting Linear Mixed-Effects Models Using lme4 [J].
Bates, Douglas ;
Maechler, Martin ;
Bolker, Benjamin M. ;
Walker, Steven C. .
JOURNAL OF STATISTICAL SOFTWARE, 2015, 67 (01) :1-48
[8]  
BE ALLEN W. H., 1959, MICROPALEONTOLOGY, V5, P77, DOI 10.2307/1484157
[9]  
Bolli H., 1989, Plankton Stratigraphy
[10]  
BOLTOVSKOY ESTEBAN, 1965, J PALEONTOL, V39, P383