BECAS
MAMMANA Sabrina BelÉn
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Chemometrics in palaeobotany and its chemotaxonomic implications: a case study of neuropterid foliage (pennsylvanian, Sidney coalfield, Canada)
Autor/es:
J.A D'ANGELO; E.L. ZODROW; G. CAMÍ; D. RAMIREZ; S.B. MAMMANA
Lugar:
Corrientes
Reunión:
Simposio; XV Simposio Argentino de Paleobotmánica y Palinología. II Simposio Argentino de Melisopalinología; 2012
Resumen:
Chemometrics combines chemical measurements (e.g., spectroscopic data) andmathematical or statistical methods (e.g., multivariate analysis). Spectroscopicdata are unique because they are both multivariate in nature (several hundredvariables) and highly correlated. Multivariate techniques (e.g., principalcomponent analysis -PCA) in combination with spectroscopic data (e.g.,Fourier Transform Infrared-FTIR) are powerful methods for identifyingdominant data patterns (e.g., groups or trends). This case study illustrates thecapabilities of chemometrics applied to FTIR data obtained for coalifiedcompressions of several neuropterid taxa (Pennsylvanian, Sydney Coalfield,Canada). Neuropterids represent one of the most common and widespread typesof foliage in Carboniferous time. However, they correspond to a grouping ofmany genera belonging to various families. Those genera are distinguishedbased on character sets including frond architecture, pinnule and cuticularmorphologies, which are not equally known for each group. This makes itimpossible to list the Carboniferous taxa unequivocally belonging to theneuropterids. Using semi-quantitative FTIR and PCA data evaluations, 98coalified specimens of 9 neuropterid taxa were investigated to assess whethertheir chemical compositions can be used for chemotaxonomic purposes. PCAresults successfully identified groups related to neuropterid taxa traditionallydefined by morphology e.g., Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri (Hoffmann) Clealet al. 1990 and Linopteris obliqua (Bunbury 1847) emend. Zodrow et al. 2007.Furthermore, some non-neuropterid specimens, i.e., Alethopteris pseudograndinioides Zodrow et Cleal 1998 could clearly be differentiated fromthe neuropterids. These findings underpin the potential for chemometrics (i.e.,FTIR followed by PCA) to characterize neuropterid taxa and to differentiatebetween neuropterids and non-neuropterids.