tbl_abundance_elements

The abundance_element_id foreign key can be null for both of the children tables, tbl_abundances and tbl_dating_material. Therefore, this is an optional table.

• We do not appear to have any information in the Strucke data that counts as an “element” to count, so the abundance can simply be tied to species

Contains reference data that defines the type of element, part, or unit being counted, as indicated by the values in tbl_abundances.

For insects, this is often the Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI), but it can also include individual body parts such as wings, shells, or leg segments. For plant remains (macrofossils), it generally represents specific plant parts like seeds, leaves, or bud scales.

1: Insects & similar (Insect and other arthropod taxa, along with other remains commonly extracted when analysing insect samples)

abundance_element_id	record_type_id	element_name
1	1	Whole arthropod
5	1	MNI
6	1	Left elytron
7	1	Right elytron
8	1	Thorax
9	1	Head
10	1	Body segment (other)
11	1	Leg
17	1	Aedeagus

2: Plants & pollen (Plants taxa and their pollen. Also includes non-pollen palynomorphs commonly counted and included in pollen analyses)

abundance_element_id	record_type_id	element_name
2	2	Pollen grain
3	2	Leaf
4	2	Seed grain
12	2	Flower
13	2	Leaf bud
18	2	Needle
19	2	Cone
20	2	Flower bud
21	2	Flower
22	2	Leaf sheath
23	2	Culm node (solid)
24	2	Culm node (hollow)
25	2	Culm node (undefined)
26	2	Ear
27	2	Spikelet
28	2	Chaff
29	2	Awn fragment
30	2	Spikelet fork
31	2	Rachis fragment
32	2	Glume base
33	2	Rachis segment(S)
34	2	Palea
35	2	Lemma
36	2	Glume
37	2	Whole plant
39	2	Shell
40	2	Berry
41	2	Stem
42	2	Twig
43	2	Bark
44	2	Wood
45	2	Root
46	2	Corm (Root bulb/root tuber)
47	2	Cone scale
48	2	Endosperm
49	2	Straw

3: Non-pollen palynomorphs ((Fossil) remains often extracted in association with pollen analyses)

abundance_element_id	record_type_id	element_name
16	3	Spore
38	3	Unknown

4: Molluscs (Snails and shellfish, terrestrial or aquatic)

abundance_element_id	record_type_id	element_name
14	4	Shell

8: Cladocera ( Water fleas, an order of the class Brachiopoda, small aquatic crustaceans, of which Daphnia is the most commonly useful genus.)

abundance_element_id	record_type_id	element_name
15	8	Carapace