Abundance, diversity and taphonomy of dung-related palynomorphs from modern animal enclosures and faecal samples

Surface sediment samples, as well as dung samples from a range of modern sites under various husbandry practices, have been investigated to determine the taxonomic diversity and abundance of spores of coprophilous fungi and other non-pollen palynomorphs. The results show a remarkable variation in both, the amount of microremains and the composition of the assemblages, ranging from zero counts to spore-rich samples and from a poor to a wide variety of taxa. Based on the different conditions recorded on the sites, inferences are made on the factors that may have played a major role in determining a high or low quantity of microremains (such as animal density and the frequency of use of the sites) and their implications for the study of ancient pastoral contexts. Eggs of intestinal parasites, along with aquatic indicators, were also quantified, and some possibly dung-related non-pollen palynomorphs are described.