Mycology & Pathology Flashcards
What is palynology?
- the study of pollen, spores, and other acid-resistant microscopic plant bodies
- collectively known as palynomorphs
- interdisciplinary field with applications in forensics, geology, geography, botany, archaeology and immunoloy
What is forensic palynology?
it is the study of microscopic evidence that is resistant to damage or removal from a crime scene
What are the four attributes that are the value of forensic attributes?
- they are microscopic in size
- pollen and spores are produced in vast numbers
- pollen and spores can be identified to a plant taxon
- they are highly resistant to decay
What is the evidential value of palynology
- most pollen grains end up as components of soil and dust
- type of pollen can often be related to a particular vegetation type, site or region
- this allows for the comparison of pollen samples to prove or disprove a relationship between a suspect, victim, objects or location
- provides corroborative or associative evidence and provides investigative leads
What are pollen and spores?
- all plants produce either pollen or spores as a part of their reproductive cycle
- can be preserved for many years without specialized storage
- morphologically complex and can be identified to a specific plant type, site, region or country
What is pollen?
- fine yellow dust produced by flowers
- microscopic particles carry the male sex cells of the high vascular plants
What are spores?
- similar in size and distribution to pollen
- asexual reproductive bodies of lower vascular plants and non-vascular plants
What are pollen grains?
the fingerprints of plants that allow for identification to plant family, genus or species
What is pollen dispersal?
- Knowledge of pollination and dispersal patterns
important for forensic investigations
– Determines probative value of pollen evidence
Why is knowledge of pollination and dispersal patterns important for forensic investigators?
determines probative value of pollen evidence
How do you analyze pollen?
Organic residue mounted on glass slides using
silicon oil or glycerin
* Light microscopy examination to taxonomic level
– Family, genus, species
* Comparison of pollen assemblage with reference
collections
* Calculate relative percentage of each pollen type
* Scanning electron microscopy as required
How do you interpret pollen assemblages?
Provide a “pollen print” for a given location
* Different types of plant communities produce
different pollen assemblages making some unique
* Pollen assemblages from man-made or disturbed
environments, different towns, suburbs, and even
gardens can be distinguished
* Travel history from clothes, shoes or vehicles can be
valuable
* Evidence of primary and secondary crime scene
What are the applications of pollen in forensics?
- Relate a suspect to the scene of a crime or the
discovery scene - Relate an item at the scene to a suspect
- Prove or disprove alibis
- Corroborate a victim’s account (e.g. of locality)
- Build a profile of a suspect
- Narrow down a list of suspects
- Aid police to focus their search in the right direction
- Determine the travel history of items, drugs, etc.
- Determine the geographic source of drugs, fruits,
people, or various imported cargoes
What is mycology?
a branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi which is evolutionary more closely related to animals than to plants
What is forensic mycology?
the use of fungi in criminal investigations
