The use of micropalaeontological samples from mudstone successions that have suffered de-watering and compaction means that subtle, lamina-thick, changes in assemblages may be lost when samples are processed that are 1–2 cm thick. As most micropalaeontological samples are often 2–5 cm thick, one must be then cautious of interpretations based on such short-duration changes. This work is part of an integrated study of the Christian Malford lagerstätten that has resulted in a number of papers.

To reconstruct subsurface water conditions using deep-dwelling planktonic foraminifera, we must fully understand how the oxygen isotope signal incorporates into their shell. We report δ¹⁸O in four species sampled in the eastern North Atlantic with plankton tows. We assess the size and crust effect on the isotopic δ¹⁸O and compared them with predictions from two equations. We reveal different patterns of calcite addition with depth, highlighting the need to perform species-specific calibrations.

We report extant ostracods from the Co To Islands in northeastern Vietnam and identified 77 ostracod species. On the basis of the comparison of ostracod species reported from adjacent areas, the assemblages from the Co To Islands have a relationship with those of the Kymerian Province, especially with that of South China, and have little relationship with the East Indian Province. Our result is useful for the reconstruction of the dispersal of the Kymerian ostracods during the Quaternary.

Many major food crops, including rice, wheat, maize, rye, barley, oats and millet, are domesticated species of grass. However, because grass pollen all looks highly similar, it has been challenging to track grass domestication using pollen in archaeological samples. Here, we show that we can use the chemical signature of pollen grains to classify different grass species. This approach has the potential to help unravel the spread of domestication and agriculture over the last 10 000 years.

Species of two important diatoms (algae with silica skeletons and important primary producers) are described formally and incorporated into existing biozonation schemes allowing correlation of Paleocene to Miocene strata in the North Sea, important for hydrocarbon exploration as well as for environmental interpretation. Their abundances are linked to environmentally stressed conditions, including increased global warming and periods of nutrient influx from rapidly eroding land masses nearby.