OWL PELLETS, POLLEN AND THE PALEOENVIRONMENT

Pollen data provide the basis for determining a biostratigraphic recor d of past environments and climatic changes. The pollen record in sedi ments has generally been interpreted in terms of the local pollen rain , but there are factors independent of climate, ecology or sedimentolo gy that may alter the pollen composition and jeopardise resulting inte rpretations. The pollen spectra of owl pellets are here compared with the local pollen rain; the results suggest that the pollen distributio n in pellets reflects the preferences of the owls in terms of their hu nting areas and diet, the preferred prey species and the diet of the l atter. Pellets may contribute greatly to local sediments when disinteg rated, and thus introduce biases in the preserved pollen spectra.