Papers by Frank H Neumann
The South African Pollen Monitoring Network: Insights from 2 years of national aerospora sampling (2019–2021)
Clinical and Translational Allergy
BackgroundPollen monitoring has been discontinuously undertaken in South Africa, a country with h... more BackgroundPollen monitoring has been discontinuously undertaken in South Africa, a country with high biodiversity, a seasonal rainfall gradient, and nine biomes from arid to subtropical. The South African Pollen Monitoring Network was set up in 2019 to conduct the first long‐term national aerospora monitoring across multiple biomes, providing weekly reports to allergy sufferers and healthcare providers.MethodsDaily airborne pollen concentrations were measured from August 2019 to August 2021 in seven cities across South Africa. Updated pollen calendars were created for the major pollen types (>3%), the average Annual Pollen Index over 12 months was calculated, and the results were compared to available historical data.ResultsThe main pollen types were from exotic vegetation. The most abundant taxa were Poaceae, Cupressaceae, Moraceae and Buddleja. The pollen season start, peak and end varied widely according to the biome and suite of pollen taxa. The main tree season started in th...
Eocene sediments and a fresh to brackish water biota from the early rifting stage of the Upper Rhine Graben (west of oil field Landau, southwest Germany): implications for biostratigraphy, palaeoecology and source rock potential
Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments
Electronic supplementary material from Bee flowers drive macroevolutionary diversification in long-horned bees
The role of plant–pollinator interactions in the rapid radiation of the angiosperms have long fas... more The role of plant–pollinator interactions in the rapid radiation of the angiosperms have long fascinated evolutionary biologists. Studies have brought evidence for pollinator-driven diversification of various plant lineages, particularly plants with specialized flowers and concealed rewards. By contrast, little is known about how this crucial interaction has shaped macroevolutionary patterns of floral visitors. In particular, there is currently no empirical evidence that floral host association has increased diversification in bees, the most prominent group of floral visitors that essentially rely on angiosperm pollen. In this study, we examine how floral host preference influenced diversification in eucerine bees (Apidae, Eucerini), which exhibit large variations in their floral associations. We combine quantitative pollen analyses with a recently proposed phylogenetic hypothesis and use a state speciation and extinction probabilistic approach. Using this framework, we provide the ...
Concentrations of long-chain n-alkanes, CPI values and compound-specific stable hydrogen and carbon isotope compositions of major n-alkanes
Plant-wax and phytolith data from Waterfall Bluff rock shelter
Waterfall Bluff, in Eastern Mpondoland (Eastern Cape Province, South Africa), is a recently excav... more Waterfall Bluff, in Eastern Mpondoland (Eastern Cape Province, South Africa), is a recently excavated archaeological site with deposits spanning Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 to the Middle Holocene. Here, we present preliminary results of a multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental study combining macro-botanical remains, charcoal, phytoliths, pollen and plant waxes derived from the same archaeological record. We aim to understand the interactions between hunter-gatherer plant foraging and climate and environmental change in coastal Mpondoland from MIS 3 to the Early Holocene at Waterfall Bluff. The charcoal and pollen records at Waterfall Bluff show the gathering of a variety of woody taxa characterised by their combustion and medicinal properties (e.g., Millettia grandis and Apodytes dimidiate). The leaves identified in the macrobotanics and in the phytolith record might belong to some of these taxa and it is likely that they were used for medicinal purposes. From a palaeoenvironmental persp...
Lithology of sediment core GEDI97, Ein Gedi, Israel
Age determination of sediment core GEDI97, Ein Gedi, Israel
Pollen record of sediment core Ein Gedi (DSEn), Dead Sea
The Dead Sea, located at the deepest place on continent and between the subtropical Mediterranean... more The Dead Sea, located at the deepest place on continent and between the subtropical Mediterranean zone and the desert, reflects in its water composition and levels, and sedimentary records the hydrological conditions in the southern Levant region. Temporal variations in rainfall and temperatures of the Holocene Levant are reconstructed here from pollen data recovered from a sediment core drilled at the Ein Gedi shore, applying a novel biome model based on Bayesian statistics. Our results suggest that the region was arid and warm in the early Holocene period (~10-6.5 ka cal BP), wetter and colder in the mid Holocene (6.3-3.3 ka cal BP), and drier and warmer in the late Holocene (~3.2 ka cal BP to present). These periods comprise multi-centennial climate cycles that are characterized by rapid changes in temperature and precipitation reflecting Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and atmospheric conditions over the Atlantic Ocean. The pollen record responds within a short time interval to the climate conditions and marks rapid shifts from Mediterranean to desert environmental conditions and back in the southern Levant region. We also evaluate our results in the light of possible disturbances of the natural vegetation, e.g. the possibility of forest decrease, since the Neolithic.
Horbat Kur — Horbat Kur, Kinneret Regional Project — 2012, 2013
Pollen profile of sediment core GEDI97, Ein Gedi, Israel
European Pollen Database, 2018
Shaping of modern southern African biomes: Neogene vegetation and climate changes
Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, 2015
Long-term trends in climate, hydrology and geomorphology contributed to the formation of the curr... more Long-term trends in climate, hydrology and geomorphology contributed to the formation of the current biomes of southern Africa. The Neogene terrestrial fossil record is patchy, due to the geomorphological evolution of the subcontinent and the restricted distribution of suitable sediment deposits. Here we review the hypotheses on the evolution of the topography and environment and concentrate on the fossil record, especially pollen, wood, charcoal, leaves and biomarkers. Tectonic studies suggest a lower relief landscape than at present at the onset of the Neogene. Southern Africa was drained by two river systems – the Kalahari and the Karoo Rivers – and was affected by an initially weak, cool Benguela current along the western coastline, gradually promoting an aridity trend along the southwestern coast. The Cape region during the Miocene, when the Great Escarpment began to evolve, was characterised by humid, subtropical forests not unlike those still occurring on the much wetter subtropical eastern shore of southern Africa. Southern Namibia (Sperrgebiet) was probably covered by a “proto-savanna”; hyper-aridity developed further north along the Namibian coast. Probably with more uplift, the hydrological regime changed c. 15 Ma when the palaeo Karoo and Koa Rivers were captured by the Kalahari/Orange River and drained western South Africa. Miocene fossil sites are missing in southeastern Africa. In southwestern Africa an enhanced aridity trend and the shift to a winter rainfall regime during the late Miocene-Pliocene was triggered by the development of the Westerly wind system and further strengthening of the cold Benguela current enhanced by the development of the Antarctic sheet and opening of the Drake passage. Eastern southern Africa was dominated by the Great Escarpment and relatively shorter deeply incised rivers and higher rainfall than the west. The Pliocene saw the evolution of the Fynbos and Succulent Karoo biomes including the further radiation of several drought adapted plant families encompassing the Asteraceae and Aizoaceae. At the transition towards the Pleistocene, the region around Sterkfontein in eastern central southern Africa, important for hominid evolution, experienced a shift from a woody environment towards more xeric, open conditions. The Savanna biome today stretches from northeastern South Africa as far north as East Africa; the Grassland and Fynbos biomes are unique and the more arid biomes are dominant in the western half of southern Africa.
Quaternary Science Reviews, 2013
The late Holocene history of the South African summer rainfall zone offers insights into the effe... more The late Holocene history of the South African summer rainfall zone offers insights into the effects of climate on ecosystems and human societies, as well as into the accuracy of model projections of the future. However, some important aspects of this region's climatic history remain unresolved. Here we present new high-resolution diatom records representing hydrological fluctuations at Lake Sibaya, KwaZulu-Natal, during the last 1800 years. The cores were dated with 14 C, 210 Pb, 137 Cs, and exotic pollen, and were sampled at increments of 1e22 years. A low stand ending wAD 150 was followed by additional decadal to century-scale droughts, most notably wAD 1540e1760, and several periods of markedly wetter conditions wAD 220e290, AD 790e830, AD 1470e1540, and AD 1760e1860. The Medieval Climate Anomaly was generally wetter than average and the Little Ice Age was generally drier, but hydroclimate during both intervals was highly variable. These records confirm that local tree ring and stalagmite gray scale series represent rainfall variability, but they also show that widely cited stable isotope series from Makapansgat do not represent past climate as clearly. Because many interpretations of the climatic history of southern Africa have been influenced by those isotope data, we re-examine late Holocene precipitation variability in the summer rainfall zone, and also address model projections of future precipitation in the region.
Transfer Functions for Paleoclimate Reconstructions — Applications
GKSS School of Environmental Research, 2004
The aim of this study was to describe the applicability and the use of transfer functions in pale... more The aim of this study was to describe the applicability and the use of transfer functions in paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental research. In this chapter, different proxies (i.e. pollen, diatoms, carbon isotopes) were used in order to reconstruct the regional climate and environmental history throughout the Holocene. Case studies based on WA and WA-PLS transfer functions using diatoms showed the capability of siliceous algae to record environmental and climatic changes. However, the paleotemperature reconstruction from diatoms and their comparison with a pollen-based temperature reconstruction at Lake Lama, Siberia only revealed similar trends indicating different processes affecting the diatoms and pollen. The WA-based TP reconstructions from diatoms at Lake Woserin and Lake Holzmaar, Germany showed the response of the organisms to increased anthropogenic activities additionally to climate. Temperature reconstructions using carbon isotopes from tree-rings at high elevation sites of the Tibetan Plateau indicated that tree growth is temperature limited, although anthropogenic effects of changing atmospheric δ13CO2 and pCO2 may influence the calibration with measured meteorological data. Beside these reconstructions, we presented the methodology of a probability-based approach for a paleoclimate reconstruction using pollen distributions from sediments of the Dead Sea which is currently carried out.
Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 2006
In this paper we present and discuss palynological results based on a composite profile from Birk... more In this paper we present and discuss palynological results based on a composite profile from Birkat Ram crater lake (Northern Golan, Near East) in order to reconstruct the environmental history, including human impact, of the last 6500 years. Furthermore we apply a newly-developed botanical climatological transfer function to reconstruct climate variations in the northern Golan Heights based on this pollen data-set. The Birkat Ram record is strongly influenced by anthropogenic indicators in the pollen diagram with high quantities during the Chalcolithic period/Early Bronze Age, during the Hellenistic-Roman-Byzantine periods, during the Crusader period and finally during modern times. The palaeoclimate reconstruction method used is based on a Bayesian approach and is robust in avoiding the influence of these strong anthropogenic signals on the reconstruction results. The area has always had Mediterranean climate conditions and no distinctive climate changes can be identified during the past 6500 years. Because of the orography of the Mt. Hermon region the particular geographical position of the northern Golan Heights is obviously capable of buffering large-scale fluctuations in precipitation, which have otherwise been documented for several regions in the Near East.
Aerobiologia
Airborne fungal spores and pollen (aerospora), synergistic with air pollution, are key triggers o... more Airborne fungal spores and pollen (aerospora), synergistic with air pollution, are key triggers of allergic respiratory diseases. Effective diagnosis and treatment requires up-to-date location-specific knowledge on the temporal variability of aerospora types and levels. Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa and has grown substantially in three decades, with changes in ground cover, population density and air pollution, yet until now, no continuous aerospora sampling has occurred. We present a daily two-year (August 2019–July 2021) aerospora assemblage for Johannesburg and explore temporal characteristics of 13 dominant aerospora in relation to daily meteorological variables (pressure, rainfall, relative humidity, temperature and wind characteristics). February–July, July–September and January-July represent high-risk periods for fungal spores [(Alternaria alternata (Fries. ex Keissler), Ascospores, Aspergillus niger (Van Tieghem), Penicillium chrysogenum (Thom), Cladospor...
Overlooked or Unimportant? An Overview of the Coprolite Collections at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Curator: The Museum Journal
Fossilized feces, termed coprolites, provide unique information on digestive systems, diets, and ... more Fossilized feces, termed coprolites, provide unique information on digestive systems, diets, and ecosystems of extinct animals, and are potentially useful for palynology, biostratigraphy and preservation of animal and plant remains. Despite this broad utility, scientific enquiry into coprolites has been relatively sparse. We carried out a systematic investigation into 23 significant South African fossil collections of the Evolutionary Studies Institute (ESI), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in search of coprolites. This study spanned a temporal range from the Permian to the recent Cenozoic returning approximately 790 known coprolites in the collections. Of these, only four assemblages have appeared in six coprolite‐specific publications. Others have been mentioned to some extent in publications focused on fauna, palynology or simply mentioned that coprolites were present. Clearly, the coprolite collections at the ESI are understudied and require attention with the int...
Acta Palaeobotanica
Several models which remain equivocal and controversial cite migration and/or diffusion for the e... more Several models which remain equivocal and controversial cite migration and/or diffusion for the emergence and spread of pastoralism and farming in southern Africa during the first millennium AD. A synthesis of archaeobotanical proxies (e.g., palynology, phytoliths, anthracology) consistent with existing archaeobotanical and archaeological data leads to new insights into anthropogenic impacts in palaeorecords. Harnessing such archaeobotanical evidence is viable for tracing the spread of pastoralism and farming in the first millennium AD because the impact of anthropogenic practices is likely to result in distinct patterns of vegetation change. We assess this impact through the synthesis of published archaeobotanical evidence of pastoralism and farming, as well as vegetation changes in southern Africa during the first millennium AD. It has been argued that the decline of forests during the first millennium AD in southern Africa predominantly relates to climate change. This argument of...
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2021
The role of plant–pollinator interactions in the rapid radiation of the angiosperms have long fas... more The role of plant–pollinator interactions in the rapid radiation of the angiosperms have long fascinated evolutionary biologists. Studies have brought evidence for pollinator-driven diversification of various plant lineages, particularly plants with specialized flowers and concealed rewards. By contrast, little is known about how this crucial interaction has shaped macroevolutionary patterns of floral visitors. In particular, there is currently no empirical evidence that floral host association has increased diversification in bees, the most prominent group of floral visitors that essentially rely on angiosperm pollen. In this study, we examine how floral host preference influenced diversification in eucerine bees (Apidae, Eucerini), which exhibit large variations in their floral associations. We combine quantitative pollen analyses with a recently proposed phylogenetic hypothesis, and use a state speciation and extinction probabilistic approach. Using this framework, we provide the...
Quaternary Science Reviews, 2020
Far'ah II is an open-air site in the north western Negev desert (Israel). Previous excavations in... more Far'ah II is an open-air site in the north western Negev desert (Israel). Previous excavations in the 1970's revealed a rich, in situ Middle Paleolithic (MP) assemblage composed of flint and limestone artifacts, animal bones and charcoal. Renewed excavation at the site were undertaken in 2017, to re-date it and provide a more accurate constrain to the sites' age, as well as collect samples for paleoclimatic proxies. Our new Optically Stimulated Luminescence and 14 C ages together with the stable oxygen isotope signature of the loess sediments, constrain the age of the upper archaeological horizon to <49 ka. This age agrees with the younger limit of 60e50 ka, obtained by Electron Spin Resonance ages, measured in the 1990's. The heavy d 18 O values in carbonates point to cooler climatic conditions than those that prevailed during the preceding short, warm episode between 58 and 49 ka. The fauna, pollen and charcoal collected during the excavation portray a savanna-like environment with a mix of Irano-Turanian and Saharo-Arabian elements and a minor Mediterranean component. The lithic assemblage exhibits large technological variability typical of the Late MP (LMP), amongst which are technological traits that are clearly present in the Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) assemblages at the nearby, and roughly contemporaneous, site of Boker Tachtit. If population replacement was the trigger to the MP-UP transition, we would have expected to see a clear break in the cultural material at the onset of the Upper Paleolithic. The semi-arid north western Negev, as an interim region between the Mediterranean and Saharo-Arabian ecozones could have facilitated interaction between populations moving north or south due to fluctuating climatic conditions and changes in population pressures, possibly leading to the emergence of new technological traditions that are observed in the later UP.
Mid-to Late Holocene climatic and anthropogenic influences in Mpondoland, South Africa
Quaternary Science Reviews, 2021
Abstract Mpondoland on the South African east coast is a particularly dynamic region in terms of ... more Abstract Mpondoland on the South African east coast is a particularly dynamic region in terms of climate change as it is influenced by both temperate and tropical circulation and climate systems. We present a sediment record that indicates regional climatic change and anthropogenic influence during the last ∼5500 yr. Catchment data allow an understanding of signal transmission from the catchment to the site of the marine core. Plant-wax isotope distributions and elemental composition, as well as palynological, burned phytolith and micro-charcoal data, are used to infer paleoclimatic shifts and reconstruct past human activity. Whereas previous studies have often disregarded early anthropogenic drivers of environmental change, our study provides palynological evidence of human impacts and geochemical evidence of increased erosion starting as early as ∼1500 years ago. Downcore proxy analysis suggests that particularly humid conditions persisted from ∼900 to ∼300 cal yr BP, encompassing both the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age. We suggest that humidity during the Medieval Climate Anomaly was sourced from a poleward shift of the Southern Hemispheric Westerlies and the South African high-pressure cell, allowing for the southward expansion of the Southern Indian Ocean Convergence Zone. During the Little Ice Age, the equatorward movement of the Southern Hemispheric Westerlies probably brought increased rainfall to areas that are normally beyond the northern limit of the Southern Hemispheric Westerlies. Comparison of our record to available regional archives of centennial-scale late Holocene climate variability in South Africa demonstrates that Mpondoland is located at a transition zone of tropical and sub-tropical climatic influences.
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Papers by Frank H Neumann