Abstract
Morphometric shell measurements help to quantify the evolutionary patterns of planktonic foraminifera (marine, calcite-secreting, and floating protists). The study of shell variations of these organisms requires observations at high stratigraphic resolution, which entails morphometric measurements from thousands of specimens. The collection of such data is time-consuming because specimens need to be oriented prior to imaging. In our studies about menardiform, globorotalids through time automatic devices were developed to orientate and image specimens under incident light. A first prototype—Automated Measurement system for shell mORphology (AMOR)—was realized in 2009 and was proven to be advantageous for gathering morphometric data. AMOR consists of a motorized universal tilting stage enabling an automatic orientation of specimens in a multicellular slide under a motorized binocular microscope. After the collection of images from the oriented specimens, shell parameters can be extracted and analyzed using separate digital imaging and morphometric software. AMOR was strongly tuned to Globorotalia menardii, a species with a quasi-symmetrical biconvex geometry in a keel view and often with a non-circular periphery in an equatorial view. Improvements of the software driving AMOR now allow the orientation of spiro- and umbilico-convex profiles and with circular forms in an equatorial view such as in phylogenetically related species like Globorotalia miocenica and Globorotalia multicamerata. Program AMOR v. 3.28 was given more flexibility using a scripting language for automatic control of the Windows graphical user interface. This approach was used to allow combinations of fix orienting functions in AMOR, which released us from reprogramming of the sophisticated LabView code. Scripting of core functions enables developing “portfolios” of adapted recipes for processing the morphologies that are beyond the menardiform morphogroup. To further expand on this concept, a follow-up robot—System AMOR 2—was completed in March 2020. It integrates the modified hardware, a newer digital camera, the updated software (AMOR v. 4.2), and improved functions. The present contribution describes the development from old AMOR to its newer twin, with the perspective of building a fleet of robots for the imaging of the oriented foraminifera in parallel.
Highlights
“Evolutionary prospection” is a conceptional program to investigate the pattern, biogeography, and dynamics through the time of morphological evolution in planktonic foraminifera
Just imagine the gain of new insights, if the records of morphological variability of microfossils would arrive at a resolution that is nowadays standard in paleoceanography and oxygen isotope stratigraphy! In reality, such highly resolved morphometric data sets are still utopic with the current instrumentation and during a single researcher’s work life
There exist elegant solutions for efficient scanning of microfossils under reflected or transmitted light, and imaging systems are increasingly combined with classification and species identification software (Schulze et al, 2013; de Garidel-Thoron et al, 2019; Hsiang et al, 2019; Mitra et al, 2019; Itaki et al, 2020; Marchant et al, 2020; Tetard et al, 2020) or are applied in virtually reflected light microscopy (VRLM) reconstruction of shells (Harrison et al, 2011)
Summary
“Evolutionary prospection” is a conceptional program to investigate the pattern, biogeography, and dynamics through the time of morphological evolution in planktonic foraminifera (marine floating protists that produce a calcareous shell) The motivation of this effort is the notorious lack of detailed quantitative information about the worldwide morphological variability of shells in these organisms through geological time (Knappertsbusch, 2011, 2016, 2022). There exist elegant solutions for efficient scanning of microfossils under reflected or transmitted light, and imaging systems are increasingly combined with classification and species identification software (Schulze et al, 2013; de Garidel-Thoron et al, 2019; Hsiang et al, 2019; Mitra et al, 2019; Itaki et al, 2020; Marchant et al, 2020; Tetard et al, 2020) or are applied in virtually reflected light microscopy (VRLM) reconstruction of shells (Harrison et al, 2011) These solutions are applicable to the specimens that are randomly strewn in a picking tray or embedded in glass slides. A robot prototype called AMOR (from the Automated Measurement system for shell mORphology) has been developed at NMB several years ago (Knappertsbusch et al, 2009; see Figure 2)
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