Improved wet splitter for micropalaeontological analysis, and assessment of uncertainty using data from splitters

Abstract

Analyses of foraminiferal assemblages have often been implemented on dry samples, which are easy to split. In some cases, the wet picking method is preferred as it allows preservation of more foraminiferal forms and facilitates the picking of live foraminifera. However, the increased execution time needed for wet-picking may cause micropalaeontologists to refrain from employing it in a routine way. Here we present an improved and cost-effective wet splitter (including a 3D printing file) for micropalaeontological samples aimed to reduce picking time while keeping information loss to a minimum. We demonstrate small sample losses as well as statistical consistency across splits. We show that the time saved picking a subset will always be larger than the relative increase in statistical uncertainty.