Non-marine ostracods from two Quaternary profiles at Pulbeena and Mowbray Swamps, Tasmania

Abstract

Two spring-fed swamp deposits in northwestern Tasmania which contain non-marine ostracods are characterized by an alternation of marl, peaty marl and peaty layers: the Pulbeena Swamp deposit (4.80 m thick) was formed over approximately the last 80,000 years, and Mowbray Swamp (2 m thick) over about the last 110,000 years. Fifteen ostracod species have been recovered from 179 samples: three are new, three are in open nomenclature and the others have living representatives. The ostracod data compared with pollen curves for both sites demonstrate, for most levels, a good correlation between the abundance of ostracods and that of Cyperaceae and Potamogeton-Triglochin pollen. This implies that ostracods can be successfully used as indicators of different water regimes for spring-fed swamps. Comparison of the ostracod fauna from the two Tasmanian sites is also made with that of other known Australian and New Zealand swamp deposits.