Abstract
The use of standard methodology allows us to compare and to evaluate the data generated from samplers under general use. In aerobiological pollen monitoring, the most frequently slide sampling methods used are based on the selection of different number of longitudinal or transverse traverses and random fields, which represents a small proportion of the entire slide. The aim of this study is to evaluate possible methodological errors produced when the different pollen count methods are used in relation to the results obtained if the whole slide area was quantified. Moreover, the optimization of the counting method by selecting the best longitudinal or transverses traverses that reflect the more accurate counting in relation to the total pollen obtained when the total tape surface was done. Therefore, 113 slides recorded in 2008 at Ourense (NW Spain) differing in its pollen content, recollected time of the year and representation of the different pollen types were selected in this survey. A comparison between the 4 longitudinal traverses, the 12 transverse traverses, and the 493 random fields methods was evaluated. The average relative error and squared error were calculated for both, longitudinal and transverse traverses and the most accurate lines number for counting were selected. Finally, the three counting techniques were compared and significant differences were detected.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aira, M. J., Jato, V., & Iglesias, I. (2005). Calidad del aire. Polen y esporas en la Comunidad Gallega. Xunta de Galicia.
Cao, R., & Van Keilegom, I. (2006). Empirical likelihood test to two-sample problems via nonparametric density estimation. The Canadian Journal of Statistics, 34(1), 66–77.
Cariñanos, P., Emberlin, J., Galán, C., & Domínguez-Vilches, E. (2000). Comparison of two pollen counting methods of slides from a hirst type volumetric trap. Aerobiologia, 16, 339–346.
Comtois, P., Alcazar, P., & Néron, D. (1999). Pollen counts statistics and its relevance to precision. Aerobiologia, 15, 19–28.
Davis, C. S. (2003). Statistical methods in the analysis of repeated measurements. New York: Springer.
Emberlin, J. (1994). The effects of patterns in climate and pollen abundance on allergy. Allergy, 49, 15–20.
Group European Aerobiology Society Quality Control Working (2011). Minimum requirements to manage aerobiological monitoring stations included in a national network involved in the EAN. International Aerobiology Newsletter, 72, 1.
Galán, C, Cariñanos, P, Alcázar, P, Domínguez-Vilches, E (2007). Spanish aerobilogy network: Management and quality manual. Servicios de Publicaciones, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain.
Gottardini, E., Cristofolini, F., Cristofori, A., Vannini, A., & Ferretti, M. (2009). Sampling bias and sampling errors in pollen counting in aerobiological monitoring in Italy. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 11(4), 751–755.
Hirst, J. M. (1952). Changes in atmospheric spore content: diurnal periodicity and the effects of weather. Transactions of the British Mycological Society, 36(4), 375–393.
Kapyla, M., & Penttinen, A. (1981). An evaluation of the microscopical counting methods of the tape in Hirst-Burkard pollen and spore trap. Grana, 20, 131–141.
Mäkinen, Y. (1981). Random sampling in the study of microscopic slides. Reports from the Aerobiology Laboratory, University of Turku, 5, 27–43.
Mandrioli, P. (1990). Aerobiology-pollen sampling, influence of climate, pollen sources and pollen calendar. In P. Falagiani (Ed.), Pollinosis. (pp. 39–53). Boca Raton: CRC Press, INC, USA.
Martínez-Camblor, P., & de Uña-Álvarez, J. (2012). Studying the bandwidth in k-sample smooth tests. Computational Statistics, doi:10.1007/s00180-012-0333-1.
R Development Core Team (2011). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. http://www.R-project.org.
Sheather, S. J., Jones, M. C. (1991). A reliable data-based bandwidth selection method for kernel density estimation. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society series B, 53, 683–690.
Tormo, R., Muñoz, A., & Silva, I. (1996). Sampling in aerobiology.Differences between traverses along the length of the slide in Hirst sporetraps. Aerobiologia, 12, 161–166.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Grant MTM2011-23204 of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (FEDER support included) entitled: Flexible statistical inference: methodological advances and new applications in Biomedicine, Engineering, and Health.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cotos-Yáñez, T.R., Rodríguez-Rajo, F.J., Pérez-González, A. et al. Quality control in aerobiology: comparison different slide reading methods. Aerobiologia 29, 1–11 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-012-9263-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-012-9263-1