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Article Reference Nuclear markers support the mitochondrial phylogeny of Vipera ursinii–renardi complex (Squamata: Viperidae) and species status for the Greek meadow viper
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference The global distribution of tetrapods reveals a need for targeted reptile conservation
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Ballasting the Hanse: Baltoscandian erratic cobbles in the later Medieval port landscape of Bruges
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference West African Manatee Trichechus senegalensis (LINK, 1795) in the Estuary of the Congo River (Democratic Republic of the Congo): Review and Update
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Understanding taxonomic and nomenclatural instability – a case study of the Manila clam
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Article Reference Highly polymorphic mitochondrial DNA and deceiving haplotypic differentiation: implications for assessing population genetic differentiation and connectivity
Background Hyperdiverse mtDNA with more than 5% of variable synonymous nucleotide sites can lead to erroneous interpretations of population genetic differentiation patterns and parameters (φST, DEST). We illustrate this by using hyperdiverse mtDNA markers to infer population genetic differentiation and connectivity in Melarhaphe neritoides, a NE Atlantic (NEA) gastropod with a high dispersal potential. We also provide a recent literature example of how mtDNA hyperdiversity may have misguided the interpretation of genetic connectivity in the crab Opecarcinus hypostegus. Results mtDNA variation surveyed throughout the NEA showed that nearly all M. neritoides specimens had haplotypes private to populations, suggesting at first glance a lack of gene flow and thus a strong population genetic differentiation. Yet, the bush-like haplotype network, though visually misleading, showed no signs of phylogeographic or other haplotype structuring. Coalescent-based gene flow estimates were high throughout the NEA, irrespective of whether or not mtDNA hyperdiversity was reduced by removing hypervariable sites. Conclusions Melarhaphe neritoides seems to be panmictic over the entire NEA, which is consistent with its long-lived pelagic larval stage. With hyperdiverse mtDNA, the apparent lack of shared haplotypes among populations does not necessarily reflect a lack of gene flow and/or population genetic differentiation by fixation of alternative haplotypes (DEST ≈ 1 does not a fortiori imply φST ≈ 1), but may be due to (1) a too low sampling effort to detect shared haplotypes and/or (2) a very high mutation rate that may conceal the signal of gene flow. Hyperdiverse mtDNA can be used to assess connectivity by coalescent-based methods. Yet, the combined use of φST and DEST can provide a reasonable inference of connectivity patterns from hyperdiverse mtDNA, too.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Article Reference Change in Historical Range of the Ural Owl in Europe
A carpometacarpus recovered during archaeological excavations in the town of Quaregnon is the westernmost find ever reported in Europe of a Ural Owl (Strix uralensis), and the first occurrence for Belgium. Both the morphology of the skeletal element and its measurements rule out an identification as any of the other Strigiformes from the Western Palearctic. The provenance of this specimen, that dates to the medieval period (10th-12th centuries AD), is discussed. It is hypothesized that the bird was a wild animal, but the available evidence does not unequivocally determine whether it belonged to a local, breeding population that went extinct or if it came from a more distant population. However, a survey of other zooarchacological finds of Ural Owl in Europe shows that the species occurred farther west in the past, outside the present natural breeding range. This suggests that Ural Owl may have found suitable nesting biotopes in Belgium and northern France during the medieval period.
Located in Associated publications / Belgian Journal of Zoology / Bibliographic References
Article Reference The Holocene occurrence of the European catfish (Silurus glanis) in Belgium: the archaeozoological evidence
An overview is given of the skeletal remains of the European catfish Silurus glanis found thus far in Belgian archaeological sites. These finds demonstrate that the species is autochthonous and allow documenting its occurrence and disappearance during the Holocene in the Scheldt and Meuse basins Possible causes for the local extinction of this catfish are discussed.
Located in Associated publications / Belgian Journal of Zoology / Bibliographic References
Article Reference Fitness-heterozygosity associations differ between male and female winter moths Operophtera brumata L.
The association between heterozygosity and fitness is positive but weak on average and varies between studies. inbreeding has been invoked as the driving force between the positive heterozygosity-fitness associations, yet in spatio-temporally stable environments a negative correlation is expected. Furthermore, different patterns can arise because of the effects of natural selection on different loci and variation can be expected among groups of individuals that experience different levels of stress. In this paper we report on fitness-heterozygosity associations in the winter moth for six allozyme loci. The relationship is estimated for males and females separately, in four areas differing in their degree of fragmentation, and variation among loci is modelled. We introduce a linear mixed model framework to achieve this analysis. This approach differs from more traditional (multiple) regression analyses and allows testing specific interactions. We show that fitness, as estimated by body size, is negatively correlated with heterozygosity, but only so in females. This association does not vary significantly among loci and the four areas. We speculate that a trade-off between fitness-consequences of inbreeding and outbreeding at different stages of the winter moth life cycle could explain the observed patterns.
Located in Associated publications / Belgian Journal of Zoology / Bibliographic References
Article Reference A comparison of gene flow estimates based on private allele frequencies.
The frequency of private alleles is often used to assess the amount of gene flow (Nm) between populations, with the equations proposed by SLATKIN (1985b) and by SLATKIN and BARTON (1989). Although these equations express the same relationship, they may yield different estimates of gene flow for the same data. These differences increase with decreasing frequencies of private alleles. Comparisons of Nm estimates, based on different equations can therefore be misleading. It is advisable to use these equations method only to distinguish between Nm > 1 and Nm < 1.
Located in Associated publications / Belgian Journal of Zoology / Bibliographic References