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They live under our streets: ant nests (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in urban pavements
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In the context of global insect decline, the urbanisation process plays a key role. However, urban pavements, which are considered to be impervious to biodiversity, can harbour ground-nesting insects under certain conditions. Recent observations have revealed the presence of Formicidae nests under urban pavements. The aim of this work is to determine the species richness of Formicidae nesting under urban pavements in the Brussels-Capital Region (Belgium) and to characterise their nest environment and soil texture. Seven ant species were identified in 120 nesting sites: Lasius niger, Lasius brunneus, Lasius flavus, Lasius fuliginosus, Tetramorium caespitum, Tetramorium impurum and Myrmica rugulosa. Concrete slabs or natural stones with a sandy sub-layer are the main structures in which ants nest. In addition, nests were mainly found under modular pavements with degraded rigid joints. The results of this work highlight the capacity of urban structures to host part of ant biodiversity in cities.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
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Impact of chemical fertilizers on diversity and abundance of soil-litter arthropod communities in coffee and banana plantations in southern Rwanda
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Few studies explored effects of chemical fertilizers on diversity and abundance of soillitter arthropods in the tropics. To fill this gap, a study focussed on the abundance of soil-litter arthropods and selected soil physicochemical properties in coffee plantations treated with chemical fertilizers and in plantations of coffee and banana treated with organic fertilizers and organic mulches in southern Rwanda. Each land use was replicated three times. Soil-litter arthropods were collected using pitfall traps and hand collection. They were identified to the family level using dichotomous keys. Soil have been collected using auger and taken to the laboratory for the analysis of soil pH, soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, phosphorus, and cation exchange capacity. Findings indicated a total of 12,945 individuals distributed into 3 classes, 16 orders, 50 families and 92 morphospecies, with higher abundance and diversity in coffee plantations treated with organic fertilizers and organic mulches. Collected soil-litter arthropods were mainly classified in the class Insecta, dominated in numbers by ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), while Coleoptera and Hemiptera had more families. However, soil under coffee plantations treated with organic fertilizers and organic mulches was acidic compared with the soil under coffee plantations treated with inorganic fertilizers and banana plantations treated with organic fertilizers and organic mulches. The relationships between soil-litter arthropods and soil physicochemical properties suggest that soillitter arthropods respond to the land use independently from soil physicochemical properties. We recommend further studies in coffee and other crop plantations in other regions of Rwanda to verify the findings of this study.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
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First Atlantic record of the rare infaunal shrimp Salmoneus erasimorum Dworschak, Abed-Navandi & Anker, 2000 (Malacostraca: Decapoda: Alpheidae)
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The rare symbiotic alpheid shrimp Salmoneus erasimorum Dworschak, Abed-Navandi & Anker, 2000 was previously known from a single specimen collected with a suction pump on the Croatian coast in the Adriatic Sea, together with its host, the ghost shrimp, Gilvossius tyrrhenus (Petagna, 1792). A second record of S. erasimorum is presented here, with a diagnosis and the first colour photographs, based on a single specimen collected in northern Brittany, France, also with a suction pump, but without its host. This is also the first record of the species on the European coast of the Atlantic Ocean. An annotated list and a key to the species of Salmoneus currently known from the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea are provided.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
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Geometric morphometric assessment of the fossil bears of Namur, Belgium: Allometry and ecomorphology
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
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The sponges Hymeniacidon perlevis and Halichondria panicea are reservoirs of antibiotic-producing bacteria against multi-drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
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On a new species of Thia Leach, 1815 from the tropical eastern Atlantic (Decapoda, Brachyura, Portunoidea, Carcinidae, Thiinae)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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Okavango virus, a new Namibian mammarenavirus in a Southern African mammarenavirus clade
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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Identification of Coronaviruses in bats in Flanders, Northern Belgium
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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Antibodies against arboviruses in Mastomys natalensis from Tanzania
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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A multidisciplinary investigation of Ebola virus circulation in Inkanamongo, Democratic Republic of Congo
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024