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Differences in geographic distribution and habitat of some cryptic species in the Pardosa lugubris group (Lycosidae, Araneae) in Belgium
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The habitat and distribution of some closely related species of the P. lugubris s.l. group in Belgium are described to contribute to our understanding of the coexistence and speciation of these 'cryptic' species. With a few exceptions, P. lugubris has its main distribution in the lower part of Belgium where it occurs on sandy, nutrient poor soils. P. saltans occurs widely in Belgium except for in the Campine region where the species is totally absent. P. alacris was only found at three localities where limestone outcrops are present. The habitat of P. lugubris is pine and birch forests while in Fagus woodlands, only P. saltans was found. In Quercus forests, both species were found, often in mixed populations. A combination of micro- and macroclimatological features and habitat characteristics cause the differences in distribution of these species.
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Can multiple mating compensate for slower development and shorter adult life in a male dimorphic dwarf spider?
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Oedothorax gibbosus (Blackwall, 1841) is a dwarf spider characterized by the occurrence of a male dimorphism: the tuberosus male does not show any remarkable differentiation at the dorsal side of the carapace; the gibbosus morph on the contrary has a hunch behind the eye region, with a transversal groove densely clothed with hairs. These structures play an important function in the gustatorial courtship, being the uptake of secretions by the female from a body part of the male during courtship. Based on standardized survival experiments we show that tuberosus has a greater overall survival strength for different humidity levels than gibbosus. The two male morphs of O. gibbosus also have a different mating strategy: tuberosus as well as gibbosus copulate with virgin females, but gibbosus copulates significantly more with already inseminated females. Because of this strategy gibbosus secures its offspring notwithstanding the faster development, the longer adult life and the greater overall survival strength of tuberosus. (C) 2004 The Linnean Society of London
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Absence of cadmium excretion and high assimilation result in cadmium biomagnification in a wolf spider
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Cd biomagnification in the terrestrial food chain appears to be dependent on the physiological properties of the organisms rather than on their trophic level. Although high Cd body burdens in spiders from the field have been reported many times, experimental verification of the key factors that determine the rate of cadmium accumulation is lacking. We investigated the cadmium assimilation rate in the common wolf spider Pirata piraticus fed with contaminated fruit flies. Spiders were fed for 42 days with contaminated flies, followed by a detoxicification period of 28 days. Every 14 days, a subsample of spiders and flies was taken for Cd determination. It was demonstrated that a high cadmium assimilation (69.5\%) and an excretion rate approaching zero resulted in high Cd concentration factors. The results indicate the importance of spiders in cadmium biomagnification along critical pathways. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.
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Oldest Plesiadapiform (Mammalia, Proprimates) from Asia and its palaeobiogeographical implications for faunal interchange with North America
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Man and environment in the territory of Sagalassos, a classical city in SW Turkey
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Since 1990 archaeological research by the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium) has been carried out at the ancient site of Sagalassos (Aǧlasun, Burdur province, Southwestern Turkey). At first, research focused on the excavation of the city and the study of the immediate vicinity which provided it with raw materials. The main objective was to obtain a clear picture of the history and development of the city. Since 1993 research has also incorporated a study of the territory of the Roman city, from prehistoric to modern times, in order to understand why the site was selected for settlement, why it developed into a middle-sized town, its economy and subsistence, how it affected and exploited the environment, its decline, and what changes have taken place in the district subsequently. The focus has now shifted towards obtaining a better understanding of the linkages between human and environment systems so that inter-relations between the two can be more readily understood. As a result, a number of environmental topics concerning the territory of the Roman city are presently being studied. This territory extended from Lake Burdur in the West to the Aksu canyon in the East, from the Aǧlasun Daǧlari in the North to Mt. Kestel in the South. Interdisciplinary research revealed that for the early Neolithic and the Roman period there was a slightly warmer climate, a richer vegetation and more fertile soils for agricultural practice.
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The genus Aphanius Nardo 1827 (Pisces: Cyprinodontidae) in Turkey
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The Turkish species of the Cyprinodontiform genus Aphanius Nardo 1827 are described. The naming used follows Wildekamp (1993) (1) as the latest available revision. Information is given on morphology, sexual dimorphism, colouration and distribution, as well as remarks on taxonomy, nomenclature, distribution, variability and conservation. Comments are given on the Lazara (1995) (2) revalidation of Lebias as a distinct genus. It is shown that Valenciennes (1846) (3) is the first revisor of Lebias, and not Lazara, and that Aphanius should be maintained as a genus. The taxon Aphanius chantrei (Galliard 1895) is regarded as a junior synonym of Aphanius danfordii (Boulenger 1890), a lectotype for A. danfordii is designated and a more detailed type locality is given.
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Reconstructing age distribution, season of capture and growth rate of fish from archaeological sites based on otoliths and vertebrae
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The growth increments of otoliths and vertebrae of plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) derived from a 15th century single depositional event at Raversijde (Belgium) are analysed with the aim of reconstructing (a) the age distribution of the population, (b) the season of capture, and (c) the growth rate. Otoliths and vertebrae give slightly different age distributions but it is possible to arrive at similar seasonality estimations in both structures when information from the literature and our own data from monthly captures of plaice from the North Sea are taken into account. These modern data show that the timing of annulus formation in otoliths and vertebrae is more or less similar. Back-calculations on vertebrae and otoliths yield similar growth curves. The age distribution, the edge condition of both vertebrae and otoliths, and the growth rate obtained on the material from Raversijde all show that the plaice from the studied assemblage were captured during spring in the southern part of the North Sea. Vertebrae are commonly preserved in archaeological sites whereas otoliths rarely survive. Although they are more difficult to read than otoliths, vertebrae of plaice can be used for growth increment analyses, and the growth rates obtained from vertebrae from archaeological sites can, therefore, be compared in the future to growth data from modern otoliths studied in sea fisheries research. Archaeozoological material predating industrialized fishing since the 19th century can hence serve as a reference in the study of the compensatory response of commercially important species to heavy exploitation.
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First inland records of the euryhaline goby Knipowitschia caucasica from lakes in Anatolia, Turkey
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Knipowitschia caucasica, a euryhaline Ponto–Caspian–Aegean gobiid fish, is recorded for the first time from Lakes Egirdir, Eber and Demirköprü (Anatolia). Its presence in these lakes is probably due to involuntary introduction with common carp from hatcheries in the Edirne–Ipsala region, Thrace, the European part of Turkey.
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Evidence for banana cultivation and animal husbandry during the first millennium BC in the forest of southern Cameroon
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The faunal and botanical data from the first millennium site of Nkang, Southern Cameroon, are presented in this paper. The analysed material, retrieved from refuse pits, comprises charcoal, phytoliths, molluscs and animal bones, which allow a reconstruction of the former environment. In addition, the site provides new insights into the emergence of food-producing communities in the African rainforest. Food procurement strategies at the site involved gathering, hunting, fishing, as well as small livestock keeping and banana cultivation. This is the earliest evidence for such practices in Central Africa.
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Osteological evidence for the draught exploitation of cattle: First applications of a new methodology
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Although the aetiology of bone pathologies in cattle is poorly documented, various deformations in the skeleton have been attributed to draught exploitation in the archaeozoological literature. This paper summarizes the results of an osteological study that was undertaken on the feet of modern draught oxen. This led to the definition of a series of draught-related anomalies. In an attempt to describe the pathologies in a more consistent and quantitative way, a scoring scale for each individual bone pathology was established. The developed method is applied to cattle remains from four Roman and one late medieval site. The distribution of the observed pathological indices (PIs) on the first phalanges is interpreted in terms of the age structure of the cattle populations, and the possible modes of cattle exploitation and meat consumption in various settlement types.
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