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New Neandertal remains from Trou Magrite, Belgium
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Trou Magrite is a cave site located at Pont-à-Lesse in the Lesse Valley, commune of Dinant, Belgium. It has been known since E. Dupont conducted excavations at the site in 1867 [1]. The most recent fieldwork was done by L. Straus and M. Otte in 1991-92 [2]. Trou Magrite yielded rich lithic assemblages, osseous artifacts, mobiliary art, and numerous faunal remains. Several human re- mains were also recovered and identified as Palaeolithic humans by E. Dupont but have been only partially published thus far. The archaeological record covers a broad time range spanning from the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic to the Mesolithic, Neolithic, and Iron Age. An important Middle Palaeolithic collection is present, probably representing several occupation phases during the Late Pleistocene [2]. Unfortunately, although E. Dupont conducted excavations that can be characterized as modern for that time, the materials from the different so-called “fauna-bearing levels” that he defined in the field were mixed post-excavation [3]. In 2015, we initiated a multidisciplinary re-assessment of the human and faunal collections from Trou Magrite in order to update the inven- tory of human remains already identified, check for the presence of human remains that may have been previously overlooked, and verify their chronocultural context. We revised the already known human collection, conducted a systematic sorting of the faunal material, and combined the use of morphometrics, taphonomy, stable isotopes, dating, and genetic analyses to perform taxonomic and chronocultural identifications. Here we present two previously unidentified Neandertal fossils that we isolated from the Trou Magrite faunal material excavated by E. Dupont in the 19th century. They represent two different individuals: an adult/adolescent, represented by an upper right permanent canine, and a neonate, represented by the diaphysis of a left femur. Whereas no endoge- nous DNA was recovered from the tooth, the palaeogenetic analyses of the neonate femur confirmed its Neandertal status and indicate its sex to be male. We will present the biological characteristics and mitochondrial DNA phylogenetic position of the Trou Magrite Neandertals, in particular with regard to the other Northern European Neandertals. Our project adds Trou Magrite to the list of Belgian sites that have yielded Neandertal fossils and helps to emphasize the importance of the Mosan Basin in Neandertal studies.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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When diet became diverse: Isotopic tracking of subsistence strategies among Gravettian hunters in Europe
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Subsistence strategies are key paleoecological features of Paleolithic hunter-gatherers and their deeper understanding provides crit- ical insights into essential aspects of human evolution. In this study, we discuss new collagen stable isotopic values (C, N, S) rep- resenting seven Gravettian individuals from the Troisième caverne of Goyet in Belgium. The dietary strategies of the Gravettian humans from Goyet are in line with the general trends observed among Western European Gravettian populations. These pop- ulations show both a low intake of mammoth and a high consumption of other terrestrial mammals as well as aquatic resources, such as at the sites Arene Candide and La Rochette. This is different for more eastern Gravettian hunter-gatherers, for example in Kostenki, Brno-Francouzska, Mal’ta, Předmostí, and Dolní Věstonice where the dietary contribution of mammoth meat was sig- nificantly higher. The stable isotopic data of the Gravettian humans from Goyet indicate that their dietary ecology was essentially based on terrestrial resources like reindeer, horse, and, to a lesser extent, mammoth. However, they yielded δ15N values that are substantially lower than those of the earlier modern humans and Neandertals from the same site [1-2]. We hypothesize that the Gravettian humans had much less mammoth in their diet than all earlier humans from the same region. It was previously shown that in northwestern Europe a decline of mammoth, a key prey species, could already be detected at the onset of the Upper Paleolithic [2]. This trend appears to continue into the Gravettian, despite the persistence of the typical mammoth ecological niche, which is represented by a grassland with high δ15N values. Interestingly, through isotopic analysis, we are able to track the spread of the horse from the local ecosystem (represented by specimens from Walou Cave, Belgium) into this niche now under-occupied by the mammoth. Radiocarbon dates obtained from several mammoth skeletal remains from the Troisième caverne of Goyet showed that this megaherbivore was indeed part of the ecosystem during pre-LGM periods. However, from the Gravettian in Goyet and the surrounding region we have only one mammoth specimen represented by a long bone, and interestingly, its sulphur isotopic signal indicates that this individual was not of local origin. We propose that the local mammoth population was under intensive hunting pressure or may even have been no longer present in the region. Instead, single individuals from other regions may have made it into the area and ended up as prey animals. While the δ15N values of all Goyet Gravettian humans are relatively homogeneous, their δ13C values are variable. This indicates significant dietary differences among the seven individuals, an observation that has not been described before for hunter-gatherers pre-dating the Gravettian. The human δ34S values also support substantial differences in life mobility history between different individuals, which were not observed for the Goyet Neandertals. The result that different mem- bers of the same chrono-group had various individual mobility histories has implications for land use procurement strategies of those hunter-gatherer groups. In conclusion, our new isotopic results demonstrate a broad ecological flexibility among Gravettian humans, which can be seen in different human ecosystem interactions across Europe. The Goyet individuals contribute substan- tially to a more complete understanding of hunter-gatherer’s ecology during this particular phase of the European Late Pleistocene. Our study shows that the Gravettian cannot be depicted as a uniform entity from an ecological perspective. It instead indicates that during this period, and not earlier, both inter- and intra-group diversity in subsistence strategies can be tracked through stable isotopic analysis.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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Large old tropical trees as keystone biodiversity structures: the Life on Trees program
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Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation annual meeting https://www.atbc2024.org Large old tropical trees as keystone biodiversity structures: the Life on Trees program Leponce Maurice1, Basset Yves2, Aristizábal-Botero Ángela1, Albán Castillo Joaquina3, Aguilar Rengifo Guillermo4, Barbut Jérôme5, Buyck Bart5, Butterill Phil6, Calders Kim7, Carrias Jean-François8, Catchpole Damien9, D’hont Barbara7, Delabie Jacques10, Drescher Jochen11, Ertz Damien12, Heughebaert André13, Hofstetter Valérie14, Leroy Céline15, Leveque Antoine16, Macedo Cuenca Victor4, Melki Frédéric17, Michaux Johan18, Ocupa Horna Luis19, Pillaca Huacre Luis3, Poirier Eddy20, Ramage Thibault21, Rougerie Rodolphe5, Rouhan Germinal5, Rufray Vincent17, Salas Guererro Marcos4, Scheu Stefan11, Schmidl Jürgen22, Silva Dávila Diana3, Valenzuela Gamarra Luis23, Vanderpoorten Alain18, Villemant Claire5, Youdjou Nabil1, Pascal Olivier17 1 Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Vautier st. 29, Brussels, 1000, Belgium; 2 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama; 3 Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru; 4 Servicio Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas por el Estado, Ministerio del Ambiente, Peru; 5 Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France; 6 Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice,Czech Republic; 7 Ghent University, Belgium; 8 Université Clermont-Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France; 9 Independent Consultant, Lima, Peru; 10 Centro de Pesquisas do Cacau – CEPEC, Itabuna, Brasil; 11 Göttingen University, Germany; 12 Meise Botanic Garden, Belgium; 13 Belgian Biodiversity Platform, Brussels, Belgium; 14 AGROSCOPE, Nyon, Switzerland; 15 AMAP (Univ. Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD), Montpellier, France; 16 PatriNat (OFB-CNRS-MNHN), Paris, France; 17 Fonds de Dotation Biotope Pour La Nature, Mèze, France; 18 Université de Liège, Belgique; 19 Centro de Investigación en Biología Tropical y Conservación, Piura, Perú ; 20 Independent entomologist, Cayenne, Guyane ; 21 Independent entomologist, Concarneau, France ; 22 Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. ; 22 Jardín Botánico de Missouri, Peru E-mail: (presenting author): mleponce@naturalsciences.be The aim of the Life on Trees (LOT, www.lifeontrees.org) program is to generate baseline knowledge about the number of eukaryotic species that a single large mature tropical tree can host and to understand how these communities of organisms are assembled. The program is being undertaken in the Andean Amazon biodiversity hotspot. Our first project, LOT01 in the Andean foothills in 2022, located at 400m a.s.l., involved the study of a spectacular Dussia tessmannii tree (Fabaceae), towering at 50 meters in height and 45m wide. Our second project, LOT02 in the Andes in 2023, at 2450m a.s.l., focused on a 32-meter-tall Ficus americana subsp. andicola. Surveys were carried out by professional climbers, guided by experts of the different eukaryotic groups studied (plants, fungi, animals, protists). To better understand the contribution of different tree components (bark, leaves, fruits, flowers, living and dead wood) to overall tree biodiversity, we partitioned observations into communities based on vertical strata or microhabitat and will examine similarities and nestedness in the composition of these communities. Initial findings indicate that significant diversity is harbored by the individual tree at both locations (e.g., LOT01 vs LOT02: 42 vs 114 orchid species, 28 vs 28 fern species, 200+ vs 300+ bryophyte species, and 180 vs 100+ lichen species identified). These figures set world records for their respective elevations. This confirms that large old tropical trees are important pools of biodiversity, probably related to the variety of local microhabitats and tree age.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
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Canopy laser scanning to study the complex architecture of large old trees
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Canopy laser scanning to study the complex architecture of large old trees Barbara D'hont1 , Professor Kim Calders1 , Professor Alexandre Antonelli6 , Dr. Thomas Berg7 , Dr. Karun Dayal1 , Dr. Leonard Hambrecht5 , Dr. Maurice Leponce2,3, Prof. Arko Lucieer5 , Olivier Pascal4 , Professor Pasi Raumonen8, Professor Hans Verbeeck1 1Q-ForestLab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium, 2Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium, 3Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium, 4Fonds de Dotation Biotope Pour La Nature, France, 5School of Geography, Planning, and Spatial Sciences, University of Tasmania, , Australia, 6Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom, 7ARAÇÁ Project, Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 8Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland Large trees are keystone structures providing multiple ecosystem functions in forests all around the world: they disproportionately contribute to forest biomass and biodiversity. Large trees can have an extremely complex structure, housing many epiphytes on their stem and branches. High point-density 3D point clouds, in which leaves and epiphytes in the tree can be distinguished, are useful to make the link between the distribution of organisms on the tree, the tree architecture and its microclimate. In addition, a comprehensive branching model can improve above ground biomass (AGB) estimates. Highly detailed, complete point clouds of large trees are, however, exceptionally difficult to derive. With terrestrial laser scanning, the state-of-the-art method to capture 3D tree structure, the plant material blocks the view of (or, occludes) the top part of the dense crown. Drone or airborne laser scanning data on the other hand, lacks detail in the subcanopy. Combining these two methods minimises occlusion; however, increased distance from the tree to the scanner still leads to a relatively low resolution of the canopy point clouds. To improve the level of precision of the tree point clouds, we introduce a new concept, called canopy laser scanning (CLS). With CLS, a laser scanner is operated statically inside the tree canopy, reducing the distance between the area of interest and the instrument. We lifted a high-end laser scanner (RIEGL vz-400(i)) inside the canopy of six large emergent trees. Four of these trees are located in different types of tropical rainforests in Colombia, Brazil and Peru. They are part of biodiversity programs in which organisms and their spatial distributions are studied (Life On Trees, Araçá). The two other trees are famous giants located in the wet temperate eucalypt forests of southern Tasmania. We will present the practical aspects of CLS, evaluate the extra value of using canopy scans, looking at occlusion and point cloud precision, estimate epiphyte cover and AGB. We demonstrate that canopy laser scanning opens up new opportunities in sciences in which multi-disciplinary teams perform in depth research on large individual trees.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
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Biodiversity research and monitoring related capacities in Kisangani (DRC)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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Towards less invasive methods to inventory and monitor wildlife in the Congo Basin
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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Ammonoids and anoxia from the Belgian Frasnian: the Carrière de Lompret section
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RBINS Staff Publications 2018
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A double whammy for dinosaurs and ammonites: fake news or the real deal
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RBINS Staff Publications 2018
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Speciation genomics of cichlids (Ophthalmotilapia) from Lake Tanganyika
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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Pinpointing behavioral responses during mating using differential gene expression in the female brain of cichlid fish
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
