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Hidden uncertainties revealed in mapping the marine subsurface
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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High connectivity through long distance dispersal of (cryptic) non-marine ostracod species (Ostracoda, Crustacea) in four major Brazilian floodplains.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2018
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High diversity of Raoellidae (Artiodactyla, Mammalia) from the middle Eocene Subathu Group of Kalakot, Northwest Himalaya, India
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The middle Eocene Subathu Group of Kalakot area (northwest Himalaya, India) is well known for its diverse mammalian fauna, especially of raoellid artiodactyls, which are presently represented by four genera: Indohyus, Khirtharia, Kunmunella, and Metkatius. Our recent work on artiodactyls from the Kalakot area recovered several new taxa in addition to earlier known raoellids. The first new taxon is characterized by its small size, higher and more conical lower molar cusps than in Khirtharia and Metkatius; protoconid and metaconid closely appressed; crista obliqua meets at trigonid notch, presence of an hypolophid and a welldeveloped labial cingulid; bunodont upper molars, subrectangular M1-M2, and subtriangular M3, large metaconule (pseudohypocone) and small well distinct paraconule; cristae well distinct, small metastyle on M3 (absent in the four other raoellid genera), slightly inflated anterior and posterior cingulae. The second new taxon is the smallest of all known Raoellidae; it has bunodont lower molars with tiny paraconid in m1-2 (paraconid is absent in all other raoellids) and crista obliqua meeting the labial base of protoconid; m3 with an hypolophid and well-individualized hypoconulid centrally placed and higher than entoconid; M2 subrectangular, protocone higher than metacone, para and metastyle less distinct than in Indohyus and Kunmunella, ectoloph distinct. Besides these two new taxa, Khirtharia dayi known from Pakistan is reported for the first time from India on the basis of its morphology and size of m3. A new species of Metkatius is characterized on the basis of m1-2, which differ from those of M. kashmirensis by the metaconid higher than the protoconid and by being more than 20% larger. Outside the Indian sub-continent, raoellid artiodactyls are also known from the middle Eocene Pondaung Formation of Myanmar and Shanghuang fissure filling of Jiangsu, China. The predominance of the family Raoellidae in Kalakot provides new information about their phylogenetic position and allow to discuss their origin, evolution, and dispersals. This work is partly funded by project BR/121/A3/PALEURAFRICA from the Belgian Science Policy Office.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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High elevation ants from the Ecuadorian Andes.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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High genetic diversity but limited gene flow in Flemish populations of the Crested newt, Triturus cristatus
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RBINS Staff Publications
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High genetic diversity, but limited gene flow in Flemish populations of the crested newt, Triturus cristatus (amphibia).
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RBINS Staff Publications
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High Prevalence of Rickettsia typhi and Bartonella Species in Rats and Fleas, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo
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RBINS Staff Publications
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High Tide –Low Tide. Bruges’ late-medieval harbor system as a maritime cultural landscape -an interdisciplinary research project.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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High-altitude free balloon trajectory predictions and applications in remote sensing
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A new type of untethered balloon based mapping platform allows affordable remote sensing applications from higher altitudes and with a greater range and payload capacity than common motorized UAV’s. The airborne device, called “Stratochip”, is based on a dual helium balloons configuration. At a defined altitude (comprised between 1000 and 30000m), a GPS based controller automatically releases the first balloon, drastically reducing the ascent rate. The payload (up to 10kg) can then float in a sub-horizontal trajectory until it leaves a pre-defined area of interest. At this point, the second balloon is released and the payload is recovered after a parachute landing. The predicted flight path of the Stratochip, launch site and surveyed area are calculated using physical parameters of balloons and parachute, as well as sounding meteorological data (NOAA windgram model) and real-time flight rates, along with the. The predicted recovery area can also be refined in real-time to secure and facilitate equipment retrieval. The Stratochip was tested to survey large areas at medium altitudes (1500m-8000m) in mountainous areas (Sierra Nevada, Spain) and hilly landscapes (Belgium). In a few flights, the platform allowed to produce several hundred squares kilometers of Digital Elevation Models and orthophoto mosaics. For that purpose, the instrument installed in the Stratochip payload was constituted of a digital camera stabilized with two IMU’s and two brushless motors. An automated routine then tilted the camera at predefined angles while taking pictures of the ground. This technique allowed to maximize the photogrammetric information collected on a single pass flight, and improved the DEM reconstruction quality, using structure-from-motion algorithms. Recontructed DEM’s and orthophoto’s have been referenced using ground control points from satellite imagery (Spain, Belgium) and DPGS (Belgium). The quality of produced DEM were then evaluated by comparing the level and accuracy of details and surface artifacts with available topographic data. This evaluation showed good correlation with existing data, improved the detail level in some areas and can be readily be used in Geomorphology, Structural Geology and Natural Hazards studies.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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High-resolution description of insular and fjordic benthic food webs along the West Antarctic Peninsula
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The West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is one of the most rapidly warming region on Earth. In this context, it is crucial to improve our understanding of the consequences of future changes in the local biotic and abiotic environments on marine ecosystem functioning. Here, we focused on food web structure of shallow-water benthic communities. In February 2023, the TANGO1 expedition, using a sailboat, brought nine Belgian scientists to the WAP. To assess the importance of environmental changes on local food web dynamics, five benthic communities were investigated, focusing on macroalgae forests (n=2) and sedimentary soft bottoms (n=3). These stations were distributed between two contrasted environments, Dodman Island (Grandidier Channel, 66°S) & Blaiklock Island (Bigourdan Fjord, 67.5°S). These two locations differed markedly in terms of sea-ice cover, and in terms of general hydrography (small island exposed to the Grandidier Channel’s currents VS fjord system surrounded by active glaciers). At each station, basal food sources (i.e. sediment-associated POM, water-column POM, macroalgae, microphytobenthos) as well as benthic invertebrates (435 individuals, 64 morphospecies) were sampled quantitatively to assess their biomass, and for later stable isotope analysis. Using stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur, and Bayesian tools, we aim to formally represent the communities in isotopic space, and to compare their topologies along the environmental gradient studied. These representations will then be used to test whether differences in food web structure reflect general community characteristics, such as the higher biomass of organisms measured in macroalgae forests, which also display the greatest species diversity.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
