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Inproceedings Reference Identification of Coronaviruses in bats in Flanders, Northern Belgium
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Inproceedings Reference Identifying EU-listed invasive species by DNA-barcoding using currently available sequence data
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference Illustrated and commented checklist of the longhorn beetles of Kuzikus Wildlife Reserve in the Kalahari, Namibia (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Inproceedings Reference Increasing detections of the invasive mosquito Aedes albopictus in Belgium
Aedes albopictus is an invasive mosquito species expanding its territory in Europe, posing a health risk as the species is a competent vector of dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus. In European countries autochthonous transmission of these viruses are reported in localities where the species is established. In Belgium the introduction of Ae. albopictus was first monitored through active surveillance at Points of Entry (PoEs). Since 2018, the increased observation of Ae. albopictus at parking lots located along the highways suggested a rise in introduction through route traffic. Hence, in 2022, a passive surveillance based on citizen science was implemented to complement the active surveillance and expand the coverage of the monitoring countrywide. We present the current situation for Ae. albopictus in Belgium based on the results of both active and passive surveillance. Via an online platform (web/app), citizens uploaded pictures of potential Ae. albopictus specimens after answering filtering questions about morphological characteristics of the mosquito related to its size, color and stripes on the hind legs. Subsequently, pictures were then analysed to determine whether or not it is Ae. albopictus. When Ae.albopictus was confirmed on the picture, a field inspection was performed. This inspection included larval sampling and the set-up of ten oviposition traps for one or two weeks around the notification point. Additionally, in 2022 and 2023, ten oviposition traps were set-up at eight parking lots between May and October. In 2023, a longitudinal surveillance was also implemented to monitor overwintering and potential spread at two locations where the presence of Ae. albopictus was confirmed in 2022. In 2024, overwintering monitoring happened through larval sampling at four locations where Ae. albopictus was detected in 2023. DNA-based validation of all life stages of Ae. albopictus collected during field visits from several locations was performed to validate the identification of the species, and to investigate the haplotype composition of the population. We received 12 notifications of Ae. albopictus from citizens from nine locations in 2022, 29 from 15 new locations in 2023 and 47 from 12 new locations in 2024. Overall, Ae. albopictus was detected at 36 locations in Belgium over these three years. Further, the exotic species was detected in 2022 at three, and in 2023 at seven parking lots. Longitudinal surveillance in 2023 confirmed the presence of Ae. albopictus at two locations, indicating local establishment and overwintering. In 2024, overwintering was confirmed at another three locations. Prior to 2022, Aedes albopictus was in the early stage of its invasion process in Belgium, with confirmed occurrences limited to PoEs. Since 2022, the implementation of citizen surveillance has led to a steep increase in detections, including in residential areas, alongside numerus findings at parking lots. Additionally, the confirmation of overwintering at five locations, indicates that the species is being increasingly imported into Belgium via ground vehicular traffic and has become locally established in recent years.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025
Article Reference International census and population trends for Bewick’s Swans Cygnus columbianus bewickii wintering from the East Mediterranean to Central Asia
Trends in abundance and changes in the distribution of the Northeast Europe/ Northwest Europe Bewick’s Swan Cygnus columbianus bewickii population have been studied in detail since the second half of the 20th century, but much less is known about the Northwestern Siberia/Caspian population which was estimated at 1,000–1,500 individuals at the turn of the century. Here, we describe the results of the first species-specific mid-winter International Bewick’s Swan Census (IBSC) covering the East Mediterranean to Central Asia, made in January 2020. We also use longer-term data collated by Wetlands International through the annual International Waterbird Census (IWC) programme to construct trends in wintering numbers in the region. Results from the IBSC and IWC both showed a marked increase in population size for the Northwestern Siberia/Caspian Bewick’s Swans over the past two decades. A total of 6,819 was recorded during the IBSC and there was a five-year mean of 9,111 ± 4,300 swans reported to the IWC (for the years 2018–2022) with a peak count of 13,775 in 2019. An aerial survey of the Volga Delta in the northern Caspian Sea in 2020, rarely covered because of the logistical difficulties of carrying out mid-winter counts in the region, found an estimated 551 Bewick’s Swans wintering at the site. There was marked annual variation in the IWC counts recorded from 2017 onwards, although the reasons for these fluctuations remain unknown. Trends analysis suggested a slow increase over time from 2000–2015, followed by a period of rapid increase during 2015–2017, then a weak decline in 2017–2022. Given that the IBSC and the IWC have provided totals of > 6,000 Bewick’s Swans in five of the last six years, however, we propose that the new population estimate should be increased to 6,000–13,000 birds, pending further comprehensive surveys of the whole region.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Inproceedings Reference Investigating the exploitation of birds during the Upper Palaeolithic with the assemblages from the Trou des Nutons and Trou du Frontal caves (Belgium)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Inproceedings Reference Investigating the Gill-Oxygen Limitation Theory (GOLT) in the context of gill parasite diversification
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Article Reference Is vertebral shape variability in caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona) constrained by forces experienced during burrowing?
Caecilians are predominantly burrowing, elongate, limbless amphibians that have been relatively poorly studied. Although it has been suggested that the sturdy and compact skulls of caecilians are an adaptation to their head-first burrowing habits, no clear relationship between skull shape and burrowing performance appears to exist. However, the external forces encountered during burrowing are transmitted by the skull to the vertebral column, and, as such, may impact vertebral shape. Additionally, the muscles that generate the burrowing forces attach onto the vertebral column and consequently may impact vertebral shape that way as well. Here, we explored the relationships between vertebral shape and maximal in vivo push forces in 13 species of caecilian amphibians. Our results show that the shape of the two most anterior vertebrae, as well as the shape of the vertebrae at 90% of the total body length, is not correlated with peak push forces. Conversely, the shape of the third vertebrae, and the vertebrae at 20% and 60% of the total body length, does show a relationship to push forces measured in vivo. Whether these relationships are indirect (external forces constraining shape variation) or direct (muscle forces constraining shape variation) remains unclear and will require quantitative studies of the axial musculature. Importantly, our data suggest that mid-body vertebrae may potentially be used as proxies to infer burrowing capacity in fossil representatives.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference Octet Stream Is vertebral shape variability in caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona) constrained by forces experienced during burrowing?
Caecilians are predominantly burrowing, elongate, limbless amphibians that have been relatively poorly studied. Although it has been suggested that the sturdy and compact skulls of caecilians are an adaptation to their head-first burrowing habits, no clear relationship between skull shape and burrowing performance appears to exist. However, the external forces encountered during burrowing are transmitted by the skull to the vertebral column, and, as such, may impact vertebral shape. Additionally, the muscles that generate the burrowing forces attach onto the vertebral column and consequently may impact vertebral shape that way as well. Here, we explored the relationships between vertebral shape and maximal in vivo push forces in 13 species of caecilian amphibians. Our results show that the shape of the two most anterior vertebrae, as well as the shape of the vertebrae at 90% of the total body length, is not correlated with peak push forces. Conversely, the shape of the third vertebrae, and the vertebrae at 20% and 60% of the total body length, does show a relationship to push forces measured in vivo. Whether these relationships are indirect (external forces constraining shape variation) or direct (muscle forces constraining shape variation) remains unclear and will require quantitative studies of the axial musculature. Importantly, our data suggest that mid-body vertebrae may potentially be used as proxies to infer burrowing capacity in fossil representatives.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference Issid planthoppers from Bach Ma and Phong Dien in Central Vietnam. I. Tribe Parahiraciini (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Issidae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024