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Linking present environment and reproductive modes segregation (Geographic parthenogenesis) in Eucypris virens (Crustacea: Ostracoda)
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Linking present environment and the segregation of reproductive modes (geographic parthenogenesis) in Eucypris virens (Crustacea: Ostracoda)
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Located in
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Linking present environment and reproductive modes segregation (Geographic parthenogenesis) in Eucypris virens (Crustacea: Ostracoda).
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Litter-dwelling ants as bioindicators to gauge the sustainability of small arboreal monocultures embedded in the Amazonian rainforest
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One of the greatest threats to biodiversity and the sustainable functioning of ecosystems is the clearing of forests for agriculture. Because litter-dwelling ants are very good bioindicators of man-made disturbance, we used them to compare monospecific plantations of acacia trees, cocoa trees, rubber trees and pine trees with the surrounding Neotropical rainforest (in contrast to previous studies on forest fragments embedded in industrial monocultures). Although the global level of species turnover was weak, species richness decreased along a gradient from the forest (including a treefall gap) to the tree plantations among which the highest number of species was noted for the cocoa trees, which are known to be a good compromise between agriculture and conservation. Species composition was significantly different between natural habitats and the plantations that, in turn, were different from each other. Compared to the forest, alterations in the ant communities were (1) highest for the acacia and rubber trees, (2) intermediate for the cocoa trees, and, (3) surprisingly, far lower for the pine trees, likely due to very abundant litter. Functional traits only separated the rubber tree plantation from the other habitats due to the higher presence of exotic and leaf-cutting ants. This study shows that small monospecific stands are likely sustainable when embedded in the rainforest and that environmentally-friendly strategies can be planned accordingly.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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Local extinction processes rather than edge effects affect ground beetle assemblages from fragmented and urbanized old beech forests
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Local extinction of specialist species due to fragmentation is one of the major causes of biodiversity loss. Increased extinction rates in smaller fragments are expected to result from both smaller local population sizes, which increase the effect of environmental or demographic stochasticity, and increased edge effects. However, the relative effect sizes of these two factors are still poorly investigated. We attempt to disentangle these effects on ground beetle communities of temperate broadleaved woodland fragments situated in one of the most urbanized regions in Belgium. Assemblages were sampled along transects that extended from 30 m outside to 100 m inside both small and large historic forest fragments. Although species assemblages within the forest were highly distinct compared to those sampled outside the forest, species turnover along these transects was less pronounced within forest fragments indicating only weak edge effects. The magnitude of edge effects did not differ significantly between large and small fragments. However, larger differences in species composition were observed with respect to fragment size, wherein highly specialized species persisted only in the largest fragment. In sum, increased local extinction processes in smaller fragments, which led to a strong reduction of specialized and wingless forest species, appeared to be the most important factor that drives changes in species composition in this historic and fragmented woodland complex.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Local extinction processes rather than edge effects affect ground beetle assemblages from fragmented and urbanized old beech forests.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Local knowledge of the impact of uncontrolled fires on ecosystem services: a case study in the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve in Benin
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Ecosystem services are fundamental to people and are undergoing many threats such as uncontrolled fire. Local knowledge has been widely used to guide management decisions for plant biodiversity. Therefore, we assessed the knowledge of the people of Pendjari Biosphere Reserve (PBR) on the impact of fire on ecosystem services (ES). A semi-structured questionnaire with three fire impact levels (no, low and high) was used to interview 150 randomly selected households in four ethnic groups. The generalised linear model (GLM) was performed on the relative frequency of quotations to assess the effect of ethnic group, age and sex for each impact level of fire on ES and also to test the interaction among the considered factors. The local people reported that uncontrolled fire causes damage to many provisioning ES. The local knowledge concerning the impact of fire on ES was affected significantly (p < 0.0001) by ethnic group, age and sex irrespective of the impact level of fire on ES. Moreover, there was no significant interaction among the considered factors. The studied factors are benchmarks to be integrated into awareness and preservation measures of ES to mitigate the impact of uncontrolled fire practices in the study area.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
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Local perceptions on the state of the pelagic fisheries and fisheries management in Uvira, Lake Tanganyika, DR Congo
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RBINS Staff Publications 2020
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Location of the Rhine plume front by airborne remote sensing
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Locked in the icehouse: Evolution of an endemic Epimeria (Amphipoda, Crustacea) species flock on the Antarctic shelf
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The Antarctic shelf’s marine biodiversity has been greatly influenced by the climatic and glacial history of the region. Extreme temperature changes led to the extinction of some lineages, while others adapted and flourished. The amphipod genus Epimeria is an example of the latter, being particularly diverse in the Antarctic region. By reconstructing a time-calibrated phylogeny based on mitochondrial (COI) and nuclear (28S and H3) markers and including Epimeria species from all oceans, this study provides a temporal and geographical framework for the evolution of Antarctic Epimeria. The monophyly of this genus is not supported by Bayesian Inference, as Antarctic and non-Antarctic Epimeria form two distinct wellsupported clades, with Antarctic Epimeria being a sister clade to two stilipedid species. The monophyly of Antarctic Epimeria suggests that this clade evolved in isolation since its origin. While the precise timing of this origin remains unclear, it is inferred that the Antarctic lineage arose from a late Gondwanan ancestor and hence did not colonize the Antarctic region after the continent broke apart from the other fragments of Gondwanaland. The initial diversification of the clade occurred 38.04 Ma (95% HPD [48.46 Ma; 28.36 Ma]) in a cooling environment. Adaptation to cold waters, along with the extinction of cold-intolerant taxa and resulting ecological opportunities, likely led to the successful diversification of Epimeria on the Antarctic shelf. However, there was neither evidence of a rapid lineage diversification early in the clade’s history, nor of any shifts in diversification rates induced by glacial cycles. This suggests that a high turnover rate on the repeatedly scoured Antarctic shelf could have masked potential signals of diversification bursts.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
