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Article Reference Location of the Rhine plume front by airborne remote sensing
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Locked in the icehouse: Evolution of an endemic Epimeria (Amphipoda, Crustacea) species flock on the Antarctic shelf
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.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Long bone variability in true seals (Mammalia, Phocidae), with implications for understanding their fossil record
Historically, humeri and femora have been treated as diagnostic elements for fossil phocid (Carnivora, Pinnipedia, Phocidae) identification. This resulted in the naming of a plethora of extinct phocid taxa with isolated humeri and femora as type specimens. However, the documented evidence of sexual dimorphism in pinnipeds, including qualitative and preliminary quantitative studies of long bone shapes, indicates the existence of both intra- and interspecific variation; their respective strengths will help determine whether long bones should or should not be used for taxonomy. The present study quantitatively assesses the morphological variability of phocid long bones, using 3D geometric morphometrics on a large sample (n = 145) covering 16 extant taxa. Morphospaces resulting from principal component analyses sort both extant phocid subfamilies (Phocinae and Monachinae) well, for both humeri and femora. Thus, this study suggests that humeri and femora might be diagnostic enough only to differentiate between subfamilies and maybe some genera, but usually lack clear genus- or species-specific shapes when variability is considered. As such, isolated long bones are preferably not to be used as type specimens. A taxonomic reassessment of holotypes of fossil species based on isolated long bones on a taxon-by-taxon basis is therefore warranted.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2026
Article Reference Long legs and small joints: The locomotor capabilities of Homo naledi
Abstract The lower limb of Homo naledi presents a suite of primitive, derived and unique morphological features that pose interesting questions about the nature of bipedal movement in this species. The exceptional representation of all skeletal elements in H. naledi makes it an excellent candidate for biomechanical analysis of gait dynamics using modern kinematic software. However, virtual gait analysis software requires 3D models of the entire lower limb kinematic chain. No single H. naledi individual preserves all lower limb elements, and what material is preserved is fragmentary. As an antecedent to future kinematic analysis, a 3D lower limb skeleton was reconstructed from the most complete fossil bones of different H. naledi individuals. As both juvenile and adult H. naledi were used, we tested if the knee joint remained congruent throughout ontogeny in a sample of great apes (N?=?143) and modern humans (N?=?70). The reconstruction and subsequent comparative analysis reveal that H. naledi had remarkably small joint sizes for their body size, a hyper-elongated tibia, and a high crural index (90.2). We consider that the lower limb morphology of H. naledi could have improved locomotor economy, but the exceptionally small joints cast doubt on its capabilities for long distance travel, including endurance running. The unusual mixture of primitive and derived traits in H. naledi remains intriguing and might indicate that this hominin engaged both in bipedal walking and climbing, demonstrating that kinematic diversity in hominins persisted well into the Middle Pleistocene.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference Long-standing enigmas of a giant ornithomimosaur Deinocheirus mirificus resolved
The holotype of Deinocheirus mirificus was collected by the 1965 Polish-Mongolian Palaeontological Expedition at Altan Uul III in the southern Gobi of Mongolia1. Because the holotype consists mostly of giant forelimbs (2.4m in length) with scapulocoracoids2, Deinocheirus has remained one of the most mysterious dinosaurs for almost 50 years. The mosaic of ornithomimosaur and non-ornithomimosaur characters in the holotype has made it difficult to resolve the phylogenetic status of Deinocheirus3,4. Here we describe two new specimens of Deinocheirus that were discovered in the Nemegt Formation of Altan Uul IV in 2006 and Bugiin Tsav in 2009. The Bugiin Tsav specimen (MPC-D 100/127) includes a left forelimb clearly identifiable as Deinocheirus and is 6% longer than the holotype. The Altan Uul IV specimen (MPC-D 100/128) is approximately 74% the size of MPC-D 100/127. Cladistic analysis indicates that Deinocheirus is the largest member of the Ornithomimosauria; however, it has many unique skeletal features unknown in other ornithomimosaurs, indicating that Deinocheirus was a heavily built, non-cursorial animal with an elongate snout, tall neural spines, an expanded pelvis for strong muscle attachments, and a relatively short hind limb. Ecomorphological features in the skull, more than a thousand gastroliths, and stomach contents (fish remains) suggest Deinocheirus was a megaomnivore that lived in mesic environments.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Long-term influence of maritime access works on the distribution of cohesive sediments: analysis of historical and recent data from the Belgian nearshore area (southern North Sea).
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Long-term persistence of asexuality through mixed reproduction in Eucypris virens (Crustacea, Ostracoda)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Long-term persistence of asexuality through mixed reproduction in Eucypris virens
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Long-Term Subsidence Monitoring of the Alluvial Plain of the Scheldt River in Antwerp (Belgium) Using Radar Interferometry
The coupled effects of climate change, sea-level rise, and land sinking in estuaries/alluvial plains prone to inundation and flooding mean that reliable estimation of land movements/subsidence is becoming more crucial. During the last few decades, land subsidence has been monitored by precise and continuous geodetic measurements either from space or using terrestrial techniques. Among them, the Persistent Scaterrer Interferometry (PSInSAR) technique is used on the entire Belgian territory to detect, map and interpret the identified ground movements observed since 1992. Here the research focuses on one of the biggest cities in Belgium that became the second European harbour with giant docks and the deepening of the Scheldt river allowing the navigation of the largest container vessels. The areas along the embankments of the Scheldt river and the harbour facilities are associated to Holocene fluviatile deposits overlain by recent landfills. These sedimentary deposits and human-made landfills are affected by important and ongoing land subsidence phenomena. The land subsidence process is highlighted by an annual average Line of Sight (LOS) velocity of about −3.4 mm/year during the years 1992–2001 (ERS1/2 datasets), followed by an annual average LOS velocity of about −2.71 mm/year and −2.11 mm/year, respectively, during the years 2003–2010 (ENVISAT) and 2016–2019 (Sentinel 1A). The Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery data indicate a progressive decrease in the average annual velocities on a global scale independently of important local variations in different districts along the Scheldt river. On the contrary, the city centre and the old historic centre of Antwerp are not affected by negative LOS velocities, indicating stable ground conditions. A geological interpretation of this difference in settlement behaviour between the different areas is provided.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference Long-term succession on offshore wind farms and the role of species interactions
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023