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Morphology study of the otoliths of the parrotfish, Chlorurus sordidus (Forsska˚l, 1775) and Hipposcarus harid (Forsska˚l, 1775) from the Red Sea coast of Egypt (Family: Scaridae)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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Morphology, molecules, and monogenean parasites: An example of an integrative approach to cichlid biodiversity
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The unparalleled biodiversity of Lake Tanganyika (Africa) has fascinated biologists for over a century; its unique cichlid communities are a preferred model for evolutionary research. Although species delineation is, in most cases, relatively straightforward, higher-order classifications were shown not to agree with monophyletic groups. Here, traditional morphological methods meet their limitations. A typical example are the tropheine cichlids currently belonging to Simochromis and Pseudosimochromis. The affiliations of these widespread and abundant cichlids are poorly understood. Molecular work suggested that genus and species boundaries should be revised. Moreover, previous morphological results indicated that intraspecific variation should be considered to delineate species in Lake Tanganyika cichlids. We review the genera Simochromis and Pseudosimochromis using an integrative approach. Besides a morphometric study and a barcoding approach, monogenean Cichlidogyrus (Platyhelminthes: Ancyrocephalidae) gill parasites, often highly species-specific, are used as complementary markers. Six new species are described. Cichlidogyrus raeymaekersi sp. nov., C. muterezii sp. nov. and C. banyankimbonai sp. nov. infect S. diagramma. Cichlidogyrus georgesmertensi sp. nov. was found on S. babaulti and S. pleurospilus, C. franswittei sp. nov. on both S. marginatus and P. curvifrons and C. frankwillemsi sp. nov. only on P. curvifrons. As relatedness between Cichlidogyrus species usually reflects relatedness between hosts, we considered Simochromis monotypic because the three Cichlidogyrus species found on S. diagramma belonged to a different morphotype than those found on the other Simochromis. The transfer of S. babaulti, S. marginatus, S. pleurospilus and S. margaretae to Pseudosimochromis was justified by the similarity of their Cichlidogyrus fauna and the intermediate morphology of S. margaretae. Finally parasite data also supported the synonymy between S. pleurospilus and S. babaulti, a species that contains a large amount of geographical morphological variation.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Morphometric evaluation of DNA-based cryptic taxa in the terrestrial decollate snail genus Rumina
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Morphometric techniques allow environmental reconstructions from low-diversity ostracode assemblages
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Morphometry and DNA barcoding reveal cryptic diversity in the genus Enteromius (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) from the Congo basin, Africa
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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MORPHYLL: A database of fossil leaves and their morphological traits
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Morphometric characters of fossil leaves such as size and shape are important and widely used sources for reconstructing palaeoenvironments. Various tools, including CLAMP or Leaf Margin Analysis, utilize leaf traits as input parameters for estimating palaeoclimate, mostly based on correlations between traits and climate parameters of extant plants. During the last few years, the scope of information extracted from the morphology of fossil leaves has been further expanded by including leaf economics, which describe correlations between functional leaf traits and ecological strategies. The amount and quality of available data are essential for a successful palaeoecological analysis utilizing leaf traits. Here, the database MORPHYLL is described. This database is devised to offer a web-based resource for fossil leaf trait data. For this purpose, fossil leaves from various collections were digitized and morphometric traits extracted from leaf outlines. Besides metadata such as accession number, repository, fossil site or taxonomic information (for identified specimens), MORPHYLL offers queries for several morphometric parameters and derived ecophysiological traits (e.g., leaf mass per area). Currently, the database contains data from about 6000 fossil leaves from sites in Central Europe, spanning almost the entire Paleogene and part of the early Neogene. The application potential of the database is demonstrated by conducting some exemplary analyses of leaf traits for the Paleocene, Eocene and Oligocene, with the results indicating changes of mean leaf traits through time. For example, the results show leaf mass per area to peak during the Eocene, which is in accordance with general climate development during the Paleogene.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2018
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Moving plates and melting icecaps – Processes and forcing factors in geology, 4th international Geologica Belgica meeting, September 11-14, 2012
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Mt. Fuji Holocene eruption history reconstructed from proximal lake sediments and high-density radiocarbon dating
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RBINS Staff Publications 2018
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Mud dynamics in the port of Zeebrugge
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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Multi-isotope analysis of bone collagen of Late Pleistocene ungulates reveals niche partitioning and behavioural plasticity of reindeer during MIS 3
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Here we present stable carbon, nitrogen and sulfur isotope ratios of collagen extracted from Rangifer, Equus and Bison bone (n = 128) from different stratigraphic levels at the chronologically well-constrained Middle and Upper Palaeolithic site of Les Cottés, France. Samples were taken from five phases of site use (US08, US06, US04 [upper and lower], and US02; ~ 45.8–35.3 ka cal BP) to explore the dietary and spatial palaeoecology of these ungulate species during MIS 3, and the contemporary climate. Temporal trends in δ15N values of all species broadly align with other climatic indicators at the site and the lowest values in US04 correspond to the Heinrich 4 cooling event, reflecting changes in the composition of soil/plant nitrogen at this time. Rangifer collagen is 13C-enriched compared to the other species throughout, consistent with lichen consumption. However, this isotopic niche partitioning between Rangifer and Equus/Bison is most extensive during US04, indicating plasticity in reindeer feeding behaviour, and potentially overall increased lichen biomass during this cooler/more arid phase. Rangifer δ34S values are consistently lower than Equus and Bison, which could be indicative of their more extensive spatial ranges incorporating greater inland areas. Equus and Bison demonstrate a significant decrease in δ34S values through time, which may be linked to contemporary climatic decline.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
