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Shell chemistry of the Boreal Campanian bivalve Rastellum diluvianum (Linnaeus, 1767) reveals temperature seasonality, growth rates and life cycle of an extinct Cretaceous oyster.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2020
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Shell thickness of Nucella lapillus in the North Sea increased over the last 130 years despite ocean acidification
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022
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Shells from aquaculture: a valuable biomaterial, not a nuisance waste product
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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Short-term effects of fishery exclusion in offshore wind farms on macrofaunal communities in the Belgian part of the North Sea
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With the wide scale construction of offshore wind farms (OWFs) throughout the entire North Sea, largeareas are permanently being closed to beam trawl fisheries. Beam trawling has affected macrobenthicassemblages for centuries, especially the fragile and long-lived species. Due to the prohibition of beantrawling in many OWFs, opportunities are being provided to investigate the potential recovery of vulnera-ble species and the creation of de-facto Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The soft-substrate macrobenthiccommunity was investigated from 2008 to 2012, before and after the construction of an OWF in theBelgian part of the North Sea, situated on the Bligh Bank. The fishery enclosed area (±21 km2) withinthe OWF (No Fishery area) was compared with a surrounding control area (±30 km2) where regularfishing activities were registered through vessel monitoring system (VMS) data throughout the period2010–2011. Three years after the exclusion of beam trawl fisheries, subtle changes within the macroben-thic community were observed in the No Fishery area. The benthic mysid shrimp Gastrosaccus spinifer(30 ± 15 ind m−2), tube-building polychaetes Terebellidae sp. (196 ± 151 ind m−2) and the echinodermEchinocyamus pusillus (73 ± 71 ind m−2), sensitive to trawling activities, showed increased abundanceswithin the No Fishery area. With an expansion of the wind farm concession area to 238 km2in the future,the likely increase of dense Terebellidae patches (e.g., Lanice conchilega reefs) within the No Fishery areacould create an ecological important large-scale refugium for higher trophic levels. This study creates abaseline for the evaluation of long-term changes due to the fishing impacts and effects related to the pres-ence of OWFs and highlights the importance of executing long-term monitoring programs in combinationwith targeted research.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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Shrews (Soricidae) of the lowland forests around Kisangani (DR Congo)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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Significance of boulder shape, shoreline configuration and pre-transport setting for the transport of boulders by tsunamis
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RBINS Staff Publications 2020
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Significant loss of mitochondrial diversity within the last century due to extinction of peripheral populations in eastern gorillas
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Species and populations are disappearing at an alarming rate as a direct result of human activities. Loss of genetic diversity associated with population decline directly impacts species’ long-term survival. Therefore, preserving genetic diversity is of considerable conservation importance. However, to assist in conservation efforts, it is important to understand how genetic diversity is spatially distributed and how it changes due to anthropogenic pressures. In this study, we use historical museum and modern faecal samples of two critically endangered eastern gorilla taxa, Grauer’s (Gorilla beringei graueri) and mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), to directly infer temporal changes in genetic diversity within the last century. Using over 100 complete mitochondrial genomes, we observe a significant decline in haplotype and nucleotide diversity in Grauer’s gorillas. By including historical samples from now extinct populations we show that this decline can be attributed to the loss of peripheral populations rather than a decrease in genetic diversity within the core range of the species. By directly quantifying genetic changes in the recent past, our study shows that human activities have severely impacted eastern gorilla genetic diversity within only four to five generations. This rapid loss calls for dedicated conservation actions, which should include preservation of the remaining peripheral populations.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2018
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Simbirskiasaurus and Pervushovisaurus reassessed: implications for the taxonomy and cranial osteology of Cretaceous platypterygiine ichthyosaurs
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The ichthyosaur fossil record is interspersed by several hiatuses, notably during the Cretaceous. This hampers our understanding of the evolution and extinction of this group of marine reptiles during the last 50 million years of its history. Several Cretaceous ichthyosaur taxa named in the past have subsequently been dismissed and referred to the highly inclusive taxon Platypterygius, a trend that has created the impression of low Cretaceous ichthyosaur diversity. Here, we describe the cranial osteology, reassess the stratigraphic age, and evaluate the taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of two Cretaceous ichthyosaurs from western Russia: Simbirskiasaurus birjukovi from the early Barremian and Pervushovisaurus bannovkensis from the middle Cenomanian, both formerly regarded as nomina dubia, and allocated to Platypterygius sp. and Platypterygius campylodon, respectively. We show that Simbirskiasaurus birjukovi and Pervushovisaurus bannovkensis are valid platypterygiine ophthalmosaurids, notably characterized by a peculiar narial aperture. The cranial anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of these taxa illuminate the evolution of narial aperture anatomy in Cretaceous ichthyosaurs, clarify the phylogenetic relationships among platypterygiines, and provide further arguments for a thorough revision of Platypterygius.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Similar ecology, different morphology: Three new species of oral-mollusc shellers from Lake Edward
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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SIMilarity Environment Correction (SIMEC) applied to MERIS data over inland and coastal waters
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RBINS Staff Publications