Abstract This paper presents the results of laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analysis of the clay fraction in 70 Late Mesolithic and Early/Middle Neolithic pottery sherds from the Scheldt basin and 10 sampled sediments. The elemental concentration results were visualized using multivariate chemometric techniques and compared to the results of petrographic analysis of the same ceramics in order to investigate the complementarity of both approaches. In addition, the results for the pottery and sediments were compared for clay sourcing purposes. Overall, the elemental analysis was able to confirm part of the observations from the petrographic analysis. However, a large part of the ceramics clustering was driven by heterogeneity in the elemental composition that does not stem from differences in the clay source used. Furthermore, no conclusions could be drawn on the use of the sampled sediments for pottery production. Therefore, it is concluded that LA-ICP-MS analysis of the clay fraction in pottery can complement petrography, but petrographic analysis remains indispensable for clay sourcing of pottery from northern Belgium. Keywords: ceramic petrography, LA-ICP-MS, t-SNE, elemental analysis, Neolithic pottery, Belgium
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Red wood ants (RWAs) are a group of keystone species widespread in temperate and boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere. Despite this, there is increasing evidence of local declines and extinctions. We reviewed the current protection status of RWAs throughout Europe and their International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) threat classification. Only some RWA species have been assessed at a global scale, and not all national red lists of the countries where RWAs are present include these species. Different assessment criteria, inventory approaches, and risk categories are used in different countries, and data deficiency is frequent. Legislative protection is even more complex, with some countries protecting RWAs implicitly together with the wildlife fauna and others explicitly protecting the whole group or particular species. This complexity often occurs within countries, for example, in Italy, where, outside of the Alps, only the introduced species are protected, whereas the native species, which are in decline, are not. Therefore, an international, coordinated framework is needed for the protection of RWAs. This first requires that the conservation target should be defined. Due to the similar morphology, complex taxonomy, and frequent hybridization, protecting the entire RWA group seems a more efficient strategy than protecting single species, although with a distinction between autochthonous and introduced species. Second, an update of the current distribution of RWA species is needed throughout Europe. Third, a protection law cannot be effective without the collaboration of forest managers, whose activity influences RWA habitat. Finally, RWA mounds offer a peculiar microhabitat, hosting a multitude of taxa, some of which are obligate myrmecophilous species on the IUCN Red List. Therefore, RWAs’ role as umbrella species could facilitate their protection if they are considered not only as target species but also as providers of species-rich microhabitats.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022
