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Managing subsurface geosystem services within geological limits: A sustainable scale framework
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The increasing exploitation of geological resources requires sustainable management frameworks that balance resource utilisation with the long-term conservation of the geophysical environment’s functions. Despite growing recognition of geosystem services (derived from geophysical structures and processes), the current literature lacks a comprehensive discussion of their sustainable management that integrates established ecological eco- nomics principles. This study aims to (1) systematically assess existing geosystem services management literature and (2) develop a framework for their sustainable management based on geophysical constraints. Through a systematic review of 40 publications, we find that the literature has developed foundational work on the clas- sification and mapping of geosystem services, with limited subsequent development of operational guidance for sustainable resource management. No existing framework links resource-use rates to geological regeneration capacities and defines sustainable scales in terms of geophysical constraints. To address these shortcomings, we introduce a process-based geosystem service cascade model that links geophysical structures and processes to their functional outputs and societal benefits. This cascade classifies services by function and reveals the regeneration timescales of the geophysical processes that produce them. Guided by the sustainable development principles of Daly (1990), we use this classification to develop a conceptual scheme that identifies which services are suitable for steady-state exploitation and which require pairing with renewable alternatives. The proposed scheme provides a conceptual basis for assessing the scale at which geological resource use can be sustained, grounded in the underlying geophysical structures and processes that determine geological limits and regener- ative capacity.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2026
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A dietary perspective of cat-human interactions in two medieval harbors in Iran and Oman revealed through stable isotope analysis
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Cats are hypercarnivorous, opportunistic animals that have adjusted to anthropogenic environments since the Neolithic period. Through humans, either by direct feeding and/or scavenging on food scraps, the diet of cats has been enriched with animals that they cannot kill themselves (e.g., large mammals, fish). Here, we conducted carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratio analysis to reconstruct the diet of medieval cats and investigate cat-human interactions in two medieval harbor sites (Qalhât, Oman and Siraf, Iran). The analysis included 28 cat individuals and 100 associated marine and terrestrial faunal samples pertaining to > 30 taxa. The isotopic results indicate a high marine protein-based diet for the cats from Qalhât and a mixed marine-terrestrial (C4) diet for the cats from Siraf. Cats at these sites most likely scavenged on both human food scraps and refuse related to fishing activities, with differences in the two sites most likely associated with the availability of marine resources and/or the living conditions of the cats. By shedding light on the dietary habits of cats from two medieval harbors in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, this study illustrates the potential of stable isotope analysis in reconstructing human-cat interactions in the past.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
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Under pressure: the relationship between cranial shape and burrowing force in caecilians (Gymnophiona)
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Caecilians are elongate, limbless and annulated amphibians that, with the exception of one aquatic family, all have an at least partly fossorial lifestyle. It has been suggested that caecilian evolution resulted in sturdy and compact skulls with fused bones and tight sutures, as an adaptation to their head-first burrowing habits. However, although their cranial osteology is well described, relationships between form and function remain poorly understood. In the present study, we explored the relationship between cranial shape and in vivo burrowing forces. Using micro-computed tomography (µCT) data, we performed 3D geometric morphometrics to explore whether cranial and mandibular shapes reflected patterns that might be associated with maximal push forces. The results highlight important differences in maximal push forces, with the aquatic Typhlonectes producing a lower force for a given size compared with other species. Despite substantial differences in head morphology across species, no relationship between overall skull shape and push force could be detected. Although a strong phylogenetic signal may partly obscure the results, our conclusions confirm previous studies using biomechanical models and suggest that differences in the degree of fossoriality do not appear to be driving the evolution of head shape.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
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WOODAN : an online database of archaeological wooden objects
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022
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Novel insights into prehistoric land use at Stonehenge by combining electromagnetic and invasive methods with a semi-automated interpretation scheme
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022
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Woodland Management as Major Energy Supply during the Early Industrialization: A Multiproxy Analysis in the Northwest European Lowlands
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022
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Oviposition of the snake Thelotornis kirtlandii in a parabiotic ant nest
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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High expectation, low implementation: perceptions of African fish and fisheries experts on genetic indicators in fisheries management
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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Fish otoliths from the Early and Middle Miocene of the Penedès (Catalunya, Spain)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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The European Mesonychid Mammals: Phylogeny, Ecology, Biogeography, and Biochronology
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Here we review the fossil record of European mesonychids, which are known only through the genera Dissacus and Pachyaena from Thanetian and Ypresian localities (from MP6 to MP10 reference-levels). We describe two new species, Dissacus rougierae, sp. nov., and Dissacus raslanloubatieri, sp. nov., respectively from Palette (Ypresian, ≈MP7) and from La Borie (Ypresian, ≈MP8 + 9). We also describe new specimens of D. europaeus from Berru (Thanetian, ≈MP6). The evolution of the geographic distribution of the European mesonychids is characterized by three phases: (1) the mesonychid Dissacus appeared in Europe during the Thanetian (≈ 57–58 Mya), probably due to dispersal from North America; D. europaeus survived the PETM event (≈ 56 Mya) and possibly experienced a dwarfism; (2) the large mesonychid Pachyaena migrated into Europe shortly after the Paleocene-Eocene boundary (≈ 55 Mya), but it was restricted to northwestern Europe, while Dissacus is recorded at this time only in southwestern Europe (Palette); and (3) Pachyaena rapidly disappeared from European environments, while Dissacus subsequently dispersed into northwestern Europe (≈ 54–52 Mya). We performed phylogenetic analyses in order to identify the relationships of the new species among mesonychids. It seems that the mesonychids went through two radiative events: the first during the Paleocene, the second mostly during the early Eocene. The first one corresponds to the diversification of Dissacus, while the latter resulted in the appearance of the most specialized mesonychids, such as Pachyaena and Mesonyx.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
