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Book Reference The Transversal Heritage of Maastricht Stone, a Potential Global Heritage Stone Resource from Belgium and the Netherlands
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference Growth and reproduction of the shrimp population in a lagoon system in southern Benin (West Africa)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference Ancestors of domestic cats in Neolithic Central Europe: Isotopic evidence of a synanthropic diet
Most of today’s domesticates began as farm animals, but cat domestication took a different path. Cats became commensal of humans somewhere in the Fertile Crescent, attracted to early farmers’ settlements by rodent pests. Cat remains from Poland dated to 4,200 to 2,300 y BCE are currently the earliest evidence for the migration of the Near Eastern wildcat to Central Europe. Tracking the possible synanthropic origin of that migration, we used stable isotopes to investigate the paleodiet. We found that the ecological balance was already changed due to the expansion of Neolithic farmlands. We conclude that among the Late Neolithic Near Eastern wildcats from Poland were free-living individuals, who preyed on rodent pests and shared ecological niches with native European wildcats.Cat remains from Poland dated to 4,200 to 2,300 y BCE are currently the earliest evidence for the migration of the Near Eastern cat (NE cat), the ancestor of domestic cats, into Central Europe. This early immigration preceded the known establishment of housecat populations in the region by around 3,000 y. One hypothesis assumed that NE cats followed the migration of early farmers as synanthropes. In this study, we analyze the stable isotopes in six samples of Late Neolithic NE cat bones and further 34 of the associated fauna, including the European wildcat. We approximate the diet and trophic ecology of Late Neolithic felids in a broad context of contemporary wild and domestic animals and humans. In addition, we compared the ecology of Late Neolithic NE cats with the earliest domestic cats known from the territory of Poland, dating to the Roman Period. Our results reveal that human agricultural activity during the Late Neolithic had already impacted the isotopic signature of rodents in the ecosystem. These synanthropic pests constituted a significant proportion of the NE cat’s diet. Our interpretation is that Late Neolithic NE cats were opportunistic synanthropes, most probably free-living individuals (i.e., not directly relying on a human food supply). We explore niche partitioning between studied NE cats and the contemporary native European wildcats. We find only minor differences between the isotopic ecology of both these taxa. We conclude that, after the appearance of the NE cat, both felid taxa shared the ecological niches.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Spiders in Galapagos – diversity, biogeography and origin
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Octet Stream Size-effect, asymmetry, and small-scale spatial variation in otolith shape of juvenile sole in the Southern North Sea
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Inproceedings Reference Rapid Local Adaptations in an Invasive Frog (Xenopus laevis): the Importance of Functional Trait Measurements to Predict Future Invasions
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Developmental types and a new cryptic species of Chicoreus (Gastropoda: Muricidae) from Papua New Guinea
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025
Article Reference Surface movement above old coal longwalls after mine closure
Although most subsidence occurs in the months and years after mining by the longwall method, surface movement is still occurring many decades after the mining. The aim of the study is to quantify the long term behavior. Satellite data (radar-interferometry) were analyzed to study an area of about 2km2 during the 18years following the closure of the underground infrastructure and the flooding of the underground workings and rock mass. It was observed that, on average, a residual downward movement took place till 7–12years after the closure, followed by a clear uplift. However, the first signs of an uplift occurred in certain sub-areas 3–4years after the closure. Zones within the area studied were identified with either larger or smaller movements. However, the spatial variation of the surface subsidence or uplift could not be directly explained by the characteristics of mining.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Subsidence related to groundwater pumping for breweries in Merchtem area (Belgium), highlighted by Persistent Scaterrer Interferometry
ERS, ENVISAT and TerraSAR-X Synthetic Aperture Radar scenes covering the time span 1992–2014 were processed using a Persistent Scatterer technique to study the ground movements in Merchtem (25km NW of Brussels, Belgium). The processed datasets, covering three consecutive time intervals, reveal that the investigated area is affected by a global subsidence trend related to the extraction of groundwater in the deeper Cambro-Silurian aquifer. Through time the subsidence pattern is reduced and replaced by an uplift related to the rising water table attested by piezometers located in this aquifer. The subsidence is finally reduced to a zone where currently three breweries are very active and pump groundwater in the Ledo-Paniselian aquifer and in the Cambro-Silurian for process water for the production.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Significant loss of mitochondrial diversity within the last century due to extinction of peripheral populations in eastern gorillas
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.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018