Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

Personal tools

You are here: Home

Search results

RSS Subscribe to an always-updated RSS feed.

3079 items matching your search terms.
Filter the results.
Item type



































New items since



Sort by relevance · date (newest first) · alphabetically
Article Reference Aramazdospirifer orbelianus (Abich, 1858) n. comb., a new cyrtospiriferid brachiopod genus and a biostratigraphically important species from the lower Famennian (Upper Devonian) of Armenia.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference Archaeological structures as factors affecting bird abundance and spectra in archaeological contexts from medieval and modern Belgium
The present study aims to evaluate the effect of archaeological structures in the preservation and recovery of bird remains, in particular by considering the overall shape, open or enclosed, of the structure. Indeed, hollow structures, sometimes of an enclosed shape that may be constructed in masonry, are supposed to have a protective effect on the fragile bones of birds. This is evaluated by considering different variables, such as the ratio of bird remains compared to those of the main domestic mammals used as meat suppliers, the number of bird taxa, or the identification rates for different types of archaeological structures. In a second step, once the impact of the type of structure is evaluated, the same variables are examined according to the social status, to verify their relevance to document this aspect. It transpires that the bird to mammal remains ratio is strongly influenced by the type of structure, as it is higher in enclosed structures. However, some open structures also deliver high bird ratios, in particular at high status sites. In contrast, the bird identification rate is lower in enclosed structures, but this is probably related to the recovery method. Finally, the number of taxa seems more affected by the social status of the consumers responsible for the accumulation of an archaeological assemblage than by the kind of archaeological structure the faunal assemblage was discarded into. This has implications for sampling strategies since open structures, when sieved, sometimes yield high bird to mammal ratios as well as a high number of bird taxa. Therefore, more systematic sieving of large samples of sediment should be applied not only to enclosed structures but also to open contexts such as refuse layers or floors, especially in sites of (potentially) high social status.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Archaeometric and archaeological characterization of the fired clay brick production in the Brussels-Capital Region between the XIV and the end of the XVIII centuries (Belgium).
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Article Reference Archaeoziphius microglenoideus, a new primitive beaked whale (Mammalia, Cetacea, Odontoceti) from the Middle Miocene of Belgium
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Are car-bonate barrier islands mobile? Insights from a mid- to late-Holocene system, Al Ruwais, northern Qatar
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Are Cardinium infections causing asexuality in non-marine ostracods?
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Are Cardinium infections causing asexuality in non-marine ostracods?
Endosymbiotic bacteria manipulating host biology and reproduction, and sometimes also causing parthenogenesis, are known from many metazoan taxa. Three recent studies have reported Cardinium endosymbionts in non-marine ostracods with different reproductive modes. Here, we test with all available data which (a)biotic factors could possibly shape infection patterns in these crustaceans. The presence of Cardinium in non-marine ostracods differs significantly between genders and between species with different reproductive modes. We observed more infections in females and found Cardinium only in ostracods with mixed and asexual reproduction. There is a significant positive correlation between latitude and Cardinium infection, which might be linked to geographic parthenogenesis, a common phenomenon in non-marine ostracods with mixed reproduction. We suggest that the observed patterns best fit a polymorphic equilibrium between endosymbionts and their hosts. Ostracods with mixed reproduction often produce young asexual lineages, implying that Cardinium infections might have occurred more recently, and are widespread. In contrast, putative ancient asexual darwinulid ostracod shows less frequent occurrence of Cardinium. Loss of endosymbionts in these asexual ostracods during their long evolutionary histories of millions of years seems a more likely explanation. Which factors influence Cardinium prevalence in non-marine ostracods needs to be further tested in life history experiments.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Article Reference Are invasive populations characterized by a broader diet than native populations?
Background. Invasive species are among the most significant threats to biodiversity. The diet of invasive animal populations is a crucial factor that must be considered in the context of biological invasions. A broad dietary spectrum is a frequently cited characteristic of invasive species, allowing them to thrive in a wide range of environments. Therefore, empirical studies comparing diet in invasive and native populations are necessary to understand dietary requirements, dietary flexibility, and the associated impacts of invasive species. Methods. In this study, we compared the diet of populations of the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis in its native range, with several areas where it has become invasive. Each prey category detected in stomach contents was assigned to an ecological category, allowing a comparison of the diversity of ecological traits among the prey items in the diet of native and introduced populations. The comparison of diets was also performed using evenness as a niche breadth index on all sampled populations, and electivity as a prey selection index for three out of the six sampled populations. Results. Our results showed that diet breadth could be either narrow or broad in invasive populations. According to diet and prey availability, zooplankton was strongly preferred in most cases. In lotic environments, zooplankton was replaced by benthic preys, such as ephemeropteran larvae. Discussion. The relative proportions of prey with different ecological traits, and dietary variability within and between areas of occurrence, suggest that X. laevis is a generalist predator in both native and invasive populations. Shifts in the realized trophic niche are observed, and appear related to resource availability. Xenopus laevis may strongly impact aquatic ecosystems because of its near complete aquatic lifestyle and its significant consumption of key taxa for the trophic relationships in ponds.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Are less detrimental parasites better integrated in an inquiline community? A test using red wood ant myrmecophiles
Background: A host infected with multiple parasitic species provides a unique system to test evolutionary and ecological hypotheses. Different parasitic species associated with a single host are expected to occupy different niches. This niche specialization can evolve from intraguild competition among parasites. However, niche specialization can also be structured directly by the host when its defence strategy depends on the parasite’s potential impact. Then it can be expected that species with low or no tendency to prey on host brood will elicit less aggression than severe brood parasitic species and will be able to integrate better in the host system. We examined this hypothesis in a large community of symbionts associated with European red wood ants (Formica rufa group) by testing the association between 1) level of symbiont integration (i.e. presence in dense brood chambers vs. less populated chambers without brood) 2) level of ant aggression towards the symbiont 3) brood predation tendency of the symbiont. Results: Symbionts differed vastly in integration level and we demonstrated for the first time that relatively unspecialized ant symbionts or myrmecophiles occur preferentially in brood chambers. Based on their integration level, we categorize the tested myrmecophiles into three categories: 1) species attracted to the dense brood chambers 2) species rarely or never present in the brood chambers 3) species randomly distributed throughout the nest. The associates varied greatly in brood predation tendency and in aggression elicited. However, we did not find a correlation for the whole myrmecophile community between a) brood predation tendency and host’s aggression b) integration level and host’s aggression c) integration level and brood predation tendency. Conclusions: Our results indicate that red wood ants did not act more hostile towards species that have a high tendency to prey on brood compared to species that are less likely or do not prey on brood. We show that potentially harmful parasites can penetrate into the deepest parts of a social insect fortress. We discuss these seemingly paradoxical findings in relation to models on coevolution and evolutionary arms races and list factors which can make the presence of potentially harmful parasites within the brood chambers evolutionary stable.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2016
Article Reference Are petrous bones just a repository of ancient biomolecules? Investigating biosystematic signals in sheep petrous bones using 3D geometric morphometrics
Over the last decade, the petrous bone (petrosum) has become the ultimate repository of ancient biomolecules, leading to a plea for a more ethical curation preventing the systematic destruction of this bioarchaeological archive. Here, we propose to explore the biosystematic signal encompassed in the biological form of 152 petrosa from modern populations of wild and domestic sheep landraces/breeds across Western Europe, South-Western Asia and Africa, using high resolution geometric morphometrics (GMM) and the latest development in 3D virtual morphology. We assessed the taxonomic signals among wild and domestic caprine species and sheep landraces. We also explored the effect of sexual dimorphism and ageing at the population scale. Finally, we assessed the influence of climatic factors across the geographic distribution of our dataset using Köppen-Geiger climate categories. We found that the 3D form of petrous bones can accurately separate wild and domestic caprine taxa and that it is not influenced by sexual dimorphism, post-natal ageing or horn bearing. Recent selective breeding has not induced sufficient diversification to allow accurate identification of the different landraces/breeds in sheep; however, both genetic distance and climatic differences across the current distribution in sheep landraces/breeds strongly contribute to petrosum intraspecific variation. Finally, human mediated dispersal of domestic sheep outside their Near Eastern cradle, especially towards Africa, have greatly contributed to the diversification of sheep petrous bone form and shape. We therefore highly recommend systematic 3D surface modelling of archaeological petrosa with preliminary GMM studies to help target and reduce destructive biomolecular studies.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022