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Coexisting cryptic species of the Litoditis marina complex (Nematoda) show differential resource use and have distinct microbiomes with high intraspecific variability
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Differences in resource use or in tolerances to abiotic conditions are often invoked as potential mechanisms underlying the sympatric distribution of cryptic species. Additionally, the microbiome can provide physiological adaptations of the host to environmental conditions. We determined the intra- and interspecific variability of the microbiomes of three cryptic nematode species of the Litoditis marina species complex that co-occur, but show differences in abiotic tolerances. Roche 454 pyrosequencing of the microbial 16S rRNA gene revealed distinct bacterial communities characterized by a substantial diversity (85-513 OTUs) and many rare OTUs. The core microbiome of each species contained only very few OTUs (2-6), and four OTUs were identified as potentially generating tolerance to abiotic conditions. A controlled experiment in which nematodes from two cryptic species (Pm1 and Pm3) were fed with either an E. coli suspension or a bacterial mix was performed, and the 16S rRNA gene was sequenced using the MiSeq technology. OTU richness was 10-fold higher compared to the 454 data set and ranged between 1118 and 7864. This experiment confirmed the existence of species-specific microbiomes, a core microbiome with few OTUs, and high interindividual variability. The offered food source affected the bacterial community and illustrated different feeding behaviour between the cryptic species, with Pm3 exhibiting a higher degree of selective feeding than Pm1. Morphologically similar species belonging to the same feeding guild (bacterivores) can thus have substantial differences in their associated microbiomes and feeding strategy, which in turn may have important ramifications for biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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Let the dead speak…comments on Dibble et al.'s reply to “Evidence supporting an intentional burial at La Chapelle-aux-Saints”
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In a reply to our paper presenting new evidence supporting an intentional Neanderthal burial at La Chapelle-aux-Saints (Corrèze, France), Dibble et al. (2014) reviewed our data in relation to the original Bouyssonie publications. They conclude that alternative hypotheses can account for the preservation of the human remains within a pit. Here we present new data from our recent excavations and highlight several misinterpretations of the Bouyssonie publications, which, when taken together refute most of their arguments. Moreover, we show that the different hypotheses proposed by Dibble et al. cannot work together and fail to provide a credible explanation for the deposit, reinforcing our demonstration that the burial hypothesis remains the most parsimonious explanation for the preservation of the Neanderthal skeletal material at La Chapelle-aux-Saints.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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Interaction between man and animals in the prehistoric Nile Valley
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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Scutes for sturgeon size reconstruction: traditional and geometric morphometric techniques applied to Acipenser sturio and A. oxyrinchus
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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Unraveling geological and geographical provenances of querns and mills during Roman times at the northern frontier of the Roman Empire (Belgium, Northern France, Southern Netherlands, Western germany): a multidisciplinary research project.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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Manufacture and diffusion of whetstones during Roman times in Northern Gaul (Belgium and Northern France).
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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Geochemical sourcing of flint artifacts from Western Belgium and the German Rhineland: testing hypotheses on Gravettian period mobility and raw material economy
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Identifying the geological and geographical origin of lithic raw materials is critical to effectively address prehistoric forager raw material economies and mobility strategies. Currently, Paleolithic archaeology in Belgium lacks a systematic sourcing strategy to effectively substantiate detailed interpretations of prehistoric hunter-gatherer behavioral change across time and space. This pilot study evaluates the potential to “fingerprint” flint from the Mons Basin, western Belgium, using the laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) technique and a multivariate statistical analysis of 87 geological samples and 39 Gravettian period chipped stone artifacts. We reappraise two hypotheses raised by previous scholars based on visual raw material identification: (1) the Gravettian occupants of Maisières-Canal supplied themselves with “black flint” from one single source; (2) the sites Rhens and Koblenz-Metternich yielded artifacts indicative of long-distance transfer of western Belgian flint into the German Rhineland, ca. 260 km from the primary source area. Our results demonstrate the validity of LA-ICP-MS data with flint and compositional data analysis for fingerprinting discrete geological formations from the Mons Basin. We suggest multiple source provisioning for Maisières-Canal. Geochemical characterization of other potential flint sources is required to validate the long-distance transfer hypothesis of western Belgian “black flint” into the German Rhineland.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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13th International Symposium on Aquatic Oligochaeta, Brno, Czech Republic, 7–11 September, 2015
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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Comparative phylogeographies of six species of hinged terrapins (<i>Pelusios</i> spp.) reveal discordant patterns and unexpected differentiation in the <i>P. castaneus/P. chapini</i> complex and <i>P. rhodesianus</i>
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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Magura Cave, Bulgaria: A multidisciplinary study of Late Pleistocene human palaeoenvironment in the Balkans
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Abstract Two trenches excavated at Magura Cave, north-west Bulgaria, have provided Late Pleistocene lithic artefacts as well as environmental evidence in the form of large and small mammals, herpetofauna and pollen recovered from Crocuta coprolites. One of the trenches also has a visible tephra layer which has been confirmed as representing the major Campanian Ignimbrite eruption and is accurately dated at the source area to 39,280 ± 55 yrs and radiocarbon determinations have added to chronological resolution at the site. The palaeoenvironment of the region during the Late Pleistocene is discussed in the context of hominin presence and shows a mosaic landscape in a region considered a crucial refugium for both plants and mammals, including hominins.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016