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Article Reference Constraints on the functional trait space of aquatic invertebrates in bromeliads
Functional traits are commonly used in predictive models that link environmental drivers and community structure to ecosystem functioning. A prerequisite is to identify robust sets of continuous axes of trait variation, and to understand the ecological and evolutionary constraints that result in the functional trait space occupied by interacting species. Despite their diversity and role in ecosystem functioning, little is known of the constraints on the functional trait space of invertebrate biotas of entire biogeographic regions. We examined the ecological strategies and constraints underlying the realized trait space of aquatic invertebrates, using data on 12 functional traits of 852 taxa collected in tank bromeliads from Mexico to Argentina. Principal Component Analysis was used to reduce trait dimensionality to significant axes of trait variation, and the proportion of potential trait space that is actually occupied by all taxa was compared to null model expectations. Permutational Analyses of Variance were used to test whether trait combinations were clade‐dependent. The major axes of trait variation represented life‐history strategies optimizing resource use and antipredator adaptations. There was evidence for trophic, habitat, defence and life‐history niche axes. Bromeliad invertebrates only occupied 16%–23% of the potential space within these dimensions, due to greater concentrations than predicted under uniform or normal distributions. Thus, despite high taxonomic diversity, invertebrates only utilized a small number of successful ecological strategies. Empty areas in trait space represented gaps between major phyla that arose from biological innovations, and trait combinations that are unviable in the bromeliad ecosystem. Only a few phylogenetically distant genera were neighbouring in trait space. Trait combinations aggregated taxa by family and then by order, suggesting that niche conservatism was a widespread mechanism in the diversification of ecological strategies.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Article Reference Consumption of canid meat at the Gravettian Předmostí site, the Czech Republic
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Consumption patterns and living conditions inside Het Steen, the late medieval prison of Malines (Mechelen, Belgium).
Excavations at the Main Square (Grote Markt) of Malines (Mechelen, Belgium) have unearthed the building remains of a tower, arguably identifiable as the former town prison: Het Steen. When this assumption is followed, the contents of the fills of two cesspits dug out in the cellars of the building illustrate aspects of daily life within the early 14th-century prison. An integrated approach of all find categories, together with the historical context available, illuminates aspects of the material culture of the users of the cesspits, their consumption patterns and the living conditions within the building.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Incollection Reference Consumption refuse, carcasses and ritual deposits at Tell Beydar (northern Syria)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Context-dependent specialization in colony defence in the red wood ant Formica rufa
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Inbook Reference Contextual analysis at Sagalassos
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Continental nematodes in Belgium: an updated list with special emphasis on compost nematodes
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Continuity and change in animal exploitation at the transition from Antiquity to the early medieval period in the Belgian and Dutch loess region
Abstract This article studies the evolution of livestock exploitation during the late Roman Empire and the Merovingian period by highlighting significant and progressive changes in husbandry practices that are discernible from archaeozoological data relating to five settlements in the Belgian and Dutch loess region. The intensive exploitation of cattle for agricultural activities, transport, and meat supply of consumer sites during the Roman period was progressively abandoned. Pigs grew in importance during the late Empire and became predominant at all sites from the 5th century onwards. Reduction in demand for powerful draught animals for agricultural work in the loess belt is reflected by strong decrease in cattle size and robusticity in the 6th century. Kill-off patterns, sex-ratios, and pathologies related to the use of cattle for traction also point to changes in the objectives of breeding cattle. There was a shift from intensive exploitation for traction during the late Roman period to mixed breeding for meat and milk production in addition to traction during the Merovingian period. The archaeozoological results suggest a less intensive exploitation of agricultural land and a more significant exploitation of woodland. An increase in cattle is recorded at the end of the Merovingian period, in particular at the sites of the Meuse valley, coinciding with an increase in agricultural production.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Continuity in intestinal parasite infection in Aalst (Belgium) from the medieval to the early modern period (12th-17th centuries)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Article Reference Contribution à la connaissance des Halictinae d'Espagne, avec un atlas des espèces de la Péninsule Ibérique (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Halictidae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017