Résumé : Un ensemble de restes fauniques découverts à Dave (province de Namur, Belgique), à proximité d’un dépôt de quatre haches néolithiques, n’y est pas directement associé. Les ossements animaux n’ont pas été déposés par l’Homme mais plus probablement accumulés par un rapace nocturne, le Grand-duc d’Europe. En outre, leur date de dépôt est vraisemblablement postérieure à celle des grandes lames de haches de Dave. Mots-clefs : rochers de Dave, commune et province de Namur (B), faune, oiseaux sauvages, Grand-duc d’Europe, Spatule blanche, Harle bièvre, mammifères sauvages, mammifères domestiques, datation radiométrique, haches de Dave. Abstract : Faunal remains have been discovered at Dave (Namur Province, Belgium) close to four Neolithic stone axes, but the two assemblages appear not to be directly associated. The animal bones do not reflect human activities but were most likely accumulated by an owl, the Eurasian Eagle-Owl. In addition, the faunal assemblage is presumably more recent than the big blades of axes from Dave. Keywords : Dave rocks, prov. of Namur (B), faunal remains, wild birds, Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Eurasian Spoonbill, Goosander, wild mammals, domestic mammals, radiometric dating, Dave axes.
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RBINS Staff Publications
Aim Locally abundant species are usually widespread, and this pattern has been related to properties of the niches and traits of species. However, such explanations fail to account for the potential of traits to determine species niches and often overlook statistical artefacts. Here, we examine how trait distinctiveness determines the abilities of species to exploit either common habitats (niche position) or a range of habitats (niche breadth) and how niche position and breadth, in turn, affect abundance and occupancy. We also examine how statistical artefacts moderate these relationships. Location Sixteen sites in the Neotropics. Time period 1993–2014. Major taxa studied Aquatic invertebrates from tank bromeliads. Methods We measured the environmental niche position and breadth of each species and calculated its trait distinctiveness as the average trait difference from all other species at each site. Then, we used a combination of structural equation models and a meta-analytical approach to test trait–niche relationships and a null model to control for statistical artefacts. Results The trait distinctiveness of each species was unrelated to its niche properties, abundance and occupancy. In contrast, niche position was the main predictor of abundance and occupancy; species that used the most common environmental conditions found across bromeliads were locally abundant and widespread. Contributions of niche breadth to such patterns were attributable to statistical artefacts, indicating that effects of niche breadth might have been overestimated in previous studies. Main conclusions Our study reveals the generality of niche position in explaining one of the most common ecological patterns. The robustness of this result is underscored by the geographical extent of our study and our control of statistical artefacts. We call for a similar examination across other systems, which is an essential task to understand the drivers of commonness across the tree of life.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
