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Huy - Saint-Victor: utilisation des animaux sur un site d’habitat et d’artisanat du Haut Moyen Âge
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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Les prélèvements des restes bioarchéologiques: manuel de terrain
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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Lanice conchilega structures carbon flows in soft-bottom intertidal areas
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Biogenic reefs constructed by the tube-building ecosystem engineer Lanice conchilega (Terrebilidae, Polychaeta) have profound structuring impacts on the benthic environment in that they alter the biogeochemical and physical properties of the sediment. This study provides new insights into the functioning and effects on food webs of L. conchilega reefs in intertidal sediments using linear inverse models to quantify the carbon flows in the food webs in the presence and absence of the tubeworm. The inverse food web models were based on an empirical dataset from 2 study sites, which provided biomass and stable isotope data, and information on general physiological constraints from the literature. Results of the model showed that the carbon input into reef food webs (mean ± SE; 191 ± 50 mmol C m−2 d−1) is ca. 40 times higher compared to bare sand areas (5 ± 2 mmol C m−2 d−1) and is mainly derived from organic matter (OM) in the water column. Most of the OM input towards these reefs is consumed by suspension-feeding macrofauna, particularly L. conchilega; however, the worm is not an important source of carbon for other macrofaunal organisms. The ratio of OM input to primary production indicates that the OM needs to be produced in an area at least 15 times larger than the reef area, demonstrating significant OM ‘focussing’ within the reef food web. The reef structures created by L. conchilega act as a trap for OM, resulting in an overall higher macrofaunal biomass and much more diverse food webs than in the absence of the tubeworm.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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A dietary perspective of cat-human interactions in two medieval harbors in Iran and Oman revealed through stable isotope analysis
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Cats are hypercarnivorous, opportunistic animals that have adjusted to anthropogenic environments since the Neolithic period. Through humans, either by direct feeding and/or scavenging on food scraps, the diet of cats has been enriched with animals that they cannot kill themselves (e.g., large mammals, fish). Here, we conducted carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratio analysis to reconstruct the diet of medieval cats and investigate cat-human interactions in two medieval harbor sites (Qalhât, Oman and Siraf, Iran). The analysis included 28 cat individuals and 100 associated marine and terrestrial faunal samples pertaining to > 30 taxa. The isotopic results indicate a high marine protein-based diet for the cats from Qalhât and a mixed marine-terrestrial (C4) diet for the cats from Siraf. Cats at these sites most likely scavenged on both human food scraps and refuse related to fishing activities, with differences in the two sites most likely associated with the availability of marine resources and/or the living conditions of the cats. By shedding light on the dietary habits of cats from two medieval harbors in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, this study illustrates the potential of stable isotope analysis in reconstructing human-cat interactions in the past.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
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Filling the Gaps on Trophic interactions between Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera using Information retrieved from interlinked and integrated taxonomic datasets
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RBINS collections by external author(s)
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ANNiKEY Interactive – A Taxonomic Information System and multi-access identification key to Annelida
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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High expectation, low implementation: perceptions of African fish and fisheries experts on genetic indicators in fisheries management
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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Fish otoliths from the Early and Middle Miocene of the Penedès (Catalunya, Spain)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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Dating the latest appearance of Neanderthals in Belgium
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Belgium represents a key region for studying the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition (MUPT) in North-West Europe. This area sits at the crossroads between Palaeolithic cultural facies with influences from eastern, western and southern Europe intermingling during the Late Middle Palaeolithic and the MUPT. Until recently, a temporal gap believed to be around 4ka (ca 42-38 ky calBP) existed between the Late Mousterian and the earliest dated Aurignacian settlements in the region [1, 2]. The dates obtained on Neanderthal remains from Spy fell into this gap, making them the latest Neanderthals in the region [3]. Including the dates from Spy, a gap of two millennia remained between the dates on Neanderthals and the beginning of the Aurignacian. Based on this chronological evidence, the transition from Neanderthals to Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) in this region was believed to have been without contact between species. AMH would have settled in an area Neanderthals abandoned long before. As part of the PalaeoChron project, we have redated the Neanderthal specimens from Spy (tooth, maxilla and scapula), Engis 2 (skull and tooth) and Fond-de-Forêt (femur), using the compound specific radiocarbon dating method in place at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit. This method is based on the extraction of the amino acid hydroxyproline that occurs in mammalian collagen using preparative liquid chromatography. This method is more efficient than others in eliminating modern carbon contamination such as conservation materials. In this presentation, we report the new radiocarbon dates obtained on the Belgian Neanderthal specimens. These results show how much impact sample preparation can have on the AMS measurement when specimens have been heavily preserved with conservation materials, which is often the case for human remains. These results also now place the Belgian Neanderthal remains from Spy, Engis and Fond-de-Forêt in their proper chronometric context and allow us to refine our understanding of the disappearance of Neanderthals in north-western Europe and integrate this with other evidence for the human occupation of this region during the Palaeolithic.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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The gait of Homo naledi
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Remains of the foot, upper and lower limb, thorax and cranium of Homo naledi present a mosaic of primitive and Homo-like traits. These include curved phalanges in the hands, although a human like wrist and palm, an ape-like thorax with Homo-like vertebrae, and a shoulder girdle indicative of climbing competency. The individual bones of the foot and lower limbs largely seem to show an individual compatible with obligate bipedalism, although the pedal phalanges also show curvature [1,2]. Despite the remarkably voluminous assemblages, the H. naledi remains do not include a complete lower limb confidently ascribed to a single individual. A complete lower limb of H. naledi would be informative in what it could tell us regarding potential locomotion. The aim of this study was to reconstruct the lower limbs of the H. naledi skeleton and analyse the potential gait of H. naledi whilst also reviewing recent work on the functional morphology of H. naledi and how this pertains to inferences about bipedal locomotion. The H. naledi lower limb was constructed using estimated femoral, tibial and fibular lengths from the most complete remains of H. naledi currently available [2,3]. Pelvis remains were too fragmented to reconstruct the pelvis. All transformations were performed in ‘LhpFusionBox’, which is a musculoskeletal software primarily used to analyse gait in clinical contexts, but recently adapted for paleoanthropologists [4]. Estimated lengths were used as a reference to reconstruct the individual bones by using anatomical land-marks (ALs) to scale other H. naledi material to the size of the estimated bones. Both a modern human model and new lower limb associations of a juvenile skeleton found in the Dinaledi chamber were used as guides to reconstruct a complete lower limb. Reconstructions of individual isolated and scaled limb and foot bones were then placed together to have a complete lower limb re- construction taking into account ligaments, muscles and following the orientation of joint surfaces. The entire limb was then fused to a modern human walking motion to analyse potential locomotion. The reconstruction and biomechanical analysis of the H. naledi lower limb largely demonstrates a morphology compatible with obligate bipedalism, with a medial arch (although reduced), elongated limbs, marked bicondylar angle and joint surfaces compatible with bipedal gait. The elongation of the lower limb is generally seen as a marker of obligate bipedalism although the H. naledi limbs are exceptionally elongated relative to the diaphyseal diameter of the long bones and preserved joint proportions. Longer limbs are generally thought of as more energy efficient, but they also require a greater moment of inertia, which increases energy costs. Whilst the longer tibia (and leg) may have necessitated a longer swing phase, low limb mass (as evidenced by long bone gracility and small joints) may have offset this energetically. Other unique traits such as the flaring ilium, flattened femoral lower neck and overall general mix of primitive and Homo-like traits may not have impeded obligate bipedalism, but they may have been advantageous for climbing. Primitive traits are often thought of as vestiges of an ancient past on the way to the modern human form of obligate bipedalism, however, Homo erectus and other skeletons from the genus Homo are largely thought to be fully obligate bipedals from approximately 1.5 million years onwards, and as H. naledi has been dated between 335 and 236ka [5], it is therefore curious why this particular branch of the hominid tree would ‘hang on’ to the ‘primitive traits’ for at least a million years longer. It is therefore likely that this hominin engaged in both arboreal climbing and bipedal walking.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
