-
Archaeozoological evidence for the former presence of spotted-necked otter ( Lutra maculicollis ) in Egypt
-
A description is given of the skeletal remains of otter discovered at the Late Palaeolithic fishing sites Makhadma 2 and 4. This is the second archaeozoological find of otter in Egypt and the first one that allows an identification at species level. The possible reasons for the rarity of otter remains in sites along the Egyptian Nile are discussed as well as the possible causes for the present-day local extinction of the species. The consequences of these bone finds for the interpretation of animal depictions and statuettes in ancient Egyptian art are briefly mentioned.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications
-
Archaeozoology in Sub-Saharan Africa. . In: A. Smith Livingstone, E. Cornelissen, O. Gosselain, S. MacEachern (eds) Field Manual for African Archaeology. Tervuren: RMCA, series ‘Documents on Social Sciences and Humanities’, pp. 210-213
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2017
-
Archeozoölogisch, carpologisch en palynologisch onderzoek van beerputvullingen op de site Greenwich, Kartuizerstraat – rue des Chartreux (BR 111, Brussel): voorlopige resultaten
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2018
-
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
-
Arion vulgaris Moquin-Tandon, 1855 à Vogar en Islande
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2021
-
Arlon/Autelbas : consommation et modes de vie à l’abbaye de Clairefontaine d’après les restes biologiques des cuisines (13e-16e siècles)
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications
-
Arlon/Autelbas : Etude des restes organiques des latrines de l’abbaye cistercienne de Clairefontaine (18e siècle)
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications
-
Arthropod Distribution in a Tropical Rainforest: Tackling a Four Dimensional Puzzle
-
Quantifying the spatio-temporal distribution of arthropods in tropical rainforests represents a first step towards scrutinizing the global distribution of biodiversity on Earth. To date most studies have focused on narrow taxonomic groups or lack a design that allows partitioning of the components of diversity. Here, we consider an exceptionally large dataset (113,952 individuals representing 5,858 species), obtained from the San Lorenzo forest in Panama, where the phylogenetic breadth of arthropod taxa was surveyed using 14 protocols targeting the soil, litter, understory, lower and upper canopy habitats, replicated across seasons in 2003 and 2004. This dataset is used to explore the relative influence of horizontal, vertical and seasonal drivers of arthropod distribution in this forest. We considered arthropod abundance, observed and estimated species richness, additive decomposition of species richness, multiplicative partitioning of species diversity, variation in species composition, species turnover and guild structure as components of diversity. At the scale of our study (2km of distance, 40m in height and 400 days), the effects related to the vertical and seasonal dimensions were most important. Most adult arthropods were collected from the soil/litter or the upper canopy and species richness was highest in the canopy. We compared the distribution of arthropods and trees within our study system. Effects related to the seasonal dimension were stronger for arthropods than for trees. We conclude that: (1) models of beta diversity developed for tropical trees are unlikely to be applicable to tropical arthropods; (2) it is imperative that estimates of global biodiversity derived from mass collecting of arthropods in tropical rainforests embrace the strong vertical and seasonal partitioning observed here; and (3) given the high species turnover observed between seasons, global climate change may have severe consequences for rainforest arthropods.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications
-
Assembling ancestors: the manipulation of Neolithic and Gallo-Roman skeletal remains at Pommerœul, Belgium
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2024
-
Assessing the influences of bee’s (Hymnoptera: Apidae) floral preference on cashew (Anacardiacae) agronomics performances in Côte d’Ivoire.
-
This study aimed to assess the influence of bees’ floral preference on cashew agronomics performances in Côte d’Ivoire. Therefore, a sampling design with a total of 40 cashew trees preferred by bees and 40 trees that were not preferred by bees was established in 4 main producing regions. In addition, bees’ foragers and agronomics performances of trees were sampled. As results, a total of 46 bee’ species with a foraging activity of 4±0.32 visits per minute were observed. Apis mellifera (60% of visits, with 2.27±0.17 of visitors per minute) followed by Meliponula bocandei (23% of visits with 0.91±0.18 of visits per minute) contributes significantly to the reproduction of cashew trees, compare to the 44 other bees’ species (17% of visits; with an activity of 0.69±0.03 of visitors per minute). The preferred trees recorded 40.54±0.57 kg of nuts per tree, with 18.39±0.48 fruits per inflorescence, including 37.12±0.4% of useful kernel per raw nut (yield ratio of 65.45±0.66 pound of useful kernel). Conversely, the non-preferred trees obtained 5.24±0.44kg of nuts per tree, with 1.7±0.21 fruits per inflorescence, including 28.69±0.65% of useful kernel per raw nut (50.6±1.15 pound of useful kernel). Hence, the foraging preference of these two Apidae significantly increased the fruiting rate (83.7±0.01%), the yields (87.08±0.0%), and the kernel rate (22.68±1.76%) in raw cashew nuts. Based in these results, we suggest the foraging preference of Apis mellifera as good indicator of high-yielding cashew plants. Moreover, we suggests combination of apicultural and meliponicultrual in cashew farming to boost the yields and farmers livelihoods.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2022
