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Article Reference A comparative study of parasites in three latrines from Medieval and Renaissance Brussels, Belgium (14th–17th centuries)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Webpublished Reference Offshore wind farms as stepping stones for Non-indigenous species
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference Ancestors of domestic cats in Neolithic Central Europe: Isotopic evidence of a synanthropic diet
Most of today’s domesticates began as farm animals, but cat domestication took a different path. Cats became commensal of humans somewhere in the Fertile Crescent, attracted to early farmers’ settlements by rodent pests. Cat remains from Poland dated to 4,200 to 2,300 y BCE are currently the earliest evidence for the migration of the Near Eastern wildcat to Central Europe. Tracking the possible synanthropic origin of that migration, we used stable isotopes to investigate the paleodiet. We found that the ecological balance was already changed due to the expansion of Neolithic farmlands. We conclude that among the Late Neolithic Near Eastern wildcats from Poland were free-living individuals, who preyed on rodent pests and shared ecological niches with native European wildcats.Cat remains from Poland dated to 4,200 to 2,300 y BCE are currently the earliest evidence for the migration of the Near Eastern cat (NE cat), the ancestor of domestic cats, into Central Europe. This early immigration preceded the known establishment of housecat populations in the region by around 3,000 y. One hypothesis assumed that NE cats followed the migration of early farmers as synanthropes. In this study, we analyze the stable isotopes in six samples of Late Neolithic NE cat bones and further 34 of the associated fauna, including the European wildcat. We approximate the diet and trophic ecology of Late Neolithic felids in a broad context of contemporary wild and domestic animals and humans. In addition, we compared the ecology of Late Neolithic NE cats with the earliest domestic cats known from the territory of Poland, dating to the Roman Period. Our results reveal that human agricultural activity during the Late Neolithic had already impacted the isotopic signature of rodents in the ecosystem. These synanthropic pests constituted a significant proportion of the NE cat’s diet. Our interpretation is that Late Neolithic NE cats were opportunistic synanthropes, most probably free-living individuals (i.e., not directly relying on a human food supply). We explore niche partitioning between studied NE cats and the contemporary native European wildcats. We find only minor differences between the isotopic ecology of both these taxa. We conclude that, after the appearance of the NE cat, both felid taxa shared the ecological niches.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Inproceedings Reference Simulation of boulder transport in a flume comparing cuboid and complex-shaped boulder models
Coasts around the world are affected by high-energy wave events like storm surges or tsunamis depending on their regional climatological and geological settings. Coarse clasts (boulders to fine blocks) deposited on the shore can provide evidence for hazard-prone areas and physical characteristics of the flooding event. In order to better understand the process of boulder transport by tsunamis and to calibrate numerical hydrodynamic models, we conducted physical boulder transport experiments in a Froude-Scale of 1:50 utilizing idealized boulder shapes (cuboids) as well as realistic, complex boulder shapes based on real-world data. Comparing the behaviour of natural shaped with idealized boulders, allows identifying how the boulder shape influences the transport process in terms of transport mode (sliding, shifting, saltation), path and distance. Experiments are conducted in a 33 m long and 1 m wide flat wave flume ending on an ascending coastal profile. The gradient angle of the ramp changes from 11◦ to 4◦ ending on a flat elevated platform resulting in a total length of 4.5 m. The complex shaped boulder model (17.4x9.6x7.6 cm3) is constructed from photogrammetric data of a coastal boulder on Bonaire in the Dutch Caribbean (BOL2 in Engel and May, 2012), which is assumed to be transported by a tsunami. A cuboid boulder model of equivalent volume and weight (14x8x6 cm3) is created for comparison. The tsunami is modelled as a broken bore generated by two computer-controlled pumps. Each experimental run set-up was repeated for at least three times. The results show a significant influence of the boulder shape, in particular regarding the area of the contact surface when the bore approaches the boulder. With increasing contact surface higher transport distances occur. Due to the shape of the complex boulder tends slightly towards a rough ovoid, which is more streamlined than the idealized shape, the effectively acting drag force decreases and leads to reduced transport distances. The predominant transport mode during the experiments was sliding combined with gentle rotating around the vertical axis. However, in several experimental cases the complex boulder significantly rotates while the idealized does not. Recognizing that the transport distance, presumably due to decreasing ground contact and therefore less friction, increases during rotational transport, it is remarkable that the complex boulder still does not reach the transport distances of the idealized one. Experiments for boulder-boulder interactions generally show reduced transport distances. The bore-facing boulder generates a “flow shield” preserving the latter boulder from movement. In consequence, the bore-facing boulder hits its neighbour and stops moving. Within the range of our experiments, this boulder-boulder impact does not exceed a necessary energy-threshold for dislocating the second boulder. Beside further results regarding the influence of the initial water level, increased bottom friction and exper- iment sensitivity, insights into a numerical model based on these experiments will be presented. Engel, M.; May, S.M.: Bonaire’s boulder fields revisited: evidence for Holocene tsunami impact on the Leeward, Antilles. Quaternary Science Reviews 54, 126–141, 2012.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Inproceedings Reference The Early Holocene Humid Period in N Arabia – proxy evidence from a unique varved lake record
There is growing interest in deciphering the hydroclimatic dynamics on the Northern Arabian Peninsula during and after the Early Holocene Humid Period (EHHP) as a key for better understanding the role of climate in driving neolithisation and the evolution of new lifestyles in the poorly studied Arabian Desert. However, our knowledge about the magnitude, timeframe and sources of increased moisture in Northern Arabia during the EHHP is limited due to a lack of robust proxy data. Here we provide the first high-resolution and precisely dated multi-proxy reconstruction of the hydroclimatic variability during the EHHP for northern Arabia, retrieved from annually laminated (varved) sediments of the Tayma palaeolake record. We found pronounced seasonal variability during the lake’s evolution, which we reconstructed through micro-facies analyses of the varved sediments. Changing lake water evaporation and the lake-internal productivity was inferred using stable oxygen and carbon isotope compositions (δ18O and δ13C) of carbonates. The compound-specific hydrogen isotope composition of plant-wax n-alkanes (δDwax) was used as a proxy for changing moisture supply. Our robust age model is well constrained by a floating varve chronology anchored through 14C dating of pollen concentrates and the well-dated ‘S1’ cryptotephra. Our results show that slightly wetter conditions started at Tayma at ca. 9300 yrs BP. The highest moisture availability was only achieved during a ca. 600 years lasting deep-lake phase from ca. 8500 to 7900 yrs BP, when varves formed in the lake. This implies that the EHHP was comparably short in northern Arabia. Furthermore, we found a complex regional hydrological pattern during the EHHP on centennial time-scales, which we discuss with respect to alternative moisture sources and mechanisms that led to the observed hydroclimatic signature at Tayma. This study is a contribution to the research project “CLEAR – Holocene Climatic Events of Northern Ara- bia” (https://clear2018.wordpress.com/).
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Inproceedings Reference object code Micro-and Macrofossils as indicators of Early Holocene palaeoenvironmental changes in the northwestern Saudi Arabia
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Inproceedings Reference chemical/x-genbank GEN-EX - Metagenomics of Extreme-Wave Events
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Inproceedings Reference text/texmacs CARTS - the database of CARibbean Tsunami depositS
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Conference Reference Abc Taxa: series of peer-reviewed manuals dedicated to capacity building in taxonomy & collection management
Today, the so-called taxonomic impediment, i.e., the lack of taxonomic (inclusive of genetic) information, taxonomic and curatorial expertise, and infrastructure in many parts of the world, means that accessing and generating taxonomic information remains extremely difficult. To alter this trend, the Convention on Biological Diversity installed the Global Taxonomy Initiative (GTI) and endorsed it with an operational program of work. Its objectives are to remedy the knowledge gaps in our taxonomic system, increase the number of well-trained taxonomists and curators, optimize the infrastructure needed to do sound taxonomic research, significantly improve access to taxonomic collections, data, and metadata, and, thereby, to improve decision- making in conservation of biodiversity. To speed up taxonomic capacity building the Belgian GTI Focal Point has established the series Abc Taxa (www.abctaxa.be), a toll-free information highway between experts and novices. It is believed that this artery will speed up the construction of taxonomic capacity, as it does not evoke the expensive, long-term teacher-apprentice relationships previously utilized to install operational, high-quality taxonomists and collection managers. Since 2005, 19 volumes have been released with subjects as diverse as taxonomy of sea cucumbers of the Comoros, good practices in collection management of mollusc collections, taxonomy of the amphibians of Cuba and of Guyana, taxonomy of algae of Sri Lanka, bee taxonomy in sub-Saharan Africa, mushroom taxonomy of Central Africa, introduction to the taxonomy of mites, taxonomy of invasive succulents of South Africa, taxonomy of the sawflies of southern Africa, taxonomy of the diatoms of the Congo, taxonomy of fish parasites of African Freshwater fishes and taxonomy of the brittle and basket stars of South Africa. This contribution briefly details the scope and aims of Abc Taxa, demonstrates the value of the series for development, and acts as a call for future manuscripts.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Inproceedings Reference Rapid Local Adaptations in an Invasive Frog (Xenopus laevis): the Importance of Functional Trait Measurements to Predict Future Invasions
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020