RBINS Open Access Library

Species depauperate communities and low abundances of monogenean gill parasites at the edge of the natural distribution range of their cichlid hosts in northern Africa: Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Species distribution, hybridization and connectivity in the genus Chionodraco: Unveiling unknown icefish diversity in antarctica: Aim: The species of the genus Chionodraco (Notothenioidei) are the most abundant icefish on the continental shelf of the Weddell Sea. While previous studies indicated that only Chionodraco hamatus and Chionodraco myersi inhabit the Weddell Sea, the third Chionodraco species, Chionodraco rastrospinosus, was recently sampled in the area. As C. rastrospinosus is supposed to be found only at the Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Arc, this study aimed at confirming the species classification of C. rastrospinosus by molecular methods and identifying its putative source population. Given the documented evidence of introgression among the three species, we tested whether the newly found C. rastrospinosus shared any genetic variability with the other Chionodraco species. To explain the pattern of distribution of the Chionodraco species, we aimed at estimating the hydrodynamic connectivity between the Antarctic Peninsula and the Weddell Sea. Location: Antarctic Peninsula, southern Scotia Arc and the south-eastern Weddell Sea. Methods: We genotyped 19 microsatellites and sequenced the mitochondrial D-loop for 560 Chionodraco individuals. We simulated the dispersal of more than 3 million drifters (Lagrangian model). Results: The molecular analyses support the presence of C. rastrospinosus in the Weddell Sea and its homogeneity with C. rastrospinosus from the Antarctic Peninsula. Bayesian clustering identifies three putative hybrids among C. rastrospinosus and the other congenerics. Lagrangian simulations do not support connectivity driven by the oceanographic features of the Antarctic Peninsula and Weddell Sea via passive larval dispersal only. Main conclusions: This study documents, for the first time, the presence of C. rastrospinosus in the Weddell Sea unveiling more biodiversity than previously known in this region. The sympatry of the three Chionodraco species explains the occurrence of occasional, ongoing events of hybridization in the genus. Alternative possible
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Speciﬁc initial training standards are needed to dive for science in Europe, Occupational vs . Citizen Science Diving: Today, collaboration between scienti ﬁ c research and civil society is growing signi ﬁ cantly. The general public ’ s curiosity drives it to engage with the scienti ﬁ c process and culture and in the search for solutions to complex issues (economic, social, health, environmental, cultural, educational, or ethical). Clari ﬁ cation is needed to differentiate between occupational scienti ﬁ c activity and citizen-based science. They do not require the same scienti ﬁ c and technical skills despite using similar equipment and their legal and administrative frameworks being totally different. The confusion created by the indiscriminate use of the same term “ scienti ﬁ c diving ” to refer to different training courses and activities compromises the quality of existing occupational standards and, ultimately, has a negative impact on the safety of the activity at work. A clear de ﬁ nition of Citizen Scienti ﬁ c Diving and Occupational Scienti ﬁ c Diving makes it possible to differentiate between the objectives and target groups of these two activities and their legal framework. There is a need to establish an accepted and shared standard in the occupational ﬁ eld and to ensure the mobility of scientists. A long process undertaken by a motivated scienti ﬁ c community (late 1980s-2000s) led to the establishment of European initial training standards for Occupational Scienti ﬁ c Diving through the ESDP-European Scienti ﬁ c Diving Panel ( ﬁ rstly under the aegis of the European Marine Board, now of the MARS-European marine stations network). The quality and general acceptance of these standards by a large part of the European scienti ﬁ c community have already adopted them in the occupational health and safety legislation of seven European countries (Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the UK in 2023). Adopting them in other countries ’ health and safety legislation is still desirable. This will increase their recognition, acceptance and use for the bene ﬁ t of scienti ﬁ c work. Building bridges between academic science and non-academic citizen science is possible and this is done by developing coherent projects that produce results that bene ﬁ t both science and society. While distinguishing between the two, as an added value, this approach could better guide the recreational diving training sector in developing a new market.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Spectral Requirements for the Development of a New Hyperspectral Radiometer Integrated in Automated Networks - the Hypernets Sensor: Networking of automated instruments on unmanned platforms has proved to be the most effective way to provide validation data for earth observation optical missions. However, with most current networks, such as AERONET-OC [1] for water and RADCALNET for land [2], the validation data are multispectral and/or limited in viewing geometries, resulting in modelling associated uncertainties to cover all spectral bands of all sensors and to correspond to satellite viewing geometries. Therefore, the HYPERNETS Project is developing a new hyperspectral radiometer to be integrated in automated networks. The main goal of the project is to acquire hyperspectral measurements of water and land reflectance and validate every optical earth observation satellite remote-sensing sensor in the Visible-Near Infrared (VNIR) and Short-wave Infrared (SWIR) spectral range. The present study reports the spectral characteristics of current and future earth observation missions. These characteristics represent the main drivers for the design of the HYPERNETS sensor.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Speleothem science - A short review and state of the art - in press: Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Speleothem-based chronology and environmental context of deposits from the Mishin Kamik Cave, NW Bulgaria–A contribution to the archaeological study of the Late Pleistocene human occupation in the Balkans: Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Sphaeroptica: A tool for pseudo-3D visualization and 3D measurements on arthropods: Natural history collections are invaluable reference collections. Digitizing these collections is a transformative process that improves the accessibility, preservation, and exploitation of specimens and associated data in the long term. Arthropods make up the majority of zoological collections. However, arthropods are small, have detailed color textures and share small, complex and shiny structures, which poses a challenge to conventional digitization methods. Sphaeroptica is a multi-images viewer that uses a sphere of oriented images. It allows the visualization of insects including their tiniest features, the positioning of landmarks, and the extraction of 3D coordinates for measuring linear distances or for use in geometric morphometrics analysis. The quantitative comparisons show that the measures obtained with Sphaeroptica are similar to the measurements derived from 3D μCT models with an average difference inferior to 1\%, while featuring the high resolution of color stacked pictures with all details like setae, chaetae, scales, and other small and/or complex structures. Shaeroptica was developed for the digitization of small arthropods but it can be used with any sphere of aligned images resulting from the digitization of objects or specimens with complex surface and shining, black, or translucent texture which cannot easily be digitized using structured light scanner or Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024 OA
Spinnen en loopkevers ingezameld tijdens een korte bodemvalbemonstering te Doeveren (Zedelgem‐Oostkamp): Spiders and carabid beetles were collected with pitfall traps during a short sampling campaign in the spring of 2017 (from 24/05 to 11/07) in the nature reserve Doeveren at Zedelgem‐Oostkamp. 49 species of spiders and 34 species of carabid beetles were found. We here discuss some particular species of both arthropod groups that are mentioned as threatened on the Red list for Flanders. We comment the management and heathland restoration measures of the last years and its impact on both faunas
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Stable isotopes reveal agricultural practices in the Swifterbant period: Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Stable isotopes unveil one millennium of domestic cat paleoecology in Europe: The domestic cat is the world's most popular pet and one of the most detrimental predators in terrestrial ecosystems. Effective protection of wildlife biodiversity demands detailed tracking of cat trophic ecology, and stable isotopes serve as a powerful proxy in dietary studies. However, a variable diet can make an isotopic pattern unreadable in opportunistic predators. To evaluate the usefulness of the isotopic method in cat ecology, we measured C and N isotope ratios in hundreds of archaeological cat bones. We determined trends in cat trophic paleoecology in northern Europe by exploiting population-scale patterns in animals from diverse locations. Our dataset shows a high variability of isotopic signals related to the socio-economic and/or geomorphological context. This points toward regularities in isotopic patterns across past cat populations. We provide a generalized guide to interpret the isotopic ecology of cats, emphasizing that regional isotopic baselines have a major impact on the isotopic signal.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022

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