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Article Reference Evolutionary history of the thicket rats (genus Grammomys) mirrors the evolution of African forests since late Miocene
Aim Grammomys are mostly arboreal rodents occurring in forests, woodlands and thickets throughout sub-Saharan Africa. We investigated whether the divergence events within the genus follow the existing evolutionary scenario for the development of African forests since the late Miocene. Location Sub-Saharan African forests and woodlands. Methods We inferred the molecular phylogeny of Grammomys using Bayesian and maximum likelihood methods and DNA sequences of 351 specimens collected from across the distribution of the genus. We mapped the genetic diversity, estimated the divergence times by a relaxed clock model and compared evolution of the genus with forest history. Results Phylogenetic analysis confirms the monophyly of Grammomys and reveals five main Grammomys lineages with mainly parapatric distributions: (1) the poensis group in Guineo-Congolese forests; (2) the selousi group with a distribution mainly in coastal forests of southern and eastern Africa; (3) the dolichurus group restricted to the easternmost part of South Africa; (4) the macmillani group in the northern part of eastern and Central Africa with one isolated species in Guinean forests; and (5) the surdaster group, widely distributed in eastern Africa south of the equator. Every group contains well supported sublineages suggesting the existence of undescribed species. The earliest split within the genus (groups 1 vs. 2–5) occurred in the late Miocene and coincides with the formation of the Rift Valley which resulted in the east–west division of the initially pan-African forest. The subsequent separation between groups (2 vs. 3–5) also dates to the end of the Miocene and suggests the split between Grammomys from coastal to upland forests in eastern Africa followed by a single dispersal event into western Africa during the Pleistocene. Conclusions The evolutionary history of the genus Grammomys closely reflects the accepted scenario of major historical changes in the distribution of tropical African forests since the late Miocene.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2016
Article Reference EVOSHEEP: the makeup of sheep breeds in the ancient Near East
The EVOSHEEP project combines archaeozoology, geometric morphometrics and genetics to study archaeological sheep assemblages dating from the sixth to the first millennia BC in eastern Africa, the Levant, the Anatolian South Caucasus, the Iranian Plateau and Mesopotamia. The project aims to understand changes in the physical appearance and phenotypic characteristics of sheep and how these related to the appearance of new breeds and the demand for secondary products to supply the textile industry.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference Excavations at Hierakonpolis
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Exceptional cryptic diversity and multiple origins of parthenogenesis in a freshwater ostracod
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference C source code Exchange processes and nitrogen cycling on the shelf and continental slope of the Black Sea basin.
A 3D coupled biogeochemical-hydrodynamical model has been applied to the Black Sea to simulate nitrogen cycling and to estimate the exchange of biogeochemical components at the shelf break and between the continental slope and the deep sea. It was found that biological processes on the northwestern shelf are in approximate balance. Primary production is fueled by river discharge, nitrate input from the open sea at the shelf break, and in situ remineralization. The input of nitrate from the open sea is roughly equivalent to the river nitrate discharge but is half the nitrate export from the shelf toward the open sea. Also, the Black Sea shelf acts throughout the year as a nitrate source for the open sea. The amount of shelf production not remineralized in the euphotic layer is 22.2% and is exported to lower layers (20%) or offshore (2.2%). We estimate that the export of carbon from the shelf to the interior of the basin represents 2.5% of the new production of the open sea. The upper slope adjoining the northwestern shelf is the site of downwelling events responsible for the downward transport to the intermediate layer of the continental slope of biogeochemical components exported from the shelf in the upper layer. The shelf has been found to be an efficient trap for the refractory material discharged by the Danube.
Located in Library / No RBINS Staff publications
Article Reference Experiences with low and high cost 3D surface scanner.
The increasing importance of virtual techniques in archaeology and anthropology puts the question of adequate hardware and software applications for a digitalization of collections for museums and institutions into the focus. Especially the market for mobile 3D scanning developed rapidly during the last years and provides a range of different models suitable for scientific purposes today. As the requirements for archaeological and anthropological applications are very high and differentiated - due to the, in some cases very complex surface morphologies of the objects and the different textures from shiny obsidian to porous bone - the decision for a scanner model is often complicated. The Neanderthal Museum and the Royal Belgian Institute of Sciences have been testing six different surface scanner from four companies during the last months concerning their suitability for archaeological and anthropological objects. Quality of the 3D models was rated by the visibility and exactness of standard attributes used for classification of the object type in archaeology or anthropology. Results are presented here. Generally, all types of archaeological and anthropological objects can be digitalized with surface scanner. If a high end or a low budget model should be used depends on the texture of the object and the intended purpose.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference chemical/x-molconn-Z Experimental Draught Impacts Ant Assemblage
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Experimental exposure to cadmium affects metallothionein-like protein levels but not survival and growth in wolf spiders from polluted and reference populations
Both local adaptation and acclimation in tolerance mechanisms may allow populations to persist under metal pollution. However, both mechanisms are presumed to incur (energetic) costs and to trade-off with other life-history traits. To test this hypothesis, we exposed Pardosa saltans (Lycosidae) spiderlings originating from metal-polluted and unpolluted sites to a controlled cadmium (Cd) treatment, and compared contents of metal-binding metallothionein-like proteins (MTLPs), internal metal concentrations, and individual survival and growth rates with a reference treatment. While increased MTLP concentrations in offspring originating from both polluted and unpolluted populations upon exposure indicates a plastic tolerance mechanism, survival and growth rates remain largely unaffected, independent of the population of origin. However, MTLP and Cd concentrations were not significantly correlated. We suggest that MTLP production may be an important mechanism enabling P. saltans populations to persist in ecosystems polluted with heavy metals above a certain level. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Inbook Reference Experimental models of coarse-clast transport by tsunamis
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Experiments on tsunami induced boulder transport – A review
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021