Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

Personal tools

You are here: Home

Search results

RSS Subscribe to an always-updated RSS feed.

4834 items matching your search terms.
Filter the results.
Item type



































New items since



Sort by relevance · date (newest first) · alphabetically
Article Reference Living hypercalcified sponges
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Living species of the genera Chicomurex Arakawa, 1964 and Naquetia Jousseaume, 1880 (Gastropoda: Muricidae) in the Indo-West Pacific
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference Local and landscape effects on ant functional and taxonomic compositions across green spaces of a tropical metropolis
Urbanization is one of the main processes driving environmental transformation, altering the structure and functioning of biological communities across multiple spatial scales. In this study, we evaluated the effects of local and landscape variables on the taxonomic and functional composition of ants in different types of urban green spaces in the city of Salvador, Brazil. A total of 62 sampling points were surveyed across forest fragments, squares, streets medians, and vacant lots, using specific methods for both ground-dwelling and arboreal strata. We recorded 93 ant species distributed among 20 functional groups. Our results indicated that, at the local scale, leaf litter depth was the primary explanatory factor for both taxonomic and functional richness, as well as for functional composition. At the landscape scale, human population density and vegetation cover surrounding the sampling points influenced the distribution of species and functional groups, revealing contrasting patterns between specialist and generalist species. While arboreal, hypogeic, and fungivorous ants were more dependent on structurally complex and conserved habitats, epigeic, omnivorous, and some predatory species were favored in more simplified and heterogeneous environments. These findings highlight that biodiversity conservation in urban areas depends on integrated strategies across multiple scales, encompassing management practices that ensure local structural complexity alongside planning that promotes habitat heterogeneity at the landscape level. Overall, the study demonstrates that the arrangement and quality of urban green spaces play a central role in maintaining both taxonomic and functional diversity of ant communities in tropical cities.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2026
Article Reference Local extinction processes rather than edge effects affect ground beetle assemblages from fragmented and urbanized old beech forests
Local extinction of specialist species due to fragmentation is one of the major causes of biodiversity loss. Increased extinction rates in smaller fragments are expected to result from both smaller local population sizes, which increase the effect of environmental or demographic stochasticity, and increased edge effects. However, the relative effect sizes of these two factors are still poorly investigated. We attempt to disentangle these effects on ground beetle communities of temperate broadleaved woodland fragments situated in one of the most urbanized regions in Belgium. Assemblages were sampled along transects that extended from 30 m outside to 100 m inside both small and large historic forest fragments. Although species assemblages within the forest were highly distinct compared to those sampled outside the forest, species turnover along these transects was less pronounced within forest fragments indicating only weak edge effects. The magnitude of edge effects did not differ significantly between large and small fragments. However, larger differences in species composition were observed with respect to fragment size, wherein highly specialized species persisted only in the largest fragment. In sum, increased local extinction processes in smaller fragments, which led to a strong reduction of specialized and wingless forest species, appeared to be the most important factor that drives changes in species composition in this historic and fragmented woodland complex.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Local extinction processes rather than edge effects affect ground beetle assemblages from fragmented and urbanized old beech forests.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Local factors drive the richness, biomass and composition of benthic invertebrate communities in Neotropical reservoirs
Dams affect aquatic biota in running water by altering the environmental dynamics. One of the communities affected are benthic invertebrates, that perform important functions such as nutrient cycling and energy transfer in reservoirs. We investigated the influence of the following factors: spatial, abiotic variables, reservoir characteristics and land use on the richness, biomass and composition of benthic invertebrates in 29 reservoirs in southern Brazil. Sediment samples and abiotic variables were collected in the littoral and profundal zones of reservoirs during the dry (July) and rainy (November) seasons in 2001. We used principal coordinates of neighbour matrices to obtain the spatial factors. We analysed the unique and overall effects of the four factors. We found that the factors analysed significantly influenced the composition and biomass of the invertebrates (22%). The percentage of variation explained by the unique effects of the different factors showed similar values, but the spatial factors showed the highest value (4%). This indicates that closer reservoirs have higher similarities in terms of composition and biomass of benthic invertebrates. On the other hand, the abiotic variables had the highest explained value when evaluating the overall effects (10%). Therefore, for invertebrate richness, only the reservoir characteristics were significant for the overall and unique effects (49%). More specifically, we observed lower taxon richness in older reservoirs, probably because the age of such artificial aquatic ecosystems influences other variables, which structure the benthic communities. In conclusion, the structure of benthic invertebrate communities in reservoirs of southern Brazil are mainly driven by spatial and reservoir characteristics.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference Local perceptions on the state of the pelagic fisheries and fisheries management in Uvira, Lake Tanganyika, DR Congo
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Location of the Rhine plume front by airborne remote sensing
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Locked in the icehouse: Evolution of an endemic Epimeria (Amphipoda, Crustacea) species flock on the Antarctic shelf
The Antarctic shelf’s marine biodiversity has been greatly influenced by the climatic and glacial history of the region. Extreme temperature changes led to the extinction of some lineages, while others adapted and flourished. The amphipod genus Epimeria is an example of the latter, being particularly diverse in the Antarctic region. By reconstructing a time-calibrated phylogeny based on mitochondrial (COI) and nuclear (28S and H3) markers and including Epimeria species from all oceans, this study provides a temporal and geographical framework for the evolution of Antarctic Epimeria. The monophyly of this genus is not supported by Bayesian Inference, as Antarctic and non-Antarctic Epimeria form two distinct wellsupported clades, with Antarctic Epimeria being a sister clade to two stilipedid species. The monophyly of Antarctic Epimeria suggests that this clade evolved in isolation since its origin. While the precise timing of this origin remains unclear, it is inferred that the Antarctic lineage arose from a late Gondwanan ancestor and hence did not colonize the Antarctic region after the continent broke apart from the other fragments of Gondwanaland. The initial diversification of the clade occurred 38.04 Ma (95% HPD [48.46 Ma; 28.36 Ma]) in a cooling environment. Adaptation to cold waters, along with the extinction of cold-intolerant taxa and resulting ecological opportunities, likely led to the successful diversification of Epimeria on the Antarctic shelf. However, there was neither evidence of a rapid lineage diversification early in the clade’s history, nor of any shifts in diversification rates induced by glacial cycles. This suggests that a high turnover rate on the repeatedly scoured Antarctic shelf could have masked potential signals of diversification bursts.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Long-legged flies as bio-indicators in site quality assessment of mangroves on Pulau Ubin (Singapore) (Insecta: Diptera: Dolichopodidae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025