RBINS Open Access Library

Under pressure: the relationship between cranial shape and burrowing force in caecilians (Gymnophiona): Caecilians are elongate, limbless and annulated amphibians that, with the exception of one aquatic family, all have an at least partly fossorial lifestyle. It has been suggested that caecilian evolution resulted in sturdy and compact skulls with fused bones and tight sutures, as an adaptation to their head-first burrowing habits. However, although their cranial osteology is well described, relationships between form and function remain poorly understood. In the present study, we explored the relationship between cranial shape and in vivo burrowing forces. Using micro-computed tomography (µCT) data, we performed 3D geometric morphometrics to explore whether cranial and mandibular shapes reflected patterns that might be associated with maximal push forces. The results highlight important differences in maximal push forces, with the aquatic Typhlonectes producing a lower force for a given size compared with other species. Despite substantial differences in head morphology across species, no relationship between overall skull shape and push force could be detected. Although a strong phylogenetic signal may partly obscure the results, our conclusions confirm previous studies using biomechanical models and suggest that differences in the degree of fossoriality do not appear to be driving the evolution of head shape.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Oviposition of the snake Thelotornis kirtlandii in a parabiotic ant nest: Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
The essential role of uncertainty and limited foresight in energy modelling Version 1: When making techno-economic simulations to evaluate new climate mitigation technologies, a main challenge is to include uncertainty. The added level of complexity often causes uncertainties to be simplified or ignored in calculations, and not addressed in final public communications. This leads to inaccurate policy and investment decisions because probability is an essential aspect of assessing future scenarios. One specific source of uncertainty is the limitation of information available about the future, which is an aspect of everyday life, but simulation-wise a complex issue. It is however essential, because it is inherently tied to understanding semi-optimal decision making. Quite fundamentally, this pleads for stepping away from rather theoretical (partly) deterministic systems, and moving towards realistic limited foresight modelling techniques, such as offered by integrated Monte Carlo calculations.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Fish otoliths from the Early and Middle Miocene of the Penedès (Catalunya, Spain): Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Animal exploitation at ed-Dur (Umm al-Qaiwain, United Arab Emirates): Faunal remains are described from a series of contexts excavated in the coastal site of ed-Dur, dated between the second and fourth century AD. The more than 19,000 identified animal bones allowed a diachronic and spatial analysis. Subsistence relied heavily on domestic animals, in particular sheep and goat, and on fishing. Whereas the exploitation of terrestrial resources seems to have been quite constant throughout the period considered, the aquatic fauna shows changes through time. A shift, possibly linked to overexploitation, is seen both in the proportions of the targeted fish species and in their sizes. The deposition of some of the mammals encountered in burials is also dealt with; dog and ovicaprid can probably be added to the list of mammals used in ritual context in the region. Spatial analysis did not reveal particular concentrations or activity areas. In general the finds fit nicely in the archaeozoological record of the wider region.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
The European Mesonychid Mammals: Phylogeny, Ecology, Biogeography, and Biochronology: Here we review the fossil record of European mesonychids, which are known only through the genera Dissacus and Pachyaena from Thanetian and Ypresian localities (from MP6 to MP10 reference-levels). We describe two new species, Dissacus rougierae, sp. nov., and Dissacus raslanloubatieri, sp. nov., respectively from Palette (Ypresian, ≈MP7) and from La Borie (Ypresian, ≈MP8 + 9). We also describe new specimens of D. europaeus from Berru (Thanetian, ≈MP6). The evolution of the geographic distribution of the European mesonychids is characterized by three phases: (1) the mesonychid Dissacus appeared in Europe during the Thanetian (≈ 57–58 Mya), probably due to dispersal from North America; D. europaeus survived the PETM event (≈ 56 Mya) and possibly experienced a dwarfism; (2) the large mesonychid Pachyaena migrated into Europe shortly after the Paleocene-Eocene boundary (≈ 55 Mya), but it was restricted to northwestern Europe, while Dissacus is recorded at this time only in southwestern Europe (Palette); and (3) Pachyaena rapidly disappeared from European environments, while Dissacus subsequently dispersed into northwestern Europe (≈ 54–52 Mya). We performed phylogenetic analyses in order to identify the relationships of the new species among mesonychids. It seems that the mesonychids went through two radiative events: the first during the Paleocene, the second mostly during the early Eocene. The first one corresponds to the diversification of Dissacus, while the latter resulted in the appearance of the most specialized mesonychids, such as Pachyaena and Mesonyx.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Dating the latest appearance of Neanderthals in Belgium: Belgium represents a key region for studying the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition (MUPT) in North-West Europe. This area sits at the crossroads between Palaeolithic cultural facies with influences from eastern, western and southern Europe intermingling during the Late Middle Palaeolithic and the MUPT. Until recently, a temporal gap believed to be around 4ka (ca 42-38 ky calBP) existed between the Late Mousterian and the earliest dated Aurignacian settlements in the region [1, 2]. The dates obtained on Neanderthal remains from Spy fell into this gap, making them the latest Neanderthals in the region [3]. Including the dates from Spy, a gap of two millennia remained between the dates on Neanderthals and the beginning of the Aurignacian. Based on this chronological evidence, the transition from Neanderthals to Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) in this region was believed to have been without contact between species. AMH would have settled in an area Neanderthals abandoned long before. As part of the PalaeoChron project, we have redated the Neanderthal specimens from Spy (tooth, maxilla and scapula), Engis 2 (skull and tooth) and Fond-de-Forêt (femur), using the compound specific radiocarbon dating method in place at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit. This method is based on the extraction of the amino acid hydroxyproline that occurs in mammalian collagen using preparative liquid chromatography. This method is more efficient than others in eliminating modern carbon contamination such as conservation materials. In this presentation, we report the new radiocarbon dates obtained on the Belgian Neanderthal specimens. These results show how much impact sample preparation can have on the AMS measurement when specimens have been heavily preserved with conservation materials, which is often the case for human remains. These results also now place the Belgian Neanderthal remains from Spy, Engis and Fond-de-Forêt in their proper chronometric context and allow us to refine our understanding of the disappearance of Neanderthals in north-western Europe and integrate this with other evidence for the human occupation of this region during the Palaeolithic.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Diversity of strophomenid, orthotedid and orthid brachiopods in the Uppermost Famennian (“Strunian"; Upper Devonian) of the Avesnois (Northern France): In order to contribute to assessment of the aftermath of the Hangenberg Biological Crisis that took place at the top of the Famennian (Upper Devonian), the strophomenid, orthotetid and orthid brachiopods from the ‘Strunian’-aged Etroeungt Limestone Formation (Avesnois, northern France) are described. The Avesnois is the historical type area of the ‘Strunian’, traditionally considered as the last Famennian substage. Although they are sometimes abundant in the studied sections, their generic and specific diversity is very low in the Etroeungt Limestone Formation. Moreover, the majority of the species belong to long-ranging genera (Leptagonia, Schellwienella?, Schizophoria, Aulacella).
Located in Library / No RBINS Staff publications
Les restes d'animaux: Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Large old tropical trees as keystone biodiversity structures: the Life on Trees program: Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation annual meeting https://www.atbc2024.org Large old tropical trees as keystone biodiversity structures: the Life on Trees program Leponce Maurice1, Basset Yves2, Aristizábal-Botero Ángela1, Albán Castillo Joaquina3, Aguilar Rengifo Guillermo4, Barbut Jérôme5, Buyck Bart5, Butterill Phil6, Calders Kim7, Carrias Jean-François8, Catchpole Damien9, D’hont Barbara7, Delabie Jacques10, Drescher Jochen11, Ertz Damien12, Heughebaert André13, Hofstetter Valérie14, Leroy Céline15, Leveque Antoine16, Macedo Cuenca Victor4, Melki Frédéric17, Michaux Johan18, Ocupa Horna Luis19, Pillaca Huacre Luis3, Poirier Eddy20, Ramage Thibault21, Rougerie Rodolphe5, Rouhan Germinal5, Rufray Vincent17, Salas Guererro Marcos4, Scheu Stefan11, Schmidl Jürgen22, Silva Dávila Diana3, Valenzuela Gamarra Luis23, Vanderpoorten Alain18, Villemant Claire5, Youdjou Nabil1, Pascal Olivier17 1 Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Vautier st. 29, Brussels, 1000, Belgium; 2 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama; 3 Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru; 4 Servicio Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas por el Estado, Ministerio del Ambiente, Peru; 5 Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France; 6 Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice,Czech Republic; 7 Ghent University, Belgium; 8 Université Clermont-Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France; 9 Independent Consultant, Lima, Peru; 10 Centro de Pesquisas do Cacau – CEPEC, Itabuna, Brasil; 11 Göttingen University, Germany; 12 Meise Botanic Garden, Belgium; 13 Belgian Biodiversity Platform, Brussels, Belgium; 14 AGROSCOPE, Nyon, Switzerland; 15 AMAP (Univ. Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD), Montpellier, France; 16 PatriNat (OFB-CNRS-MNHN), Paris, France; 17 Fonds de Dotation Biotope Pour La Nature, Mèze, France; 18 Université de Liège, Belgique; 19 Centro de Investigación en Biología Tropical y Conservación, Piura, Perú ; 20 Independent entomologist, Cayenne, Guyane ; 21 Independent entomologist, Concarneau, France ; 22 Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. ; 22 Jardín Botánico de Missouri, Peru E-mail: (presenting author): mleponce@naturalsciences.be The aim of the Life on Trees (LOT, www.lifeontrees.org) program is to generate baseline knowledge about the number of eukaryotic species that a single large mature tropical tree can host and to understand how these communities of organisms are assembled. The program is being undertaken in the Andean Amazon biodiversity hotspot. Our first project, LOT01 in the Andean foothills in 2022, located at 400m a.s.l., involved the study of a spectacular Dussia tessmannii tree (Fabaceae), towering at 50 meters in height and 45m wide. Our second project, LOT02 in the Andes in 2023, at 2450m a.s.l., focused on a 32-meter-tall Ficus americana subsp. andicola. Surveys were carried out by professional climbers, guided by experts of the different eukaryotic groups studied (plants, fungi, animals, protists). To better understand the contribution of different tree components (bark, leaves, fruits, flowers, living and dead wood) to overall tree biodiversity, we partitioned observations into communities based on vertical strata or microhabitat and will examine similarities and nestedness in the composition of these communities. Initial findings indicate that significant diversity is harbored by the individual tree at both locations (e.g., LOT01 vs LOT02: 42 vs 114 orchid species, 28 vs 28 fern species, 200+ vs 300+ bryophyte species, and 180 vs 100+ lichen species identified). These figures set world records for their respective elevations. This confirms that large old tropical trees are important pools of biodiversity, probably related to the variety of local microhabitats and tree age.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023

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