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A decadal view of biodiversity informatics: challenges and priorities
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RBINS Staff Publications
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A dietary perspective of cat-human interactions in two medieval harbors in Iran and Oman revealed through stable isotope analysis
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Cats are hypercarnivorous, opportunistic animals that have adjusted to anthropogenic environments since the Neolithic period. Through humans, either by direct feeding and/or scavenging on food scraps, the diet of cats has been enriched with animals that they cannot kill themselves (e.g., large mammals, fish). Here, we conducted carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratio analysis to reconstruct the diet of medieval cats and investigate cat-human interactions in two medieval harbor sites (Qalhât, Oman and Siraf, Iran). The analysis included 28 cat individuals and 100 associated marine and terrestrial faunal samples pertaining to > 30 taxa. The isotopic results indicate a high marine protein-based diet for the cats from Qalhât and a mixed marine-terrestrial (C4) diet for the cats from Siraf. Cats at these sites most likely scavenged on both human food scraps and refuse related to fishing activities, with differences in the two sites most likely associated with the availability of marine resources and/or the living conditions of the cats. By shedding light on the dietary habits of cats from two medieval harbors in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, this study illustrates the potential of stable isotope analysis in reconstructing human-cat interactions in the past.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
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A distinct island population of threatened freshwater fish: to split or lump?
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Freshwater fishes in the Balkans display high percentages of endemic species, many being limited to restricted distributions. Their management, for example, through identification of priority areas for conservation or through re-introduction, is hampered by a poor understanding of their taxonomic diversity and interrelationships. We evaluate the identity of a sand goby belonging to Knipowitschia, limited to a single wetland on the Greek island of Zakynthos. Its representatives morphologically differ sufficiently from their congeners to qualify as a separate species. However, in view of the similarity in mitochondrial ribosomal DNA sequences, the evolutionary plasticity of said morphological characters, and in the absence of a taxonomic revision of the Ionian Ecoregion’s Knipowitschia gobies, describing it as a new species seems unjustified and premature. Rather, we advocate that its unique habitus and its vulnerability as the island’s only resident freshwater fish necessitate conservation efforts as a kind of ‘‘phenotypically significant unit’’. We also propose sand gobies as flagships for wetlands in the region. This case study suggests a possible approach for fish conservation prioritization in the region, taking a precautionary angle in order to avoid taxonomic inflation, which is an imminent risk given the importance of nominal species and endemics in conservation policy.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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A diverse bird assemblage from the Ypresian of Belgium furthers knowledge of Early Eocene avifaunas of the North Sea Basin
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We describe an assemblage of 54 avian bones from early Eocene marine sediments of the Ampe quarry near Egem in Belgium. The fossils belong to at least 20 species in more than 11 higher-level taxa. Well-identifiable specimens are assigned to the Odontopterygiformes, Galliformes, Messelornithidae, Apodiformes, Halcyornithidae, Leptosomiformes (cf.Plesiocathartes), and Coraciiformes (cf. Septencoracias). Further specimens are tentatively referred to the phaethontiform Prophaethontidae and to the Accipitridae, Masillaraptoridae, and Alcediniformes. The threedimensionally preserved fossils from Egem provide new data on the osteology of taxa that are otherwise mainly known from compression fossils with crushed bones. The material also includes specimens that further knowledge of the composition of early Eocene avifaunas of the North Sea Basin. The comparatively well-represented small galliform species is clearly distinguished from the early Eocene Gallinuloididae and most closely resembles Argillipes aurorum, a largely ignored galliform species from the London Clay. The tentatively identified fossils of Accipitridae and Alcediniformes would represent the earliest fossil records of these clades. The bird assemblage from Egem includes relatively few seabirds (Odontopterygiformes, cf. Prophaethontidae) and is dominated by remains of terrestrial species (Galliformes, Messelornithidae). Arboreal birds (Halcyornithidae, Leptosomiformes, cf. Alcediniformes, Coraciiformes) are less abundant and aerial insectivores (Apodiformes) very scarce, which either indicates a taphonomic bias in the composition of the avifauna or particular paleoenvironmental characteristics of the nearshore habitats in that area of the southern North Sea Basin.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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A diverse Miocene toothed whale (Odontoceti) fauna from Calvert Cliffs, Atlantic Coastal Plain, U.S.A.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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A dynamic 2DH flocculation model for coastal domains
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
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A European network on evolutionary ecology of reproductive modes in non-marine Ostracoda: background and objectives. In: HORNE, D.J. & MARTENS, K. (eds.), The evolutionary ecology of reproductive modes in non-marine Ostracoda
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RBINS Staff Publications
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A first glimpse into the biogeographic affinities of the shallow benthic communities from the sub-Antarctic Crozet archipelago
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Sub-Antarctic islands are expected to show a high degree of endemicity due to their remoteness. However, biogeographic affinities in the sub-Antarctic remain poorly understood, especially in the marine realm. Sub-Antarctic islands being at the crossroads between Antarctic and cold temperate regions, biodiversity characterization and biogeographic analyses are a priority for monitoring and rapidly assessing variations associated with environmental changes. One underexplored sub-Antarctic area is Crozet, a protected archipelago located halfway between Antarctica and South Africa. In this study, we investigated the shallow-water Crozet macrofaunal diversity, distribution patterns and biogeographic affinities based on the examination of fieldwork specimens via a thorough morphological identification and a genetic characterisation. The resulting dataset provides an important baseline for further studies and conservation strategies, compiling the first genetic and taxonomic database for the Crozet archipelago. In total, 100 morphotypes were found, belonging to nine different phyla, among whicharthropods(32), molluscs (18)and echinoderms (17) were the richest. Forty-seven morphotypes were identified to the species level, among which 20 were reported in Crozet for the first time. This confirms that Crozet is a poorly known region, even compared to other sub-Antarctic areas. A large proportion of species (62%) had circum Southern Ocean or circum sub Antarctic distributions. These species were mostly shared with Kerguelen (72%), the Magellan Province (64%), and Prince Edward Islands (64%), confirming the patterns found in macroalgae and specific macrofaunal groups. However, this large-distribution statement needs to be counterbalanced by the detection (genetic data) of more restricted distributions than expected in four study cases (the tanaid Apseudes spectabilis, the nudibranch Doris kerguelenensis, the polychaete Neanthes kerguelensis and the chiton Hemiarthrum setulosum). Considering that most morphotypes had no genetic data available from other regions, the proportion of morphotypes with restricted distribution is likely to increase alongside future investigations. In addition, we also found a few cases of unrecognized diversity that might lead to the descriptions of new species, some likely to be endemic to Crozet (e.g., within the polychaete genus Harmothoe and the bryozoan genus Antarctothoa). Altogether, this stresses the need to maintain conservation efforts in Crozet and pursue integrative investigations in order to highlight and protect its unusual diversity
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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A first, local DNA barcode reference database of the forensically important flies (Diptera) of the island of La Reunion
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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A forest fire and soil erosion event during the Late Devonian mass extinction
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RBINS Staff Publications
