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Article Reference Investigating the co-occurrence of Neanderthals and modern humans in Belgium through direct radiocarbon dating of bone implements
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Article Reference Investigating urban ant community (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in port cities and in major towns along the border in Côte d’Ivoire: a rapid assessment to detect potential introduced invasive ant species
Objective: This study aimed at examining ant communities of port and border cities in order to identify introduced and potential invasive ant species and microhabitats likely to contribute to the spread of these ant species. Therefore, the sampling design are linear transects of 200 metres on which ants were collected using tuna baits at 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes in the two port cities of Abidjan and San Pedro, and seven cities that are Man, Touba, Odienne, Ferkéssedougou, Bouna, Bondoukou and Abengourou located near the borders of Côte d’Ivoire. The results showed 83 ant species including 9 potential introduced or invasive ant species. These invasive ants contributed importantly to the ant assemblage in port cities (23.95±2.7 % of total richness and 37±6.1 % of total abundance) and border cities (20.17±4.7 % / 30.6±7 %). In addition two notorious invaders, Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius, 1804) (Tropical fire ant) and Pheidole megacephala (Fabricius, 1793) (Big-headed ant) were detected during this study. The results also indicated that potential introduced or invasive ant species were mostly detected in microhabitats where human activities are uninterrupted such port zones, markets, domestic streets and residential. Conclusion: In the end, this study has shown that ant communities in port and border cities harbour invasive potential ant species, particularly microhabitats characterized by high human activities such as port areas, markets, domestic streets and residential areas.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Article Reference Investigation urban ant community (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in port cities and in major towns along the border in Côte d'Ivoire: a rapid assessment to detect potential introduced invasive ant species
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Article Reference Is Lasius bicornis (Förster, 1850) a very rare ant species? (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Since its description based on a single alate gyne by the German entomologist Arnold Förster, Lasius bicornis (Förster, 1850), previously known as Formicina bicornis, has been sporadically observed in the Eurasian region and consequently been characterized as very rare. Here, we present the Belgian situation and we consider some explanations for the status of this species.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Article Reference Is vertebral shape variability in caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona) constrained by forces experienced during burrowing?
Caecilians are predominantly burrowing, elongate, limbless amphibians that have been relatively poorly studied. Although it has been suggested that the sturdy and compact skulls of caecilians are an adaptation to their head-first burrowing habits, no clear relationship between skull shape and burrowing performance appears to exist. However, the external forces encountered during burrowing are transmitted by the skull to the vertebral column, and, as such, may impact vertebral shape. Additionally, the muscles that generate the burrowing forces attach onto the vertebral column and consequently may impact vertebral shape that way as well. Here, we explored the relationships between vertebral shape and maximal in vivo push forces in 13 species of caecilian amphibians. Our results show that the shape of the two most anterior vertebrae, as well as the shape of the vertebrae at 90% of the total body length, is not correlated with peak push forces. Conversely, the shape of the third vertebrae, and the vertebrae at 20% and 60% of the total body length, does show a relationship to push forces measured in vivo. Whether these relationships are indirect (external forces constraining shape variation) or direct (muscle forces constraining shape variation) remains unclear and will require quantitative studies of the axial musculature. Importantly, our data suggest that mid-body vertebrae may potentially be used as proxies to infer burrowing capacity in fossil representatives.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference Octet Stream Is vertebral shape variability in caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona) constrained by forces experienced during burrowing?
Caecilians are predominantly burrowing, elongate, limbless amphibians that have been relatively poorly studied. Although it has been suggested that the sturdy and compact skulls of caecilians are an adaptation to their head-first burrowing habits, no clear relationship between skull shape and burrowing performance appears to exist. However, the external forces encountered during burrowing are transmitted by the skull to the vertebral column, and, as such, may impact vertebral shape. Additionally, the muscles that generate the burrowing forces attach onto the vertebral column and consequently may impact vertebral shape that way as well. Here, we explored the relationships between vertebral shape and maximal in vivo push forces in 13 species of caecilian amphibians. Our results show that the shape of the two most anterior vertebrae, as well as the shape of the vertebrae at 90% of the total body length, is not correlated with peak push forces. Conversely, the shape of the third vertebrae, and the vertebrae at 20% and 60% of the total body length, does show a relationship to push forces measured in vivo. Whether these relationships are indirect (external forces constraining shape variation) or direct (muscle forces constraining shape variation) remains unclear and will require quantitative studies of the axial musculature. Importantly, our data suggest that mid-body vertebrae may potentially be used as proxies to infer burrowing capacity in fossil representatives.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference Isotopic evidence for dietary ecology of Late Neandertals in North-Western Europe
The Late Pleistocene site “Troisieme caverne ” of Goyet (Belgium) has yielded the broadest set of Neandertal remains in North-Western Europe and is associated with a rich and diverse large mammal assemblage. We reconstructed the dietary ecology at the site using stable isotope tracking (d13C and d15N)of bone collagen. The d13C and d15N values of all species are consistent with those observed in other “mammoth-steppe” sites. The relative contribution of potential prey species to the diet of carnivores (including Neandertals) was evaluated using a Bayesian model. The distribution of individuals from herbivorous species and carnivorous ones was determined through cluster analysis in order to identify ecological niches, regardless of the individual species attribution. The Neandertals within the predator guild and the mammoth and reindeer as representatives of the herbivores occupied the most specific and most narrow ecological niches. The “Troisieme caverne ” of Goyet can be regarded as a key site for the investigation of late Pleistocene Neandertal ecology north of the Alps.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Isotopic evidence for dietary ecology of cave lion (Panthera (leo) spelaea) in North-Western Europe: prey choice, competition and implications for extinction
The prey choice of extinct cave lions Panthera spelaea was determined using bone collagen isotopic signatures in the Belgian Ardennes and the Swabian Jura between 40,000 and 25,000 years ago as well as in the Late-glacial of the northwestern Alp foreland and of the Paris Basin. More than 370 specimens of large carnivorous and herbivorous mammals from 25 sites coeval with cave lion were analyzed. The isotopic results point to an individualistic prey choice for cave lions, with some individuals more oriented on reindeer and others on young cave bears. The isotopic signatures and therefore dietary choice of cave lions did not overlap with those of cave hyenas, indicating competitive exclusion between the large predators. The most recent western European cave lions seem to have been consuming mainly reindeer until the local extirpation of this prey species, which coincides chronologically with their own extinction. This restricted prey choice may be involved in the extinction of this large predator in Western Europe.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Issid planthoppers from Bach Ma and Phong Dien in Central Vietnam. I. Tribe Parahiraciini (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Issidae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Book Reference Joseph Charles Hippolyte Crosse (1826-1898) 2: contact network and selected correspondence from France, Germany and Spain
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA