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Article Reference The new Southeast Asian genus Cambonilla gen. nov.(Zodariidae, Araneae):‘bis repetita placent’
The new genus Cambonilla Jocqué gen. nov. is described on the base of two species, each known from both sexes. A cladistic analysis based on morphology, showed that the new genus is the sister-group of Heliconilla Dankittipakul, Jocqué & Singtripop, 2012 with which it shares the granulated carapace with branched setae and the marbled ventral abdominal pattern, but differs by the abdominal, tubular sclerotized protrusion around the pedicel in males and the absence of posterior ventral abdominal spines in the female. The type species Cambonilla securicula Jocqué gen. et sp. nov. was found in rainforest along the Mekong River in Cambodia and Laos. The second species Cambonilla symphonia Jocqué & Henrard gen. et sp. nov., provided with conspicuous femoral stridulating organs, was recorded from the same localities but in Cambodia only. An illustrated key to the genera of tropical Asia is presented.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Article Reference Redescription of Myianoetus muscarum (Acari: Histiostomatidae) Associated with Human Remains in Texas, USA, with Designation of a Neotype from Western Europe
Located in Library / RBINS collections by external author(s)
Article Reference Titanodula gen. nov., a new genus of giant Oriental praying mantises (Mantodea: Mantidae: Hierodulinae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Hierodula confusa sp. nov., a new species of Hierodula Burmeister, 1838 (Mantodea: Mantidae: Hierodulinae: Hierodulini)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Les abeilles sauvages du Jardin Botanique "Jean Massart" à Bruxelles (Hymenoptera: Apoidea)
Located in Library / RBINS collections by external author(s)
Article Reference Small suspension-feeding amphipods play a pivotal role in carbon dynamics around offshore man-made structures
The establishment of artificial hard substrates (i.e. offshore wind farms and oil and gas platforms) on marine soft sediments increases the available habitat for invertebrate communities that would otherwise be restricted to natural hard bottoms. Suspension feeding invertebrates clear a significant amount of particles from the water column and release organic matter in the form of feces, influencing the basis of marine food webs and affecting surrounding environments. Artificial structures in the southern North Sea are dominated by a suspension-feeding crustacean in terms of abundance and sometimes even biomass: the amphipod Jassa herdmani. Animal densities of this tiny biofouler are known to exceed 1 million individuals per m2. Despite their small body sizes and their simple filter apparatus, we hypothesized that J. herdmani is a highly effective suspension feeder with a significant impact on neighboring communities due to its high abundances. In a feeding experiment, individuals of J. herdmani were provided with either an algal or an animal diet under two different temperature regimes. Clearance rates and fecal-pellet carbon (FPC) were measured. The results revealed high clearance rates and subsequent FPC, which were more pronounced at the higher temperature. Furthermore, clearance rates and FPC varied insignificantly with different food items. We further used the current findings for upscaling calculations to the total number of offshore windfarms and oil and gas platforms in the southern North Sea. Our calculations indicated that J. herdmani alone clears 0.33 – 4.71 km3 water per year in the southern North Sea. At the same time, these amphipods release 255 – 547 tons of carbon per year by means of defecation, thus enriching the surrounding soft sediments with organic matter. Our study highlights that tiny amphipods can mediate indirect effects of man- made structures in the North Sea, which could have a profound impact on pelagic and benthic habitats.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference Climate change effects on the ecophysiology and ecological functioning of an offshore wind farm artificial hard substrate community
In the effort towards a decarbonised future, the local effects of a proliferating offshore wind farm (OWF) industry add to and interact with the global effects of marine climate change. This study aimed to quantify potential ecophysiolog- ical effects of ocean warming and acidification and to estimate and compare the cumulative clearance potential of suspended food items by OWF epifauna under current and future climate conditions. To this end, this study combined ecophysiological responses to ocean warming and acidification of three dominant colonising species on OWF artificial hard substrates (the blue mussel Mytilus edulis, the tube-building amphipod Jassa herdmani and the plumose anemone Metridium senile). In general, mortality, respiration rate and clearance rate increased during 3- to 6-week experimental exposures across all three species, except for M. senile, who exhibited a lower clearance rate in the warmed treatments (+3 °C) and an insensitivity to lowered pH (−0.3 pH units) in terms of survival and respiration rate. Ocean warming and acidification affected growth antagonistically, with elevated temperature being beneficial for M. edulis and lowered pH being beneficial for M. senile. The seawater volume potentially cleared from suspended food particles by this AHS colonising community increased significantly, extending the affected distance around an OWF foundation by 9.2% in a future climate scenario. By using an experimental multi-stressor approach, this study thus demonstrates how ecophysiology underpins functional responses to climate change in these environments, highlighting for the first time the integrated, cascading potential effects of OWFs and climate change on the marine ecosystem.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference Generalized changes of benthic communities after construction of wind farms in the southern North Sea
Over the last years, the development of offshore renewable energy installations such as offshore wind farms led to an increasing number of man-made structures in marine environments. Since 2009, benthic impact monitoring programs were carried out in wind farms installed in the southern North Sea. We collated and analyzed data sets from three major monitoring programs. Our analysis considered a total of 2849 sampling points converted to a set of biodiversity response metrics. We analyzed biodiversity changes related to the implementation of offshore wind farms and generalized the correlation of these changes with spatial and temporal patterns. Our results demonstrate that depth, season and distance to structure (soft-bottom community) consistently determined di- versity indicators and abundance parameters, whereas the age and the country affiliation were significantly related to some but not all indices. The water depth was the most important structuring factor for fouling communities while seasonal effects were driving most of the observed changes in soft-sediment communities. We demonstrate that a meta-analysis can provide an improved level of understanding of ecological patterns on large- scale effects of anthropogenic structures on marine biodiversity, which were not visible in single monitoring studies. We believe that meta-analyses should become an indispensable tool for management of offshore wind farm effects in the future, particularly in the view of the foreseen development of offshore renewable energies. This might lead to a better picture and more comprehensive view on potential alterations. However, this requires a modern open-source data policy and data management, across institutions and across national borders.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference Priorities for ocean microbiome research
Microbial communities have essential roles in ocean ecology and planetary health. Microbes participate in nutrient cycles, remove huge quantities of carbon dioxide from the air and support ocean food webs. The taxonomic and functional diversity of the global ocean microbiome has been revealed by technological advances in sampling, DNA sequencing and bioinformatics. A better understanding of the ocean microbiome could underpin strategies to address environmental and societal challenges, including achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals way beyond SDG 14 ‘life below water’. We propose a set of priorities for understanding and protecting the ocean microbiome, which include delineating interactions between micro- biota, sustainably applying resources from oceanic microorganisms and creating policy- and funder-friendly ocean education resources, and discuss how to achieve these ambitious goals.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference Physiological response to seawater pH of the bivalve Abra alba, a benthic ecosystem engineer, is modulated by low pH
The presence and behaviour of bivalves can affect the functioning of seafloor sediments through the irrigation of deeper strata by feeding and respiring through siphonal channels. Here, we investigated the physiological response and consecutive impact on functioning and body condition of the white furrow shell Abra alba in three pH treatments (pH = 8.2, pH = 7.9 and pH = 7.7). Although no pH effect on survival was found, lowered respiration and calcification rates, decreased energy intake (lower absorption rate) and increased metabolic losses (increased excretion rates) occurred at pH ~ 7.7. These physiological responses resulted in a negative Scope for Growth and a decreased condition index at this pH. This suggests that the physiological changes may not be sufficient to sustain survival in the long term, which would undoubtedly translate into consequences for ecosystem functioning.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022