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Analyse des restes fauniques découverts à proximité de quatre haches néolithiques dans les rochers de Dave (prov. de Namur, B)
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Résumé : Un ensemble de restes fauniques découverts à Dave (province de Namur, Belgique), à proximité d’un dépôt de quatre haches néolithiques, n’y est pas directement associé. Les ossements animaux n’ont pas été déposés par l’Homme mais plus probablement accumulés par un rapace nocturne, le Grand-duc d’Europe. En outre, leur date de dépôt est vraisemblablement postérieure à celle des grandes lames de haches de Dave. Mots-clefs : rochers de Dave, commune et province de Namur (B), faune, oiseaux sauvages, Grand-duc d’Europe, Spatule blanche, Harle bièvre, mammifères sauvages, mammifères domestiques, datation radiométrique, haches de Dave. Abstract : Faunal remains have been discovered at Dave (Namur Province, Belgium) close to four Neolithic stone axes, but the two assemblages appear not to be directly associated. The animal bones do not reflect human activities but were most likely accumulated by an owl, the Eurasian Eagle-Owl. In addition, the faunal assemblage is presumably more recent than the big blades of axes from Dave. Keywords : Dave rocks, prov. of Namur (B), faunal remains, wild birds, Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Eurasian Spoonbill, Goosander, wild mammals, domestic mammals, radiometric dating, Dave axes.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Extreme convergence in egg-laying strategy across insect orders
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Revision of the Malagasy lanternfly genus Belbian Stal, 1863, with two new species (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Fulgoridae)
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Seasonal variations recorded in cave monitoring results and a 10-year monthly resolved speleothem 18O and 13C record from the Han-sur-Lesse cave, Belgium.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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A new Placodermi (Acanthothoraci) from the Early Devonian Jauf Formation (Saudi Arabia)
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Genital anatomy, jaw and radula of Guladentia subtussulcata (Helicoidea, Cepolidae), endemic to western Cuba
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
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A century of coping with environmental and ecological changes via compensatory biomineralization in mussels
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
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Species niches, not traits, determine abundance and occupancy patterns: A multi‐site synthesis
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Aim Locally abundant species are usually widespread, and this pattern has been related to properties of the niches and traits of species. However, such explanations fail to account for the potential of traits to determine species niches and often overlook statistical artefacts. Here, we examine how trait distinctiveness determines the abilities of species to exploit either common habitats (niche position) or a range of habitats (niche breadth) and how niche position and breadth, in turn, affect abundance and occupancy. We also examine how statistical artefacts moderate these relationships. Location Sixteen sites in the Neotropics. Time period 1993–2014. Major taxa studied Aquatic invertebrates from tank bromeliads. Methods We measured the environmental niche position and breadth of each species and calculated its trait distinctiveness as the average trait difference from all other species at each site. Then, we used a combination of structural equation models and a meta-analytical approach to test trait–niche relationships and a null model to control for statistical artefacts. Results The trait distinctiveness of each species was unrelated to its niche properties, abundance and occupancy. In contrast, niche position was the main predictor of abundance and occupancy; species that used the most common environmental conditions found across bromeliads were locally abundant and widespread. Contributions of niche breadth to such patterns were attributable to statistical artefacts, indicating that effects of niche breadth might have been overestimated in previous studies. Main conclusions Our study reveals the generality of niche position in explaining one of the most common ecological patterns. The robustness of this result is underscored by the geographical extent of our study and our control of statistical artefacts. We call for a similar examination across other systems, which is an essential task to understand the drivers of commonness across the tree of life.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
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The value of eco-volunteer projects for biodiversity conservation-butterfly monitoring in Krka National Park (Croatia) with an updated checklist.
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The biogeographical importance of Dalmatia, bordered by the Dinaric Alps and the Adriatic Sea, is evident through the rich biodiversity of this region and its network of protected areas. One of those areas, Krka National Park (NP), supports a wide range of natural habitats, but rapidly increasing tourism puts high pressure on its ecosystems, despite its protected status. Accurate knowledge of species and their distributions within natural places such as Krka is essential to direct and prioritize future conservation efforts. As collecting biodiversity data is time and resource-intensive, alternative ways to obtain this information are needed. One possibility is monitoring based on ecovolunteering. From June to August of 2019, an Operation Wallacea/BIOTA scientific team surveyed a section of Krka NP and its surrounding boundaries, within the vicinity of the village of Puljane, to study its butterfly richness and abundance. Pollard walks and static count surveys were conducted with the help of eco-volunteers, testing the effectiveness of gathering field data through this approach. Overall, 57 butterfly species were found throughout the study, including four new records for Krka NP. Three further new species for the park were detected close to its boundaries and are also expected to occur within its borders. Here, we present an updated butterfly checklist for Krka NP, highlighting the positive impact of eco-volunteering initiatives and the importance of combined research efforts to study and protect the rich biodiversity and ecosystems of protected areas.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
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Climate influences the response of community functional traits to local conditions
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Functional traits determine an organism’s performance in a given environment and as such determine which organisms will be found where. Species respond to local conditions, but also to larger scale gradients, such as climate. Trait ecology links these responses of species to community composition and species distributions. Yet, we often do not know which environmental gradients are most important in determining community trait composition at either local or biogeographical scales, or their interaction. Here we quantify the relative contribution of local and climatic conditions to the structure and composition of functional traits found within bromeliad invertebrate communities. We conclude that climate explains more variation in invertebrate trait composition within bromeliads than does local conditions. Importantly, climate mediated the response of traits to local conditions; for example, invertebrates with benthic life-history traits increased with bromeliad water volume only under certain precipitation regimes. Our ability to detect this and other patterns hinged on the compilation of multiple fine-grained datasets, allowing us to contrast the effect of climate vs. local conditions. We suggest that, in addition to sampling communities at local scales, we need to aggregate studies that span large ranges in climate variation in order to fully understand trait filtering at local, regional and global scales.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
