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Article Reference Water chemistry and not urbanization influences community structure of non-marine Ostracoda (Crustacea) in northern Belgium
Urbanization is one of the major causes of the destruction of natural habitats in the world. Cities are urban heat islands and can thus significantly influence populations of plants and animals. The research project SPEEDY investigated the effects of urbanization in northern Belgium with a nested sampling design at local and landscape scales for a variety of organisms. Here, we tested the effects of urbanization on non-marine ostracod communities, sampling 81 small pools in three urbanization categories, as defined by percentage built up cover (low, intermediate, high). We identified 17 ostracod species, together occurring in 60 of the 81 sampled pools. We found that urbanization per se had no significant effect on ostracod communities. Of all the measured local factors, ammonium and total phosphorus concentrations had a significant effect on the community structure. In contrast, water temperature had no significant effect, most likely because the ostracod species found in northern Belgium in the present survey mostly have wide temperature tolerances.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference Safeguarding Freshwater Life Beyond 2021: Recommendations for the new Global Biodiversity Framework from the European Experience.
Plans are currently being drafted for the next decade of action on biodiversity—both the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Biodiversity Strategy of the European Union (EU). Freshwater biodiversity is disproportionately threatened and underprioritized relative to the marine and terrestrial biota, despite supporting a richness of species and ecosystems with their own intrinsic value and providing multiple essential ecosystem services. Future policies and strategies must have a greater focus on the unique ecology of freshwater life and its multiple threats, and now is a critical time to reflect on how this may be achieved. We identify priority topics including environmental flows, water quality, invasive species, integrated water resources management, strategic conservation planning, and emerging technologies for freshwater ecosystem monitoring. We synthesize these topics with decades of first-hand experience and recent literature into 14 special recommendations for global freshwater biodiversity conservation based on the successes and setbacks of European policy, management, and research. Applying and following these recommendations will inform and enhance the ability of global and European post-2020 biodiversity agreements to halt and reverse the rapid global decline of freshwater biodiversity.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference La conservation des holothuries aspidochirotes dans les eaux du littoral kenyan
Les holothuries aspidochirotes (Échinodermes : Holothurides) font l’objet d’une pêche intensive dans les eaux du littoral kenyan et les stocks fondent comme neige au soleil. Afin de protéger et de gérer ces ressources naturelles, il convient d’élaborer des programmes de conservation et de gestion. Or, une telle entreprise nécessite la réalisation d’études rigoureuses et informatives dans différents domaines. Ce document s’attarde sur les cinq niveaux de compréhension nécessaires à l’élaboration d’un programme adapté à la conservation des holothuries en Afrique orientale.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference A new species of Holothuria (Aspidochitotida, Holothuriidae) from Kenya
A new species, Holothuria (Mertensiothuria) arenacava (Echinodermata, Holothuroidea) from the littoral waters of Kenya is described. This species is characterized by its sand-burrowing behaviour, its small tentacles, the variously developed tables, corpuscules, buttons, plates and rods in the tube feet, and by the smooth, spiny and knobbed rods in the tentacles.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Inproceedings Reference Sawflies containing toxic peptides
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
Article Reference An incredibly massive ancient whale skeleton reveals a new way to become a giant
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Article Reference Lilingostrobus chaloneri gen. et sp. nov., a Late Devonian woody lycopsid from Hunan, China
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Article Reference A global approach for natural history museum collections
Integration of the world’s natural history collections can provide a resource for decision-makers Over the past three centuries, people have collected objects and specimens and placed them in natural history museums throughout the world. Taken as a whole, this global collection is the physical basis for our understanding of the natural world and our place in it, an unparalleled source of information that is directly relevant to issues as diverse as wildlife conservation, climate change, pandemic preparedness, food security, invasive species, rare minerals, and the bioeconomy (1). Strategic coordination and use of the global collection has the potential to focus future collecting and guide decisions that are relevant to the future of humanity and biodiversity. To begin to map the aggregate holdings of the global collection, we describe here a simple and fast method to assess the contents of any natural history museum, and report results based on our assessment of 73 of the world’s largest natural history museums and herbaria from 28 countries.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Article Reference Anatomical description and digital reconstruction of the skull of Jeholosaurus shangyuanensis (Dinosauria, Ornithopoda) from China
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025 OA
Article Reference Primitive equoid and tapiroid mammals: keys for interpreting the Ypresian – Lutetian transition in Belgium.
Terrestrial mammal teeth, pertaining to the primitive horses Hallensia louisi and Propachynolophus levei and the tapiroid Lophiodon remensis, have been discovered at the base of the marine Lede Formation in the Oosterzele and Balegem sandpits, 10 km southeast of Gent. According to its calcareous nannofossil NP15 dating, the basal Lede Formation in that area belongs to the Middle Lutetian. Comparison with in situ records in the Paris Basin suggests a latest Ypresian origin for the mammals (reference-level MPIO) and consequently reworking. The Oosterzele and Balegem specimens most probably originate from erosion of the continental Aalterbrugge Lignitic Horizon (uppermost Ypresian), which is cropping out nearby. The additional reworked faunal and lithological components at the base of the Lede Formation suggest that also the Aalter Formation (top NP13-base NP14) and the overlying Brussel Formation (NP14), or certain parts of these, were deposited but subsequently eroded in that area. The depositional history of the Lede Formation, resulting from the interplay of tectonic uplift and eustatic sea-level changes, is detailed.
Located in RBINS Publications / Bulletin of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences - Earth Sciences. / Bulletin of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences - Earth Sciences