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Inproceedings Reference The Devonian and Carboniferous of southern Belgium (14th-16th July 2023)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Article Reference Stable isotopes reveal effects of environmental changes on ecological niches of Iphimediidae amphipods.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Phylogeography and taxonomy of the Snow Petrel (Pagodroma nivea s.l.).
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Composition of recent non-marine Ostracoda (Crustacea) communities in four tropical floodplains (Brazil).
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Factors determining the metacommunity structure of periphytic ostracods: a deconstruction approach based on biological traits
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Do flood pulses control the variability and persistence of Ostracoda (Crustacea) communities in lakes of tropical floodplains?
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Inproceedings Reference Food web structure of fouling communities along a depth gradient: a North Sea case study
Man-made structures offer habitat for sessile macrofauna and thus alter the natural biodiversity. This alteration has an impact not only on ecosystem structure, but also on ecological functioning, e.g. food web interactions. Trophic linkages among organisms are a fundamental requirement to explaining energy flow from primary carbon fixation to higher trophic level consumers and hence to explaining how man-made structures impact ecosystem functioning. The aim of this study is to disentangle trophic interactions within fouling communities at different depths of artificial hard substrates that are present in the Belgian part of the North Sea. Fouling organisms were collected along the entire depth gradient (from the intertidal zone down to the erosion protection layer) of a gravity-based windmill. Additionally, food sources, such as plankton, and mobile predators were sampled from the surrounding water column. All organisms were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level and were processed for stable isotope analysis (δ15Ν and δ13C) to explore their trophic niche. This study reveals differences in food web structure to be aligned with the species richness turn across depths. The anticipated results will divulge the unique trophic linkages among hard substrate organisms opposed to the natural trophic interactions of soft substrate species in the North Sea. Disentangling trophic linkages between species, providing an idealized picture of the trophic patterns in the ecosystem is crucial to the understanding of marine food webs. This study hence provides fundamental insights into the functional effects of proliferating artificial hard substrates in marine ecosystems.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Inproceedings Reference PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE WATER GRADIENT WITHIN A BELGIAN OFFSHORE WINDFARM
The FaCE-It project aims to examine the effects of sediment fining and hardening on benthic ecosystem functioning caused by anthropogenic impacts. Human activities, e.g. the construction of offshore windfarms, add artificial hard substrate to naturally soft sediments, altering the existing seabed habitats. The input of hard substrates leads to partial or entire replacement of the native benthic communities by fouling communities. The organisms comprising a fouling community act as active “biofilters” consuming organic compounds from the water column and releasing inorganic and organic materials, in the forms of faeces and pseudofaeces, to the surrounding environment – a procedure known as biodeposition. It is known that some fouling organisms, such as the amphipod Jassa herdmani and the hydroid Tubularia indivisa, build tube-like structures that absorb suspended particulate matter (SPM). These activities result in the alteration of the biogeochemical processes and could also lead to the SPM plumes that have been reported to occur in the Belgian offshore windfarms. The aim of the present study is to identify the alterations caused by fouling communities to the water characteristics and analyze the water gradient – flow of the water compounds according to the currents - around an offshore windfarm (C-Power) in the Belgian Part of the North Sea. The initial hypothesis is that organic and inorganic materials will flow according to the currents and will appear in different concentrations in front, within and behind the entire windfarm structure. For this purpose, a sampling campaign was organized in order to collect water samples from different areas of the windfarm and analyze them for a variety of water characteristics, such as chlorophyll a, suspended particulate matter, particulate organic carbon and nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon. The results of this study will present the concentrations of the water gradient occurring in the offshore windfarms due to the presence of the fouling community.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Inproceedings Reference FRAME’s (Forecasting and Assessing Europe’s Strategic Raw Materials Needs) contribution to the “European Green Deal”.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Inproceedings Reference FRAME’s (Forecasting and Assessing Europe’s Strategic Raw Materials Needs) innovative research in mineral raw materials on the eve of the EU’s “Green Deal”.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020