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Article Reference Segmented worms (Phylum Annelida): a celebration of twenty years of progress through Zootaxa and call for action on the taxonomic work that remains
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference MORPHYLL: A database of fossil leaves and their morphological traits
Morphometric characters of fossil leaves such as size and shape are important and widely used sources for reconstructing palaeoenvironments. Various tools, including CLAMP or Leaf Margin Analysis, utilize leaf traits as input parameters for estimating palaeoclimate, mostly based on correlations between traits and climate parameters of extant plants. During the last few years, the scope of information extracted from the morphology of fossil leaves has been further expanded by including leaf economics, which describe correlations between functional leaf traits and ecological strategies. The amount and quality of available data are essential for a successful palaeoecological analysis utilizing leaf traits. Here, the database MORPHYLL is described. This database is devised to offer a web-based resource for fossil leaf trait data. For this purpose, fossil leaves from various collections were digitized and morphometric traits extracted from leaf outlines. Besides metadata such as accession number, repository, fossil site or taxonomic information (for identified specimens), MORPHYLL offers queries for several morphometric parameters and derived ecophysiological traits (e.g., leaf mass per area). Currently, the database contains data from about 6000 fossil leaves from sites in Central Europe, spanning almost the entire Paleogene and part of the early Neogene. The application potential of the database is demonstrated by conducting some exemplary analyses of leaf traits for the Paleocene, Eocene and Oligocene, with the results indicating changes of mean leaf traits through time. For example, the results show leaf mass per area to peak during the Eocene, which is in accordance with general climate development during the Paleogene.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Article Reference Four new genera and five new species of “Heterocypris” from Western Australia (Crustacea, Ostracoda, Cyprinotinae).
Five new species in four new genera from Western Australia are described. All species have valve characters that are reminiscent of the genus Heterocypris Claus, 1892 and also have similar valve outlines, with highly arched valves. However, all species have a hemipenis morphology that is totally different from the typical form in Heterocypris. In Patcypris gen. nov. (with type species P. outback gen. et sp. nov.), the lateral lobe is large and shaped as a pickaxe, while the medial lobe is divided into two distal lobes. Trilocypris gen. nov. (with type species T. horwitzi gen. et sp. nov.) is characterised by a hemipenis that has three, instead of two, distal lobes. In Bilocypris gen. nov. (with type species B. fortescuensis gen. et sp. nov. and a second species, B. mandoraensis gen. et sp. nov.), the lateral lobe of the hemipenis is spatulate, rather than boot-shaped, and the medial lobe is bilobed. Billcypris gen. nov. (with type species B. davisae gen. et sp. nov.) has a large and sub-rectangular lateral lobe and a pointed medial lobe. We discuss the taxonomic value of the traditional and new morphological characters and speculate that the diversity of this cluster of genera and species may be greater than currently known.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Article Reference Report on the faunal remains from trench K (Roman Pessinus, Central Anatolia)
Located in Library / No RBINS Staff publications
Article Reference Phylogenetic analysis of the Baikalodrilus species flock (Annelida: Clitellata: Naididae), an endemic genus to Lake Baikal (Russia)
Lake Baikal is populated by an endemic genus of oligochaetes (Baikalodrilus), which currently comprises 24 morphospecies. The genus can be considered as a ‘species flock’. However, the validity of many species is questionable: the great similarity in their description and the lack of unequivocal diagnostic characters often lead species identification to an impasse. In order to clarify the systematics of this genus, we analysed two nuclear and two mitochondrial DNA markers of 40 Baikalodrilus specimens. DNA and morphological approaches are mostly congruent in suggesting ten candidate species, although two additional species are suspected. A reassessment of the taxonomic value of the morphological characteristics of Baikalodrilus suggests that there are few that can be used as distinctive, specific criteria in the genus. The association between candidate and nominal species remains problematic, except for three species identified prior to molecular analyses. Baikalodrilus trituberculum sp. nov. is described. Phylogenetic inferences suggests that the earliest split in Baikalodrilus and the time of divergence of most lineages corresponding to species are consistent with the hypothesis of a general rearrangement of the Baikal fauna, following major environmental changes due to a general cooling in the Early Pleistocene.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Inproceedings Reference PSI analysis of multi-sensor archive data for urban geohazard risk management: a case-study from Brussels
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Inproceedings Reference Subsidence Related To Groundwater Pumping For Breweries in Belgium
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Inproceedings Reference Assessing Vertical Elevation Changes of Coastal Areas in Southern Chile to Improve The Understanding of Their Paleotsunami Sedimentary Records
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Publishing data to support the fight against human vector-borne diseases
Vector-borne diseases are responsible for more than 17% of human cases of infectious diseases. In most situations, effective control of debilitating and deadly vector-bone diseases (VBDs), such as malaria, dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, Zika and Chagas requires up to-date, robust and comprehensive information on the presence, diversity, ecology, bionomics and geographic spread of the organisms that carry and transmit the infectious agents. Huge gaps exist in the information related to these vectors, creating an essential need for campaigns to mobilise and share data. The publication of data papers is an effective tool for overcoming this challenge. These peer-reviewed articles provide scholarly credit for researchers whose vital work of assembling and publishing well-described, properly formatted datasets often fails to receive appropriate recognition. To address this, GigaScience’s sister journal GigaByte partnered with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) to publish a series of data papers, with support from the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), hosted by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Here we outline the initial results of this targeted approach to sharing data and describe its importance for controlling VBDs and improving public health.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference Where are we now with European forest multi-taxon biodiversity and where can we head to?
The European biodiversity and forest strategies rely on forest sustainable management (SFM) to conserve forest biodiversity. However, current sustainability assessments hardly account for direct biodiversity indicators. We focused on forest multi-taxon biodiversity to: i) gather and map the existing information; ii) identify knowledge and research gaps; iii) discuss its research potential. We established a research network to fit data on species, standing trees, lying deadwood and sampling unit description from 34 local datasets across 3591 sampling units. A total of 8724 species were represented, with the share of common and rare species varying across taxonomic classes: some included many species with several rare ones (e.g., Insecta); others (e.g., Bryopsida) were repre sented by few common species. Tree-related structural attributes were sampled in a subset of sampling units (2889; 2356; 2309 and 1388 respectively for diameter, height, deadwood and microhabitats). Overall, multi taxon studies are biased towards mature forests and may underrepresent the species related to other developmental phases. European forest compositional categories were all represented, but beech forests were over represented as compared to thermophilous and boreal forests. Most sampling units (94%) were referred to a habitat type of conservation concern. Existing information may support European conservation and SFM strategies in: (i) methodological harmonization and coordinated monitoring; (ii) definition and testing of SFM indicators and thresholds; (iii) data-driven assessment of the effects of environmental and management drivers on multi-taxon forest biological and functional diversity, (iv) multi-scale forest monitoring integrating in-situ and remotely sensed information.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023