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Article Reference High-resolution description of insular and fjordic benthic food webs along the West Antarctic Peninsula
The West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is one of the most rapidly warming region on Earth. In this context, it is crucial to improve our understanding of the consequences of future changes in the local biotic and abiotic environments on marine ecosystem functioning. Here, we focused on food web structure of shallow-water benthic communities. In February 2023, the TANGO1 expedition, using a sailboat, brought nine Belgian scientists to the WAP. To assess the importance of environmental changes on local food web dynamics, five benthic communities were investigated, focusing on macroalgae forests (n=2) and sedimentary soft bottoms (n=3). These stations were distributed between two contrasted environments, Dodman Island (Grandidier Channel, 66°S) & Blaiklock Island (Bigourdan Fjord, 67.5°S). These two locations differed markedly in terms of sea-ice cover, and in terms of general hydrography (small island exposed to the Grandidier Channel’s currents VS fjord system surrounded by active glaciers). At each station, basal food sources (i.e. sediment-associated POM, water-column POM, macroalgae, microphytobenthos) as well as benthic invertebrates (435 individuals, 64 morphospecies) were sampled quantitatively to assess their biomass, and for later stable isotope analysis. Using stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur, and Bayesian tools, we aim to formally represent the communities in isotopic space, and to compare their topologies along the environmental gradient studied. These representations will then be used to test whether differences in food web structure reflect general community characteristics, such as the higher biomass of organisms measured in macroalgae forests, which also display the greatest species diversity.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference infraFADA: Upgrading the taxonomic backbone of global freshwater animal biodiversity research infrastructures
The current Freshwater Animal Diversity Assessment (FADA) comprises an extensive set of global taxa lists for freshwater animal groups. At present, more than 125 thousand described freshwater animal species in more than 11 thousand genera have been documented. However, taxonomy is a living scientific discipline, where new taxa are continuously being described, and existing taxa are being placed in new taxonomic positions. Therefore, after a period of relative inactivity, the BELSPO (Belgian Science Policy) project “infraFADA” (2023-2026) re-establishes the global FADA consortium of taxonomic experts, so that all taxa lists will be brought up to date, both technically and in terms of content. infraFADA will develop a living, updated, and global FADA database, fully in open access and according to the FAIR principles. The infraFADA database is intended for use and consultation by the scientific freshwater community, as well as for interested stakeholders, for example, freshwater ecosystem managers, biodiversity conservationists, and others. Most importantly, FADA will also serve as a taxonomic backbone for other global biodiversity data infrastructures, such as the Catalogue of Life (CoL), the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), the Freshwater Information Platform (FIP), and others. As such, FADA will provide a digital and living heritage of freshwater data, building bridges between science and society and helping to sustainably maintain freshwater resources.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference Environmental factors and UV exposure affect gene activity in the putative ancient asexual ostracod Darwinula stevensoni
The non-marine ostracod Darwinula stevensoni (Ostracoda, Crustaceae) is one of the last remaining examples of an ancient asexual (Schön et al. 2009) and has probably abandoned sexual reproduction approximately 20 million years ago (Straub 1952). In spite of the limited genetic diversity of D. stevensoni, its cosmopolitan distribution in different aquatic habitats indicate that this species can survive asexually in the long-term, possibly because it developed a general purpose genotype (Van Doninck et al. 2002). To unravel the genetic background of this general purpose genotype, we have studied gene activity of D. stevensoni via the RNA sequencing of transcriptomes. The transcriptome is the collection of all active genes which have been transcribed from DNA to RNA under certain conditions. Statistically comparing the genetic composition of transcriptomes allows us to identify differences in active (or expressed) genes, which inform on host adaptations to specific conditions. We characterised transcriptomes of D. stevensoni from natural populations in Spain, England and Belgium. To summarize results in our multi-gene approach, the “gene ontology” (GO) classification system was used which divides genes across groups (“terms”) in accordance to the biological function, molecular pathway or cellular component they affect. Of the 5013 terms which were assessed regarding biological function, 49 were found to have significantly different gene expression between the three different populations. However, none of these terms could be directly linked to temperature-related functions, suggesting that differences in gene expression between natural D. stevensoni populations are more complex and do not only reflect adaptation to varying temperature ranges. Living D. stevensoni individuals from the Belgian population were also exposed to UV-radiation in the lab. In this experiment, we expected to find an increased activity of genes being related to the repair and preservation of DNA countering the effects of UV-radiation. Of the same 5013 analysed gene terms, only 9 showed a significant change in gene expression in response to UV-radiation. None of these gene term had known repair functions, potentially highlighting again more complex gene expression patterns in D. stevensoni than initially expected. More analyses are currently ongoing to unravel the functionality of the activated genes in more detail. We are also planning an experimental set up to directly study gene expression differences of D. stevensoni under different temperatures.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference infraFADA: Upgrading the taxonomic backbone of global freshwater animal biodiversity research infrastructures
The current Freshwater Animal Diversity Assessment (FADA) comprises an extensive set of global taxa lists for freshwater animal groups. At present, more than 125 thousand described freshwater animal species in more than 11 thousand genera have been documented. However, taxonomy is a living scientific discipline, where new taxa are continuously being described, and existing taxa are being placed in new taxonomic positions. Therefore, after a period of relative inactivity, the BELSPO (Belgian Science Policy) project “infraFADA” (2023-2026) re-establishes the global FADA consortium of taxonomic experts, so that all taxa lists will be brought up to date, both technically and in terms of content. infraFADA will develop a living, updated, and global FADA database, fully in open access and according to the FAIR principles. The infraFADA database is intended for use and consultation by the scientific freshwater community, as well as for interested stakeholders, for example, freshwater ecosystem managers, biodiversity conservationists, and others. Most importantly, FADA will also serve as a taxonomic backbone for other global biodiversity data infrastructures, such as the Catalogue of Life (CoL), the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), the Freshwater Information Platform (FIP), and others. As such, FADA will provide a digital and living heritage of freshwater data, building bridges between science and society and helping to sustainably maintain freshwater resources.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference The Freshwater Animal Diversity Assessment (FADA): a taxonomic backbone for global biodiversity databases
Koen Martens works at the Royal Belgian Institute of natural Sciences (Brussels, Belgium). He is guest professor at the UGent and visiting professor at the State University of Maringá (Brazil). His research interests are in aquatic ecology and evolutionary biology. He is editor in chief of Hydrobiologia since 2003. Freshwater covers less than 1% of the Earth’s surface, but 10% of all animals occur only in freshwaters, a discrepancy known as the “paradox of freshwater”. Several global data repositories (such as GBIF) document extant freshwater biodiversity, but require reliable taxonomic backbones. Currently, FADA (created by Koen in 2005) groups more than 125 thousand species and 11 thousand genera of freshwater animals. However, taxonomy is a living scientific discipline, where new taxa are being described and existing taxa are being placed in new taxonomic positions. infraFADA, a three-year BELSPO project, will develop FADA into a research infrastructure that serves as taxonomic backbone for a variety of global biodiversity databases.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Inproceedings Reference « L’arche de Noé » indienne avant sa collision avec l'Eurasie : paléoenvironnement et paléobiogéographie de la faune de vertébrés continentale de l'Éocène inférieur du Gujarat
Douze missions de terrain ont été menées par notre équipe belgo-américano-indienne dans l’ouest de l’Inde depuis la découverte, en novembre 2004, du premier assemblage faunique continental de l’Eocène inférieur (Yprésien) de la Formation de Cambay dans la mine de lignite de Vastan (Gujarat). Je présente ici les principales découvertes faites ces vingt dernières années dans les très riches mines de Vastan, Mangrol et Tadkeshwar, situées à la marge nord-ouest de la province principale des Trapps du Deccan (Smith, 2024). Une mise à jour de l’ensemble de la faune des vertébrés, incluant les plus anciens mammifères modernes du sous-continent indien, est présentée, mettant en évidence ses particularités paléoécologiques au sein d’un paléoenvironnement saumâtre unique, dans des conditions de forêt tropicale humide il y a près de 54 millions d’années. Cependant, la découverte la plus étonnante se situe probablement au niveau paléogéographique avec plusieurs taxons de vertébrés d’affinités gondwaniennes, attestant que l’Eocène inférieur était une période cruciale en Inde durant laquelle des taxons laurasiens d’affinités ouest-européennes ont coexisté avec des taxons reliques du Gondwana avant la collision Inde-Asie. Nos résultats suggèrent que les faunes terrestres ont pu se disperser vers ou depuis l'Europe lorsque le sous-continent indien est entré en contact, de manière épisodique, avec différents blocs insulaires, tels que le système d'arcs insulaires Kohistan-Ladakh, le long de la marge septentrionale de l’océan Néotéthys. Les campagnes de fouilles et les recherches ont été financées par la National Geographic Society (grants 6868-00, 7938-05, 8356-07, 8710-09, and 8958-11); la Leakey Foundation (2 grants); l’Indian Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (ES grant 560, 21/EMR-II); le Department of Science and Technology of India (ESS/23/Ves092/2000 and SR/S4/ES-254/2007); la Politique Scientifique fédérale Belge (projet Belspo BRAIN BR/121/A3/PalEurAfrica).
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024 OA
Inproceedings Reference PerissOrigin : phylogénie et diversification des premiers périssodactyles
Les premiers vrais périssodactyles sont reconnus presque simultanément dès le tout début de l’Eocène en Europe de l'Ouest, en Asie et en Amérique du Nord, et semblent pourtant déjà appartenir à des familles distinctes (Smith et al. 2015 ; Bai et al. 2018). Cette apparente diversité pose donc question sur l’origine paléobiogéographique et phylogénétique de ces groupes, qui reste très débattue. En effet, le plus proche parent des périssodactyles reste encore incertain, bien que deux groupes-frères potentiels semblent aujourd’hui majoritairement acceptés : les périssodactyles pourraient soit être proches de certains Phenacodontidae nord-américains (Halliday et al. 2017), ou plutôt groupe-frère des Anthracobunia du sous-continent indien (Rose et al. 2019). Le projet PerissOrigin a pour but de mieux comprendre les premières dichotomies des périssodactyles anciens ainsi que leur origine paléobiogéographique. Grâce à l'une des plus complètes collections de moulages de périssodactyles anciens et à des spécimens inédits, une nouvelle matrice de caractères morphologiques a été compilée, comprenant actuellement une centaine de caractères cranio-dentaires pour 80 terminaux. Certains taxons européens ont pu être réévalués, et une nouvelle phylogénie des premiers périssodactyles sera présentée. Plusieurs méthodes et paramètres d'analyse phylogénétique (choix de l'extra-groupe, parcimonie ordonnée/non ordonnée, choix des caractères, polymorphisme, pondération...) seront comparés et leur impact sera discuté. Cette nouvelle phylogénie nous permet de définir quelques synapomorphies des grands groupes de périssodactyles et d'aborder une première discussion paléobiogéographique. Nous discuterons enfin des problèmes non résolus dans la phylogénie des périssodactyles. Le projet "PERISSORIGIN - Origin and early radiation of perissodactyls based on precious fossil collections" est financé par le programme de recherche BRAIN-be 2.0 de BELSPO.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024 OA
Inproceedings Reference Les lézard anguimorphes de l’Eocène inférieur (MP7) de Dormaal, Belgique
Depuis quelques années, les lézards de l’Eocène basal de Dormaal (niveau-repère MP7), Belgique sont en cours de révision. Après le varanidé Saniwa orsmaelensis (Augé et al., 2022), les geckos (Čerňanský et al., 2022) et les lézards Iguania (Čerňanský et al., 2023), le restant des Anguimorpha vient de faire l’objet d’une étude approfondie (Čerňanský et al., in press). Cette dernière met en évidence la présence d’au moins trois familles sur ce site : les Glyptosauridae, les Varanidae et les Palaeovaranidae. Les Glyptosauridae (contenant les glyptosaurinés et les mélanosaurinés) étaient identifiés dans la littérature au travers de ?Placosaurus ragei et d’un mélanosaure. Le matériel original de ?P. ragei est un dentaire isolé ainsi qu’un pariétal. Or, la taxonomie actuelle des espèces du genre Placosaurus est uniquement basée sur la morphologie du frontal. La mise en évidence d’un frontal de glyptosaure à Dormaal permet donc de discuter l’identification de ?P. ragei et d’attribuer ces éléments au genre Gaultia, un glyptosaure de l’Eocène inférieur du Wyoming, USA, représentant la première occurrence de ce genre en-dehors de l’Amérique du Nord. Une nouvelle combinaison, Gaultia ragei est donc proposée. La présence de mélanosaures (groupe paraphylétique) n’est pas formellement confirmée. Une vertèbre isolée pourrait appartenir à ce clade mais comme la morphologie des vertèbres de Gaultia est inconnue, des doutes subsistent. Nous décrivons également de nouveaux spécimens attribuables à Saniwa orsmaelensis ainsi qu’à un Palaeovaranidae. Ces taxons mettent à nouveau en évidence les migrations qui ont eu lieu durant le Maximum Thermique Paléocène-Eocène (PETM), climat le plus chaud des 66 derniers millions d'années. Ce travail fut possible grâce au financement SYNTHESYS BE-TAF-8234 de la Commission Européenne (A.Č.), à la bourse 1/0191/21 de l’Agence des Bourses Scientifiques du Ministère de l’Education de Slovaquie et de l’Académie des Sciences de Slovaquie (A.Č.) et
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024 OA
Inproceedings Reference Subsidence Evolution of Antwerp Region, Belgium over 77 Years, Using Historical Levelling and GNSS Data and Recent Persistent Scatterers Interferometry Observations
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Inproceedings Reference Difficulties arising when PS-InSAR displacement measurements are compared to results from geomechanical and groundwater flow computations
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023