Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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First record of the ant Pheidole megatron Fischer and Fisher, 2013 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Rwanda
- We present the first record of the ant Pheidole megatron Fischer and Fisher, 2013 in Rwanda, a species thought to be endemic to the Malagasy region. Specimens were collected in July 2019, in one of the houses located at Kivumu, in the center of Rwanda. They were first morphologically identified as Pheidole megatron using a recent identification key. Molecular identification through mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) confirmed the morphological identification. The Rwanda sample clustered with samples from the Comoros, and it belongs to the group megacephala. Future studies may focus on the biology and ecology of this ant species in Africa. Moreover, we suggest the screening of other African populations of Pheidole megacephala using finer genetic markers with higher mutation rates to clarify the identification and spread of the species.
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Contribution to the knowledge of the Prioninae (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) from the Mizoram State (India), with the first report of the genus Megobaralipton Lepesme & Breuning and new records from the country
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Notes on a small collection of Prioninae from North-East Madagascar with the description of a new Schizodontus Quentin & Villiers, 1974 (Cerambycidae, Closterini)
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Drivers of morphological evolution in the toothed whale jaw
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Ways forward in quantifying data uncertainty in geological databases
- Issues of compatibility of geological data resulting from the merging of many different data sources and time periods may jeopardize harmonization of data products. Important progress has been made due to increasing data standardization, e.g., at a European scale through the SeaDataNet and Geo-Seas data management infrastructures. Common geological data standards are unambiguously defined, avoiding semantic overlap in geological data and associated metadata. Quality flagging is also applied increasingly, though ways in further propagating this information in data products is still at its infancy. For the Belgian and southern Netherlands part of the North Sea, databases are now rigorously re-analyzed in view of quantifying quality flags in terms of uncertainty to be propagated through a 3D voxel model of the subsurface (https://odnature.naturalsciences.be/tiles/). An approach is worked out to consistently account for differences in positioning, sampling gear, analysis procedures and vintage. The flag scaling is used in the interpolation process of geological data, but will also be used when visualizing the suitability of geological resources in a decision support system. Expert knowledge is systematically revisited as to avoid totally inappropriate use of the flag scaling process. The quality flagging is also important when communicating results to end-users. Therefore, an open data policy in combination with several processing tools will be at the heart of a new Belgian geological data portal as a platform for knowledge building (KB) and knowledge management (KM) serving the marine geoscience, the policy community and the public at large.
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A new platyrostrine sperm whale from the Early Miocene of the southeastern Pacific (East Pisco Basin, Peru) supports affinities with the southwestern Atlantic cetacean fauna
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Cirripedes (Thoracica, Crustacea) from the Maastrichtian of Kalaat Senan, Tunisia
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Further consideration of the curvature of the Neandertal Femur
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A redescription of the Neotropical lanternfly Coptopola cincticrus Stål, 1869 (Fulgoridae: Poiocerinae: Poiocerini)
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Molecular phylogeny of Trictenotomidae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea): insights into species validation and biogeography of genus Autocrates
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Calicnemis latreillei Laporte, 1832 (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Dynastinae), a new host for the Tachinid fly Microphthalma europaea Egger, 1860
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Maximum bottom stresses and other hydrodynamic parameters in the Princess Elisabeth offshore wind farm zone (Belgium).
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Effect of wind farms on the siltation of gravel beds
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Tracking the human influence on the modern sedimentary system of the North Sea
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Archeo-antropologisch assessment van de opgraving en de menselijke resten van de opgraving “Sint-Michielskaai, Antwerpen (2021-2022)” (2023-7)
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Sea spiders (Arthropoda, Pycnogonida) from ten recent research expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula, Scotia Arc and Weddell Sea - data
- This dataset contains information on specimens of Southern Ocean Pycnogonida (Arthropoda), that were collected from ten different research cruises, spanning 13 years. The individual aims and objectives of each cruise can be found in their cruise reports. The specimens have been collated into a single dataset, forming the basis of J. Maxwell’s PhD. The dataset will be used to investigate the community structure of Antarctic pycnogonids and the factors which influence its composition. This dataset is published by SCAR-AntOBIS under the licence CC-BY 4.0. Please follow the guidelines from the SCAR and IPY Data Policies (https://www.scar.org/excom-meetings/xxxi-scar-delegates-2010-buenos-aires-argentina/4563-scar-xxxi-ip04b-scar-data-policy/file/) when using the data. If you have any questions regarding this dataset, please do not hesitate to contact us via the contact information provided in the metadata or via data-biodiversity-aq@naturalsciences.be. This dataset adds vital occurrence and abundance data for pycnogonids from 10 previously unexamined research cruises from the Weddell Sea, Antarctic Penisula and the islands of the Scotia Arc. It includes the first pycnogonid data from the Prince Gustav Channel. The 197 sampling stations within this dataset represent an 11\% increase in the number of stations where pycnogonids have been recorded in the Southern Ocean, southern South America and New Zealand waters and an 18\% increase for above 60 degrees latitude. Presence data for any observed epifauna are also included.
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The Dispersal of the Domestic Cat: Paleogenetic and Zooarcheological Evidence
- Domestication is one of the most interesting and challenging processes in human and animal evolution. The fundamental change in subsistence strategies from hunting and gathering to farming that took place for the first time in the Levant more than ten thousand years ago profoundly changed human culture and biology, and set the groundwork for population growth, migrations, the rise of civilizations, and wealth disparities (Bocquet-Appel 2011; Gignoux, Henn, and Mountain 2011; Kohler et al. 2017).
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Records of the slugs Ariolimax columbianus (Ariolimacidae) and Prophysaon foliolatum (Arionidae) imported into Sweden
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Dierlijke resten
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International assessment of priority environmental issues for land-based and offshore wind energy development
- Abstract Non-technical summary A substantial increase in wind energy deployment worldwide is required to help achieve international targets for decreasing global carbon emissions and limiting the impacts of climate change. In response to global concerns regarding the environmental effects of wind energy, the International Energy Agency Wind Technical Collaborative Program initiated Task 34 – Working Together to Resolve Environmental Effects of Wind Energy or WREN. As part of WREN, this study performed an international assessment with the global wind energy and environmental community to determine priority environmental issues over the next 5‒10 years and help support collaborative interactions among researchers, developers, regulators, and stakeholders. Technical summary A systematic assessment was performed using feedback from the international community to identify priority environmental issues for land-based and offshore wind energy development. Given the global nature of wind energy development, feedback was of interest from all countries where such development is underway or planned to help meet United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change targets. The assessment prioritized environmental issues over the next 5–10 years associated with wind energy development and received a total of 294 responses from 28 countries. For land-based wind, the highest-ranked issues included turbine collision risk for volant species (birds and bats), cumulative effects on species and ecosystems, and indirect effects such as avoidance and displacement. For offshore wind, the highest-ranked issues included cumulative effects, turbine collision risk, underwater noise (e.g. marine mammals and fish), and displacement. Emerging considerations for these priorities include potential application to future technologies (e.g. larger turbines and floating turbines), new stressors and species in frontier regions, and cumulative effects for multiple projects at a regional scale. For both land-based and offshore wind, effectiveness of minimization measures (e.g. detection and deterrence technologies) and costs for monitoring, minimization, and mitigation were identified as overarching challenges. Social media summary Turbine collisions and cumulative effects among the international environmental priorities for wind energy development.
