Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Database on environmental conditions and biodiversity in shallow lakes in Belgium and the Netherlands.
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Body-size shifts in aquatic and terrestrial urban communities
- Body size is intrinsically linked to metabolic rate and life-history traits, and is a crucial determinant of food webs and community dynamics1,2. The increased temperatures associated with the urban-heat-island effect result in increased metabolic costs and are expected to drive shifts to smaller body sizes3. Urban environments are, however, also characterized by substantial habitat fragmentation4, which favours mobile species. Here, using a replicated, spatially nested sampling design across ten animal taxonomic groups, we show that urban communities generally consist of smaller species. In addition, although we show urban warming for three habitat types and associated reduced community-weighted mean body sizes for four taxa, three taxa display a shift to larger species along the urbanization gradients. Our results show that the general trend towards smaller-sized species is overruled by filtering for larger species when there is positive covariation between size and dispersal, a process that can mitigate the low connectivity of ecological resources in urban settings5. We thus demonstrate that the urban-heat-island effect and urban habitat fragmentation are associated with contrasting community-level shifts in body size that critically depend on the association between body size and dispersal. Because body size determines the structure and dynamics of ecological networks1, such shifts may affect urban ecosystem function.
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Constraints on the functional trait space of aquatic invertebrates in bromeliads
- Functional traits are commonly used in predictive models that link environmental drivers and community structure to ecosystem functioning. A prerequisite is to identify robust sets of continuous axes of trait variation, and to understand the ecological and evolutionary constraints that result in the functional trait space occupied by interacting species. Despite their diversity and role in ecosystem functioning, little is known of the constraints on the functional trait space of invertebrate biotas of entire biogeographic regions. We examined the ecological strategies and constraints underlying the realized trait space of aquatic invertebrates, using data on 12 functional traits of 852 taxa collected in tank bromeliads from Mexico to Argentina. Principal Component Analysis was used to reduce trait dimensionality to significant axes of trait variation, and the proportion of potential trait space that is actually occupied by all taxa was compared to null model expectations. Permutational Analyses of Variance were used to test whether trait combinations were clade‐dependent. The major axes of trait variation represented life‐history strategies optimizing resource use and antipredator adaptations. There was evidence for trophic, habitat, defence and life‐history niche axes. Bromeliad invertebrates only occupied 16%–23% of the potential space within these dimensions, due to greater concentrations than predicted under uniform or normal distributions. Thus, despite high taxonomic diversity, invertebrates only utilized a small number of successful ecological strategies. Empty areas in trait space represented gaps between major phyla that arose from biological innovations, and trait combinations that are unviable in the bromeliad ecosystem. Only a few phylogenetically distant genera were neighbouring in trait space. Trait combinations aggregated taxa by family and then by order, suggesting that niche conservatism was a widespread mechanism in the diversification of ecological strategies.
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Ecological diversification, recent evolution and speciation of Amphipoda in the polar regions: the case study of the Eusirus genus
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Genetic diversity and connectivity of the Eusirus perdentatus species complex (Amphipoda, Crustacea) on the Antarctic continental shelf
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Reconstruction of population histories and geographic distributions of Amphipoda (Charcotia sp.)
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An annotated revision of the West Atlantic taxa of Terebridae, with the description of a new species of Neoterebra
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Terebra luteatincta sp. nov., a new species of Terebridae from Zamboanga, the Philippines
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A risk-based approach to cumulative effect assessments for marine management
- Marine ecosystems are increasingly threatened by the cumulative effects of multiple human pressures. Cumulative effect assessments (CEAs) are needed to inform environmental policy and guide ecosystem-based management. Yet, CEAs are inherently complex and seldom linked to real-world management processes. Therefore we propose entrenching CEAs in a risk management process, comprising the steps of risk identification, risk analysis and risk evaluation. We provide guidance to operationalize a risk-based approach to CEAs by describing for each step guiding principles and desired outcomes, scientific challenges and practical solutions. We reviewed the treatment of uncertainty in CEAs and the contribution of different tools and data sources to the implementation of a risk based approach to CEAs. We show that a risk-based approach to CEAs decreases complexity, allows for the transparent treatment of uncertainty and streamlines the uptake of scientific outcomes into the science-policy interface. Hence, its adoption can help bridging the gap between science and decision-making in ecosystem-based management.
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A risk-based approach to cumulative effect assessments for marine management
- Marine ecosystems are increasingly threatened by the cumulative effects of multiple human pressures. Cumulative effect assessments (CEAs) are needed to inform environmental policy and guide ecosystem-based management. Yet, CEAs are inherently complex and seldom linked to real-world management processes. Therefore we propose entrenching CEAs in a risk management process, comprising the steps of risk identification, risk analysis and risk evaluation. We provide guidance to operationalize a risk-based approach to CEAs by describing for each step guiding principles and desired outcomes, scientific challenges and practical solutions. We reviewed the treatment of uncertainty in CEAs and the contribution of different tools and data sources to the implementation of a risk based approach to CEAs. We show that a risk-based approach to CEAs decreases complexity, allows for the transparent treatment of uncertainty and streamlines the uptake of scientific outcomes into the science-policy interface. Hence, its adoption can help bridging the gap between science and decision-making in ecosystem-based management.
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A risk-based approach to cumulative effect assessments for marine management
- Marine ecosystems are increasingly threatened by the cumulative effects of multiple human pressures. Cumulative effect assessments (CEAs) are needed to inform environmental policy and guide ecosystem-based management. Yet, CEAs are inherently complex and seldom linked to real-world management processes. Therefore we propose entrenching CEAs in a risk management process, comprising the steps of risk identification, risk analysis and risk evaluation. We provide guidance to operationalize a risk-based approach to CEAs by describing for each step guiding principles and desired outcomes, scientific challenges and practical solutions. We reviewed the treatment of uncertainty in CEAs and the contribution of different tools and data sources to the implementation of a risk based approach to CEAs. We show that a risk-based approach to CEAs decreases complexity, allows for the transparent treatment of uncertainty and streamlines the uptake of scientific outcomes into the science-policy interface. Hence, its adoption can help bridging the gap between science and decision-making in ecosystem-based management.
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Light and shade in marine conservation across European and Contiguous Seas
- As a response to increasing human pressures on marine ecosystems, the legislation aimed at improving the conservation and management of marine coastal areas in European and Contiguous Seas (ECS) underwent crucial advances. ECS, however, still remain largely affected by increasing threats leading to biodiversity loss. Here, by using emblematic case studies and expert knowledge, we review current conservation tools, comparing their application in different areas to assess their effectiveness, potential for synergies, and contradictions. Despite regional differences in their application, the existing legislative frameworks have the potential to regulate human activities and to protect marine biodiversity. However, four challenges remain to be addressed to fully achieve environmental policy goals: (1) Lack of shared vision representing a limitation in transboundary collaboration. Although all EU countries are committed to fulfil EU Directives and other binding international legislative acts, a remarkable heterogeneity exists among countries in the compliance with the common legislation on conservation and in their degree of implementation. (2) Lack of systematic procedures for the selection of protected marine sites. Regional and national approaches in designating Natura 2000 sites and nationally designated marine protected areas (MPAs) reflect varying conservation targets and importance of conservation issues in political agendas. (3) Lack of coherent ecological networks. Natura 2000 sites and other MPAs are still far from reaching the status of effective networks in all considered case studies. (4) Hotspot of conflicts with private economic interests prevailing over conservation aims. Recommendations are given to overcome the fragmented approach still characterizing the conservation and management of coastal marine environments. Holistic, integrated, ecosystem-based, cross-cutting approaches can avoid conflicts among institutions so as to provide effective and timely solutions to current and future challenges concerning the conservation and management of marine ecosystems and associated goods and services.
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Recent findings of wild European flat oysters Ostrea edulis (Linnaeus, 1758) in Belgian and Dutch offshore waters: new perspectives for offshore oyster reef restoration in the southern North Sea
- The European flat oyster, Ostrea edulis, is an emblematic and ecologically important species that was fished to virtual extinction in Belgian and Dutch waters in the 19th century. We report on recent findings of live specimens in Belgian and Dutch waters, an indication for the presence of O. edulis in these waters. Though small, these relict populations provide possibilities for natural recovery of O. edulis reefs in Belgian and Dutch waters, provided the oyster’s habitat requirements are restored (e.g., exclusion of bottom disturbance). We suggest investigating whether a natural, yet slow, recovery using fisheries closures and gravel bed restoration is a feasible alternative to the currently envisaged human-mediated re-introduction of O. edulis in the North Sea. We identify and address the challenge of O. edulis detection and identification as an important issue blurring the true presence and distribution of oysters.
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Cross-calibration of different radar systems for monitoring nocturnal bird migration across Europe and the Near East
- Large parts of the continents are continuously scanned by terrestrial weather radars to monitor precipitation and wind conditions. These systems also monitor the mass movements of bird, bat, and insect migration, but it is still unknown how many of these systems perform with regard to detection and quantification of migration intensities of the different groups. In this study that was undertaken within five regions across Europe and the Middle East we examined to what extent bird migration intensities derived from different weather radars are comparable between each other and relate to intensities measured by local small-scaled radars, some of them specifically developed to monitor birds. Good correspondence was found for the relative day-to-day pattern in migration intensities among most radar systems that were compared. Absolute intensities varied between different systems and regions. The findings of this study can be used to infer about absolute bird migration intensities measured by different radar systems and consequently help resolving methodological issues regarding the estimation of migrant numbers in the Western-Palearctic region. It further depicts a scientific basis for the future monitoring of migratory bird populations across a large spatio-temporal scale, predicting their movements and studying its consequences on ecological systems and human lives.
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Does offshore wind farm construction in the Southern North Sea lead to an increase in observed harbour porpoise strandings?
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Harbour porpoises in the Belgian Part of the North Sea: Using passive acoustic monitoring to determine spatio-temporal patterns in distribution and feeding behaviour
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MONITORING OF HARBOUR PORPOISE (PHOCOENA PHOCOENA) DENSITY IN THE BELGIAN PART OF THE NORTH SEA USING AERIAL SURVEYS AND PASSIVE ACOUSTIC MONITORING
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Welcome to papers from the 4th International Meeting of Agora Paleobotanica
- On 7–9 July 2016, the palaeontological association Agora Paleobotanica organised its fourth international meeting. It took place at the National History Museum of Brussels and was attended by 45 delegates. This special volume of the Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh compiles key papers presented at this meeting. The topics covered include a wide variety of Devonian to Miocene plant taxa, with exciting new data on both mega- and microfossils.
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Rinistachya hilleri gen. et sp. nov. (Sphenophyllales), from the upper Devonian of South Africa
- A rich and diverse plant assemblage has been excavated from latest Devonian (Famennian) black shales of the Witpoort Formation (Witteberg Group) at Waterloo Farm, close to the city of Grahamstown (South Africa). Several specimens of a new sphenopsid have been collected. The description of this as a new taxon, here named Rinistachya hilleri, gen. et sp. nov., provides an important addition to the scarce early record of the group. Rinistachya hilleri presents a novel architecture that include apparently plesiomorphic characters, reminiscent of the organisation of the Iridopteridales (including the production of two types of laterals at one node, the location of fertile parts in loose whorls on lateral branches and an organisation of the fertile parts in which they branch several times before bearing distally elongate sporangia). Other characters unambiguously nest Rinistachya within the Sphenopsida (including presence of planate and slightly webbed ultimate appendages and lateral strobili made of successive whorls of fertile leaves with fertile parts located at their axil). This provides strong support for a close relationship between Sphenopsida and Iridopteridales. Rinistachya furthermore represents the first record of a Devonian sphenopsid from Gondwana and extends the known distribution of the Sphenopsida from the tropics to very high palaeolatitudes. It is a new sphenopsid with a peculiar organisation. The new taxon allows better characterization of the initial evolutionary radiation at the base of the group.
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Generalized changes of benthic communities after construction of wind farms in the southern North Sea
