Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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La relation de l’homme au loup pendant le Paléolithique
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Consequences of past climate change and recent human persecution on mitogenomic diversity in the arctic fox
- Ancient DNA provides a powerful means to investigate the timing, rate and extent of population declines caused by extrinsic factors, such as past climate change and human activities. One species probably affected by both these factors is the arctic fox, which had a large distribution during the last glaciation that subsequently contracted at the start of the Holocene. More recently, the arctic fox population in Scandinavia went through a demographic bottleneck owing to human persecution. To investigate the consequences of these processes, we generated mitogenome sequences from a temporal dataset comprising Pleistocene, historical and modern arctic fox samples. We found no evidence that Pleistocene populations in mid-latitude Europe or Russia contributed to the present-day gene pool of the Scandinavian population, suggesting that postglacial climate warming led to local population extinctions. Furthermore, during the twentieth-century bottleneck in Scandinavia, at least half of the mitogenome haplotypes were lost, consistent with a 20-fold reduction in female effective population size. In conclusion, these results suggest that the arctic fox in mainland Western Europe has lost genetic diversity as a result of both past climate change and human persecution. Consequently, it might be particularly vulnerable to the future challenges posed by climate change.
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Le mammouth laineux
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De wolharige mammoet in België
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A landmark-based approach for assessing the reliability of mandibulartooth crowding as a marker of dog domestication
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The evolutionary andphylogeographic history of woollymammoths: a comprehensivemitogenomic analysis
- Near the end of the Pleistocene epoch, populations of the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) were distributed across parts of three continents, from western Europe and northern Asia through Beringia to the Atlantic seaboard of North America. Nonetheless, questions about the connectivity and temporal continuity of mammoth populations and species remain unanswered. We use a combination of targeted enrichment and high-throughput sequencing to assemble and interpret a data set of 143 mammoth mitochondrial genomes, sampled from fossils recovered from across their Holarctic range. Our dataset includes 54 previously unpublished mitochondrial genomes and significantly increases the coverage of the Eurasian range of the species. The resulting global phylogeny confirms that the Late Pleistocene mammoth population comprised three distinct mitochondrial lineages that began to diverge ~1.0–2.0 million years ago (Ma). We also find that mammoth mitochondrial lineages were strongly geographically partitioned throughout the Pleistocene. In combination, our genetic results and the pattern of morphological variation in time and space suggest that male-mediated gene flow, rather than large-scale dispersals, was important in the Pleistocene evolutionary history of mammoths.
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Consumption of canid meat at the Gravettian Předmostí site, the Czech Republic
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Comparative performance of the BGISEQ-500 versus Illumina HiSeq2500 sequencing platforms for palaeogenomic sequencing
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Nonreceding hare lines: genetic continuity since the LatePleistocene in European mountain hares (Lepus timidus).
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Six new species of Paciocinebrina (Gastropoda: Muricidae: Ocenebrinae) from the northeast Pacific
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The Orania fischeriana complex in the Indo-West Pacific and description of a new Cytharomorula species (Gastropoda, Muricidae, Ergalataxinae) from Hawaii
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Chicoreus (Triplex) kahlbrocki spec. nov. (Neogastropoda: Muricidae) from the Sudan with comments on related congeners
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Correlating cross-border Cenozoic stratigraphy in the Belgian-Dutch border region: results from H3O – De Voorkempen
- The sustainable use and management of natural resources in border regions require unambiguous geological information from neighbouring countries. However, the available data often lack compatibility and the same level of detail across borders. Aim of the Belgian-Dutch H3O projects is to produce seamless, cross-border, 3D geological and hydrogeological models of the Cenozoic deposits across the border between Belgium and The Netherlands. “H3O – De Voorkempen” is the third consecutive project, focusing on the Noorderkempen (Flanders) and the western part of Noord-Brabant (The Netherlands). The project started in 2020 and the final results will be delivered in 2023. A crucial step in any cross-border geological modelling task is to establish the correlation between lithostratigraphic units on both sides of the border. In this project, the correlation is initially based on the available knowledge of regional lithostratigraphy (including chronology, depositional environment, sedimentological characteristics) and then further fine-tuned based on the interpretation of high-quality boreholes, geophysical well logs and seismic lines that cover the main geological complexities and cross the international border. The correlations are graphically presented in a chrono-lithostratigraphic correlation chart and cross-section profiles. The established correlation scheme will be used as a base for converting or reinterpreting the available data. In the final stage, the harmonized datasets will be used to create a geometrically and stratigraphically consistent 3D model of “De Voorkempen”. The result will be a state-of-the-art reference for the subsurface structure of the project area, which can be used as a base for scientific research and cross-border management of natural resources. The Belgian-Dutch H3O projects are carried out by a partnership between TNO – Geological Survey of the Netherlands, VITO and RBINS – Geological Survey of Belgium, with support from the Flemish Bureau for Environment and Spatial Development (VPO), Flanders Environment Agency (VMM), Province of Noord-Brabant and drinking water company Brabant Water. The geological models are/will be available in the public domain via the online data portals of DOV (Database of the Subsoil in Flanders) and DINOloket (Data and Information on the Dutch Subsurface). For the technical reports of previous H3O projects, see Deckers et al., 2014 and Vernes et al., 2018. References Deckers, J., Vernes, R.W., Dabekaussen, W., Den Dulk, M., Doornenbal, J.C., Dusar, M., Hummelman, H.J., Matthijs, J., Menkovic, A., Reindersma, R.N., Walstra, J., Westerhoff, W.E. & Witmans, N., 2014. Geologisch en hydrogeologisch 3D model van het Cenozoïcum van de Roerdalslenk in Zuidoost-Nederland en Vlaanderen (H3O-Roerdalslenk). VITO/TNO report, Mol/Utrecht, 208 pp. (incl. 8 appendices). Vernes, R.W., Dekkers, J., Bakker, M., Bogemans, F., De Ceukelaire, M., Doornenbal, J., den Dulk, M., Dusar M., Van Haren, T., Heyvaert, V., Kiden, P., Kruisselbrink, A., Lanckacker, T., Menkovic, A., Meyvis, B., Munsterman, D., Reindersma, R., Rombaut, B., ten Veen, J., van de Ven, T., Walstra, J. & Witmans N., 2018. Geologisch en hydrogeologisch 3D model van het Cenozoïcum van de Belgisch-Nederlandse grensstreek van Midden-Brabant / De Kempen (H3O – De Kempen). TNO/VITO/KBIN-BGD report, Utrecht/Mol/Brussel, 109 pp. (+8 appendices).
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Metabarcoding free‐living marine nematodes using curated 18S and CO1 reference sequence databases for species‐level taxonomic assignments
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Resource niches of co-occurring invertebrate species at an offshore wind turbine indicate a substantial degree of trophic plasticity
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Functional differences in trophic structure of offshore wind farm communities: a stable isotope study
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Interregional comparison of benthic ecosystem functioning: Community bioturbation potential in four regions along the NE Atlantic shelf
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Towards Estimating the Biogeochemical Footprint of an Offshore Windfarm
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Een blik op zee. Biodiversiteit en bescherming van het mariene leven in het Belgisch deel van de Noordzee
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Predynastic and Early Dynastic plant economy in the Nile Delta: archaeobotanical evidence from Tell el-Iswid
- The large-scale excavation at the prehistoric site of Tell el-Iswid made it possible to undertake a systematic archaeobotanical study of different structures covering the Predynastic and Early Dynastic period (Lower Egyptian Cultures (Buto II) to Naqada III Culture. Here we present the results of the analysis of carpological remains preserved mostly in charred state and coming from 62 samples processed by manual flotation, with total volume of 615 litres and containing a total of 9672 identifiable and quantifiable items. Further ca. 650 wood fragments (or woody vegetative remains) were subject to anthracological analysis. Besides the aim of overall characterising and exploring the plant economy of the site, the macrobotanical assemblages were also considered in relation to the structures from which they were uncovered. The study revealed that the agricultural economy of both studied periods relied on emmer, barley, lentils, and pea, but from the Early Dynastic times onwards also flax and condiments (like Anethum graveolens and cf. Origanum sp.) played a certain role. Together with the cultivated fields also the surrounding wetlands were an important part of the plant resources utilized at site. The stems of Phragmites are also the most common among the anthracological remains, together with a small proportion of Tamarix and Acacia charcoal fragments. The overall composition of the plant assemblages (charred and mineralised chaff, small weed or wild growing seeds capable to pass the herbivore digestion, dung fragments, awns) suggest that the major source of the retrieved plant remains was dung fuel.
