Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
-
Pick up the pieces - Harmonising and collating seabed substrate data for European Maritime Areas
-
Updating Frasnian miospore zonation from the Boulonnais (Northern France) and comparison with new data from the Upper Palaeozoic cover on the Brabant Massif (Western Belgium).
-
De geologie van Vlaanderen doorgrond voor ingenieurs. Paleozoicum en Mesozoicum. IE-net ingenieursvereniging
-
Obernkirchener zandsteen in Nederland en Vlaanderen
-
Sourcing natural stone used in the architecture of stone-poor landscapes demonstrated for northern Belgium
-
Integrated mine planning leading to sustainable post-mining transition. Mining Technology technical community within the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (Newcastle) 2021 conference: Legacies of mineral extraction and sustainability opportuniti
-
Diestiaanse ijzerzandsteen. Erfgoedsteen van het Hageland.
-
Pierres du Midi. Natuursteenbeschrijving en gebruiksmogelijkheden. Studie op verzoek van Studiebureau Monumentenzorg.
-
Documentering van de tijdelijke ontsluiting ‘Mergelgroeven Roosburg en De Keel, Riemst’. VLA17-4.1 ‘Raamovereenkomst voor het geologisch documenteren tijdelijke ontsluitingen
-
De Barkentijn Nieuwpoort-Bad, natuursteenidentificatie en -schadepatronen. Studie uitgevoerd voor Studiebureau Monumentenzorg.
-
Drielindenkapel Rotselaar. Toestand van de ijzerzandsteen. Studie uitgevoerd voor Studiebureau Monumentenzorg.
-
Natuursteenbeschrijving voor restauratie voorgevel, Meir 47 Antwerpen. Studie uitgevoerd in opdracht van: Studiebureau Monumentenzorg
-
Sint-Gummaruskerk Lier, natuursteenbeschrijving gelijkvloers. Studie uitgevoerd in opdracht van: PRC, Brasschaat.
-
Protected yet unmanaged: insights into the ecological status of conservation priority stony reefs in Belgian waters based on the integrative use of remote sensing technologies
- Stony reefs are ecologically important, providing irreplaceable ecosystem services. These fragile environments are recognised as conservation priorities by all relevant global and European policies. Bottom-contacting fi sheries are an important source of anthropogenic disturbance to the sea fl oor ’ s physical and ecological integrity having immediate and destructive consequences on stony reefs and compromising ecological functions. This study, aimed to assess the ecological status (community composition and functions) of two stony reef areas -Northwest and Hinder Banks study sites -in Belgian waters using multiple remote sensing tools. Insights on the study sites ’ geomorphological context and fi shing patterns were gained using echo-sounding and publicly available satellite data. Video-based benthic community data were assessed against the exposure to fi shing pressure using a trait-based approach linked to the biotas ’ resistance and recovery potential. In the Northwest study site, between 2019 and 2022 there was a signi fi cant decline in the abundance of benthic species classi fi ed with low resistance and recovery potential to trawling. Conversely, there was a notable increase in species with moderate scores. During the same period, this site experienced an eight-fold increase in fi shing effort and the hydroacoustic data revealed the presence of several trawl-marks in 2022. Similar changes in benthic communities were observed in the Hinder Banks too. Here, the abundance of species with low resistance and recovery potential was signi fi cantly lower in locations that were geomorphologically exposed to trawling compared to sheltered ones. Exposed locations had a higher abundance of opportunistic species, with moderate to high scores. The presence of several trawl marks on the sea fl oor was observed in the exposed locations, corresponding to fi shing hotspots identi fi ed in the satellite data. Trawling activities marginally impacted richness and total abundance, but negatively altered benthic functional composition. The fi ndings of this study provide scienti fi c evidence of the detrimental impact of bottom-contacting fi sheries on conservation priority biotopes and argues against the coexistence of such activities with Marine Protected Areas. The results of our investigation are of interest to environmental managers for the adequate implementation of environmental legislation in the face of rapid and widespread anthropogenic changes.
-
SEADETECT: developing an automated detection system to reduce whale-vessel collision risk
- With the continuous intensification of marine traffic worldwide, whale-vessel collisions at sea (or “ship strikes”) have become one of the primary causes of mortality for cetaceans and a widely recognised cause of concern for human safety and economic losses. The Mediterranean Sea is a global hotspot for whale-vessel collisions, with one of the highest rates involving large cetaceans, especially the endangered fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus). Evidence indicates that both species are experiencing higher chances of a fatal collision than what predictions have estimated so far, with ship strikes being the main human-induced threat in the area. Regional and international organisations have stressed the need to address the issue by investigating the projected impacts of ship strikes on whale populations and by identifying possible mitigation measures to reduce chances of collision. Amongst the most popular and feasible options, there is the improvement of animal detection during navigation. Here, we present SEADETECT, a LIFE project that aims at developing an automated detection system to reduce vessel collision risk with marine mammals and unidentified floating objects (UFOs), combining state-of-the-art and novel technologies with existing approaches in the study of large whale ecology. This detection system consists of three elements; an automated onboard detection system composed of several sensors, a real- time passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) network at sea and a real-time detection-sharing and alert system (REPCET®). In this paper, we propose the development of a mitigation measure framework tailored for the issue of collision with fin and sperm whales in the north-western Mediterranean Sea, but that has the transferability features necessary for its application in other high-risk areas for ship strikes worldwide.
-
Interdisciplinary science to support North Sea marine management: lessons learned and future demands
-
Interregional comparison of benthic ecosystem functioning: Community bioturbation potential in four regions along the NE Atlantic shelf
-
Transnational seabed mapping and subsurface modeling
-
Monitoring and modellering van het cohesieve sedimenttransport en evaluatie van de effecten op het mariene ecosysteem ten gevolge van bagger- en stortoperatie (MOMO). Activiteitsrapport 1 januari 2019 – 30 juni 2019
-
Drivers affecting habitat use in Afrotropical hipposiderid and pteropodid bats
