Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
-
The CRETACAM project: a new look at Santonian to Maastrichtian deposits of the Belgian Campine basin
- The Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences(RBINS) holds a collections of well over 7000 Cretaceous fossils that were collected by the RBINS staff in the early 1930ies during the construction of several coal mine shafts in the eastern part of the Belgian Campine Basin. These fossils include ammonites, nautilids, belemnites, bivalves (inoceramids and other), gastropods, crustaceans, brachiopods, echinoderms and other. The majority of the material is from mine shafts 1 and 2 of the Houthalen and Zolder mines, in-between 400 and 600 m below surface. Both mines are located in the eastern part of the Campine Basin. Since their discovery, the majority of this material has never been thoroughly studied and published. Detailed listings of the fauna and an overview in relation to the stratigraphy are absent. In the 1930ies, by the varying amounts of glauconite, chalk, sand, sandstone and the ‘Gyrolithes’ ichnofossils, the sediments between 400 and 600 m depth were interpreted as belonging to the ‘Smectite de Herve’ facies. Therefore, early students referred to fossils from this locality as Campanian in age, while more recent studies and ongoing work document Santonian to Maastrichtian ages with (from bottom to top) the Asdonk and Sonnisheide Members (Vaals Formation), the Zeven Wegen, Beutenaken Marl, Beutenaken Chalk, Vijlen and Lixhe Members (Gulpen Formation). The CRETACAM project aims for fully documenting the lithological, stratigraphical, paleontological and paleo- ecological changes in the Santonian to Maastrichtian sequence of the eastern part of the Campine Basin. In a first step, all locality information of all 7000 specimens was digitalized. In a second and ongoing step, the taxonomy of all specimens will be revised by an international team of paleontologists.
-
3D reconstruction of fang replacement in the venomous snakes Dendroaspis jamesoni (Elapidae) and Bitis arietans (Viperidae)
-
Reliable DNA barcoding performance proved for species and island populations of Comoran squamate reptiles
-
Nieuwe familie fossiele beenvissen ontdekt in Libanon
-
Notes on the herpetofauna of western Bas-Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo
-
Genetic and morphological divergences in the cosmopolitan deep-sea amphipod Eurythenes gryllus reveal a diverse abyss and a bipolar species
-
Morphological variation and taxonomic reassessment of the endemic Malagasy blind snake family Xenotyphlopidae
-
Editorial
-
Using DNA barcodes for assessing diversity in the family Hybotidae (Diptera, Empidoidea)
-
Adhoc: an R package to calculate ad hoc distance thresholds for DNA barcoding identification
-
New data on the morphology and distribution of the enigmatic Schouteden’s sun snake, Helophis schoutedeni (de Witte, 1922) from the Congo Basin
-
New insights into the systematics and molecular phylogeny of the Malagasy snake genus Liopholidophis suggest at least one rapid reversal of extreme sexual dimorphism in tail length
-
Ammonites on the brink of extinction: diversity, abundance, and geographic range of the Order Ammonoidea at the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K/Pg) Boundary
-
mtDNA suggests strong genetic differentiation at unexpectedly fine-scales in a high-dispersal marine periwinkle
- Marine invertebrates with long-lived planktonic larvae are assumed to have high dispersal potential and broad-scale gene flow. They are thought to disperse over long distances and to be genetically homogeneous over large areas. The periwinkle Melarhaphe neritoides which ranges along much of the European coastline, is such a species. Its long-lived planktonic larval phase lasts 4-8 weeks and previous allozyme studies have shown very little to no population genetic differentiation along the European coast, even over distances of thousands of kilometers. However, a growing number of studies based on DNA markers suggest that there is a poor correlation between pelagic larval duration (PLD) and the level of population genetic differentiation (r² = 0.29). Nevertheless, recent work reaffirms that PLD might still be a good predictor of population genetic differentiation as a function of geographic scale, if based on unbiased FST estimates and appropriate sampling sizes. We explored these conflicting views by assessing mtDNA (COI, 16S, Cytb) differentiation among five intensively-sampled populations of M. neritoides in the Azores. In contrast with previous allozyme data, our mtDNA data reveal remarkably high genetic diversity and differentiation among M. neritoides populations, even those as close as 50 km. Even at this scale, populations do not seem to share haplotypes, despite the assumed high potential of broad-scale gene flow in M. neritoides. Hence, the relationship between PLD and dispersal potential or the level of population genetic differentiation, is indeed not straightforward.
-
Nationwide inventory of mosquito biodiversity (Diptera: Culicidae) in Belgium, Europe
- To advance our restricted knowledge on mosquito biodiversity and distribution in Belgium, a national inventory started in 2007 (MODIRISK) based on a random selection of 936 collection points in three main environmental types: urban, rural and natural areas. Additionally, 64 sites were selected because of the risk of importing a vector or pathogen in these sites. Each site was sampled once between May and October 2007 and once in 2008 using Mosquito Magnet Liberty Plus traps. Diversity in pre-defined habitat types was calculated using three indices. The association between species and environmental types was assessed using a correspondence analysis. Twenty-three mosquito species belonging to traditionally recognized genera were found, including 21 indigenous and two exotic species. Highest species diversity (Simpson 0.765) and species richness (20 species) was observed in natural areas, although urban sites scored also well (Simpson 0.476, 16 species). Four clusters could be distinguished based on the correspondence analysis. The first one is related to human modified landscapes (such as urban, rural and industrial sites). A second is composed of species not associated with a specific habitat type, including the now widely distributed Anopheles plumbeus. A third group includes species commonly found in restored natural or bird migration areas, and a fourth cluster is composed of forest species. Outcomes of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of the designed sampling scheme and support the choice of the trap type. Obtained results of this first country-wide inventory of the Culicidae in Belgium may serve as a basis for risk assessment of emerging mosquito-borne diseases.
-
Changes in Species Richness and Spatial Distribution of Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) Inferred From Museum Specimen Records and a Recent Inventory: A Case Study From Belgium Suggests Recent Expanded Distribution of Arbovirus and Malaria Vectors
- Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) distribution data from a recent inventory of native and invading mosquito species in Belgium were compared with historical data from the period 1900-1960 that were retrieved from a revision of the Belgian Culicidae collection at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. Both data sets were used to investigate trends in mosquito species richness in several regions in Belgium. The relative change in distribution area of mosquito species was particularly important for species that use waste waters and used tires as larval habitats and species that recently shifted their larval habitat to artificial larval habitats. More importantly, several of these species are known as vectors of arboviruses and Plasmodium sp. and the apparent habitat shift of some of them brought these species in proximity to humans. Similar studies comparing current mosquito richness with former distribution data retrieved from voucher specimens from collections is therefore encouraged because they can generate important information concerning health risk assessment at both regional and national scale.
-
FORMIDABEL: The Belgian Ants Database
- FORMIDABEL is a database of Belgian Ants containing more than 27.000 occurrence records. These records originate from collections, field sampling and literature. The database gives information on 76 native and 9 introduced ant species found in Belgium. The collection records originated mainly from the ants collection in Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), the `Gaspar' Ants collection in Gembloux and the zoological collection of the University of Liege (ULG). The oldest occurrences date back from May 1866, the most recent refer to August 2012. FORMIDABEL is a work in progress and the database is updated twice a year. The latest version of the dataset is publicly and freely accessible through this url: http://ipt.biodiversity.be/resource.do?r=formidabel. The dataset is also retrievable via the GBIF data portal through this link: http://data.gbif.org/datasets/resource/14697 [GRAPHICS] A dedicated geo-portal, developed by the Belgian Biodiversity Platform is accessible at: http://www.formicidae-atlas.be Purpose: FORMIDABEL is a joint cooperation of the Flemish ants working group ``Polyergus'' (http://formicidae.be) and the Wallonian ants working group ``FourmisWalBru'' (http://fourmiswalbru.be). The original database was created in 2002 in the context of the preliminary red data book of Flemish Ants (Dekoninck et al. 2003). Later, in 2005, data from the Southern part of Belgium; Wallonia and Brussels were added. In 2012 this dataset was again updated for the creation of the first Belgian Ants Atlas (Figure 1) (Dekoninck et al. 2012). The main purpose of this atlas was to generate maps for all outdoor-living ant species in Belgium using an overlay of the standard Belgian ecoregions. By using this overlay for most species, we can discern a clear and often restricted distribution pattern in Belgium, mainly based on vegetation and soil types.
-
De 'Keizerlijke Thermen'. Hoe sportbeoefening in één klap het complex met een kwart uitbreidde
-
Het Macellum. Vlees op bestelling
-
Ostracodes et lithologie du stratotype de la Formation du Mont d'Haurs (Givétien, Synclinorium de Dinant)
