Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Role of Wildlife in Emergence of Ebola Virus in Kaigbono (Likati), Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2017
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Using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry to identify ticks collected on domestic and wild animals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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Palaeoenvironment and chronology of the Middle/Upper Palaeolithic transition in the Eurasian loess domain, from Danube to Yenisei : comparison with the marine and Greenland records
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Géoarchéologie et taphonomie en contexte karstique : nouvelles perspectives de recherche en Belgique par l'étude intégrée des sédiments et des vestiges archeologiques, fauniques et botaniques (communication orale)
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Belgian cave entrance and rock-shelter sequences as palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic data recorders: the example of the Walou cave multi-proxy study
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Belgian cave entrance and rock-shelter sequences as palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic data recorders: the example of the Walou cave multi-proxy study
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Un anthracologue au secours des archéologues. Les datations radiocarbones d’un fossé circulaire à Givry déterminant l’âge du Bronze moyen
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Cranial ecomorphology of odontocetes: a 3D-evolutionary approach
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Mandibular shape disparity and convergence in ichthyosaurs and toothed cetaceans
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Etude archéozoologique du site de Villers-le-Bouillet - Lohincou (VBFF2)
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International census and population trends for Bewick’s Swans Cygnus columbianus bewickii wintering from the East Mediterranean to Central Asia
- Trends in abundance and changes in the distribution of the Northeast Europe/ Northwest Europe Bewick’s Swan Cygnus columbianus bewickii population have been studied in detail since the second half of the 20th century, but much less is known about the Northwestern Siberia/Caspian population which was estimated at 1,000–1,500 individuals at the turn of the century. Here, we describe the results of the first species-specific mid-winter International Bewick’s Swan Census (IBSC) covering the East Mediterranean to Central Asia, made in January 2020. We also use longer-term data collated by Wetlands International through the annual International Waterbird Census (IWC) programme to construct trends in wintering numbers in the region. Results from the IBSC and IWC both showed a marked increase in population size for the Northwestern Siberia/Caspian Bewick’s Swans over the past two decades. A total of 6,819 was recorded during the IBSC and there was a five-year mean of 9,111 ± 4,300 swans reported to the IWC (for the years 2018–2022) with a peak count of 13,775 in 2019. An aerial survey of the Volga Delta in the northern Caspian Sea in 2020, rarely covered because of the logistical difficulties of carrying out mid-winter counts in the region, found an estimated 551 Bewick’s Swans wintering at the site. There was marked annual variation in the IWC counts recorded from 2017 onwards, although the reasons for these fluctuations remain unknown. Trends analysis suggested a slow increase over time from 2000–2015, followed by a period of rapid increase during 2015–2017, then a weak decline in 2017–2022. Given that the IBSC and the IWC have provided totals of > 6,000 Bewick’s Swans in five of the last six years, however, we propose that the new population estimate should be increased to 6,000–13,000 birds, pending further comprehensive surveys of the whole region.
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Fox Vulpes vulpes population trends in Western Europe during and after the eradication of rabies
- 1. Over several decades, Western Europe experienced an outbreak of sylvatic rabies, eliminated through an EU programme involving large-scale red fox vaccination campaigns. While much work has been done on the dynamics of the virus and on the efficiency of vaccination campaigns, very little attention has been paid to the impact on the large-scale dynamics of the fox population. 2. As Western Europe has now been free of rabies for about 15–20 years, the aims of this review are to characterise the impact of rabies during the outbreak itself and to increase understanding of how fox populations evolved thereafter. The rabies-free populations in the UK are also integrated as a comparative control. 3. Trends in fox populations are based on a review of available data, mainly hunting statistics and a few other methods. The benefits and biases of these methods are also discussed. 4. During the rabies epizootic, fox populations experienced a significant decline and stabilised at lower densities than observed in the past. A demographic explosion followed the vaccination campaigns, and fox populations became larger than had been observed before the epizootic. Rabies vaccination was not the direct cause of this demographic explosion, as rabies-free areas experienced it also. The causes are more to be sought in environmental modifications induced by humans. 5. This demographic explosion was followed by the emergence of urban fox populations throughout Europe. Moreover, the new higher densities favoured the outbreak of other diseases, though their impact was more limited. Around the 2000s, rural fox populations appeared to reach densities close to carrying capacity and populations stabilised. However, subsequently, with some exceptions, Western European fox populations seem to be experiencing a decline. The ecological consequences of these changes in fox population density may reach the many prey species and competitors of the red fox.
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Renforcement de la population de Tétras lyre en Belgique Rapport final de l’opération de translocation 2024 de Tétras lyres suédois dans la Réserve Naturelle des Hautes Fagnes
- Après deux années sans renforcement dû à la crise sanitaire du Covid-19, le renforcement de la dernière population de Tétras lyres en Belgique a pu être poursuivi pour la troisième année consécutive ce printemps 2024, grâce aux autorisations délivrées par les autorités suédoises et wallonnes, à l’engagement renouvelé de nos partenaires, et au soutien d’un nouveau partenaire privé, AVES Liège. Cette mission « Tétrapak 2024 » était capitale afin de recréer une dynamique positive, telle que celle qui avait été observée entre le lancement du projet et le début de la crise sanitaire fin 2019. Elle visait également à rééquilibrer le très faible renforcement de femelles en 2023.
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Monitoring influenza aviaire chez les oiseaux sauvages en Wallonie, saison 2023-2024
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H3O: the legacy of a decade of cross-border 3D geological modelling.
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Regional heritage stone diversity in stone-poor landscapes, the example of northern Belgium.
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De witste ‘witsteen’ Gobertangesteen.
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Ancient and modern DNA track temporal and spatial population dynamics in the European fallow deer since the Eeemian interglacial
- Anthropogenic factors have impacted the diversity and evolutionary trajectory of various species. This can be through factors such as pressure on population size or range, habitat fragmentation, or extensive manipulation and translocation. Here we use time-calibrated data to better understand the pattern and processes of evolution in the heavily manipulated European fallow deer (Dama dama). During the Pleistocene, fallow deer had a broad distribution across Europe and were found as far north as Britain during the Eemian interglacial. The last glacial period saw fallow deer retreat to southern refugia and they did not disperse north afterwards. Their recolonisation was mediated by people and, from northern Europe and the British Isles, fallow deer were transported around the world. We use ancient and modern mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and mitogenomic data from Eemian Britain to assess the pattern of change in distribution and lineage structure across Europe over time. We find founder effects and mixed lineages in the northern populations, and stability over time for populations in southern Europe. The Eemian sample was most similar to a lineage currently in Italy, suggesting an early establishment of the relevant refuge. We consider the implications for the integration of anthropogenic and natural processes towards a better understanding of the evolution of fallow deer in Europe.
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On Prophoca and Leptophoca (Pinnipedia, Phocidae) from the Miocene of the North Atlantic realm: redescription of Belgian material, phylogenetic affinities and paleobiogeographic implications
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Herkomst van de natuursteen in de Romeinse decoratiearchitectuur en beeldhouwwerken uit de opgraving van de O.L.V.-basiliek van Tongeren
