Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Parallel phenotypic evolution in a wolf spider radiation on Galápagos.
- Within island archipelagos, repeated ecological settings may lead to radiations wherein similar niches are recurrently occupied. Although it has been shown that species with common habitat requirements share particular traits, it remains relatively unexplored to what extent this may lead to the repeated evolution of almost identical phenotypes (phenocopies) and how this correlates with traits subjected to sexual selection. Exploring divergence patterns of ecological and sexual relevant traits within spiders seem promising to enhance our understanding of the relative role of natural and sexual selection. Here, we conduct a detailed morphological analysis on a large set of genital and non-genital traits (morphometrics, colour pattern) within a radiation of the wolf spider genus Hogna Simon, 1885 on Galápagos and interpret these data, taking into account their known phylogenetic relationship. Our results show that recurrent environmental gradients have led to the parallel evolution of almost identical phenotypes, which not only proves that natural selection has driven morphological divergence, but also suggests that a similar genetic or developmental basis most likely underlies this divergence. Among-species variation in genital traits in contrast rather reflects the phylogenetic relationships on Santa Cruz and San Cristóbal. The combination of these data indicate that speciation in this system is driven by the combined effect of ecological mechanisms and allopatric divergence in sexual traits.
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Arthropod diversity in a tropical forest
- Most eukaryotic organisms are arthropods. Yet, their diversity in rich terrestrial ecosystems is still unknown. Here we produce tangible estimates of the total species richness of arthropods in a tropical rainforest. Using a comprehensive range of structured protocols, we sampled the phylogenetic breadth of arthropod taxa from the soil to the forest canopy in the San Lorenzo forest, Panama. We collected 6144 arthropod species from 0.48 hectare and extrapolated total species richness to larger areas on the basis of competing models. The whole 6000-hectare forest reserve most likely sustains 25,000 arthropod species. Notably, just 1 hectare of rainforest yields 60\% of the arthropod biodiversity held in the wider landscape. Models based on plant diversity fitted the accumulated species richness of both herbivore and nonherbivore taxa exceptionally well. This lends credence to global estimates of arthropod biodiversity developed from plant models.
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Black-banded Owl Ciccaba huhula near Podocarpus National Park, southern Ecuador
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Differential response of ants to nutrient addition in a tropical Brown Food Web
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Distribution and diversity of the cryptic ant genus Oxyepoecus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) in Paraguay, with descriptions of two new species.
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Do Soil Properties Affect Subterranean Ant Distribution at a Small Spatial Scale?
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First record of Lenomyrmex inusitatus (Formicidae: Myrmicinae) in Ecuador and description of the queen.
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High species turnover of the ant genus Solenopsis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) along an altitudinal gradient in the Ecuadorian Andes, indicated by a combined DNA sequencing and morphological approach.
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IBISCA - a collaborative programme to study the diversity and distribution of arthropods from canopy to forest floor
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Influence of the leaf litter moisture on the efficiency of the Winkler method for extracting ants.
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Podocarpus National Park Biodiversity.
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Revision of the Neotropical species of Trichacis Foerster (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea: Platygastridae), with description of 24 new species.
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Soil properties affect the small-scale distribution of subterranean ants in a montane tropical forest.
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Soil properties only weakly affect subterranean ant distribution at small spatial scales
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Stable isotope analysis: from individual diet determination to complex food web disentanglement
- Jacquemin, J., T. Delsinne, Y. Roisin, and M. Leponce. 2012. Stable isotope analysis: from individual diet determination to complex food web disentanglement. Page p.21. Integrative biology: from ecology to molecules, ULB, Brussels, Belgium.
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Suivi des papillons de jour dans le cadre de la restauration écologique de fonds de vallées et de zones humides enrésinés en Belgique et au Grand-Duché de Luxembourg.
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The Ecology and Feeding Habits of the Arboreal Trap-Jawed Ant Daceton armigerum
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Where do adaptive shifts occur during invasion? A multidisciplinary approach to unravelling cold adaptation in a tropical ant species invading the Mediterranean area
- Evolution may improve the invasiveness of populations, but it often remains unclear whether key adaptation events occur after introduction into the recipient habitat (i.e. post-introduction adaptation scenario), or before introduction within the native range (i.e. prior-adaptation scenario) or at a primary site of invasion (i.e. bridgehead scenario). We used a multidisciplinary approach to determine which of these three scenarios underlies the invasion of the tropical ant Wasmannia auropunctata in a Mediterranean region (i.e. Israel). Species distribution models (SDM), phylogeographical analyses at a broad geographical scale and laboratory experiments on appropriate native and invasive populations indicated that Israeli populations followed an invasion scenario in which adaptation to cold occurred at the southern limit of the native range before dispersal to Israel. We discuss the usefulness of combining SDM, genetic and experimental approaches for unambiguous determination of eco-evolutionary invasion scenarios.
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Soil properties affect the small-scale distribution of subterranean ants in a montane tropical forest.
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Terrestrial mammals as biostratigraphic indicators in upper Paleocene-lower Eocene marine deposits of the southern North Sea Basin
- Teeth of terrestrial mammals found in shallow marine deposits of the late Paleocene and early Eocene in the southern North Sea Basin (Belgium, northern France and southeastern England) have been used as biostratigraphic indicators. Analyses indicate that the age of the continental Walbeck mammal fauna (Germany) is close to that of the Upper Selandian Heers Formation of Belgium (NP4-5). The MP6 referencelevel of Cernay (France) is probably correlated with the lower part of NP9 (late Thanetian). The MP7 – MP8 + 9 intermediate faunas of Meudon and Pourcy could be partly equivalent in age to Biochron NP10. The MP8 + 9 reference-level of Avenay corresponds to the upper part of the London Clay and Kortrijk Formations, which are of late middle Ypresian age (lower NP12), or to the lower part of the Wittering and Tielt Formations, which are dated early late Ypresian (middle NP12). The MP10 Grauves and Prémontré faunas (France) are correlated with the NP13 Upper Wittering Formation. The taphonomy of terrestrial mammals discovered in marine deposits indicates several origins of the material such as reworking, action of predators or fluvial transport.
