Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Contribution of Asia to the evolution and paleobiogeography of the earliest modern mammals
- The mammals, inconspicuous during the dinosaur period, saw an increase in their size and number of species after the extinction of these giants sixty-five million years ago. This was the beginning of the Age of Mammals. But it was only at the beginning of the Eocene fifty-five million years ago during an extremely fast and intense global warming called PETM (Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum) when their diversity exploded. New groups then suddenly appeared on the three northern continents via intercontinental land bridges across which they made important dispersals. These new groups, called “modern mammals”, consist of rodents, lagomorphs, perissodactyls, artiodactyls, cetaceans, primates, carnivorans and bats. Although these eight groups represent 83 % of the extant mammal species diversity, their ancestors are still unknown. A short overview of the knowledge and recent progress on this research is here presented on the basis of Belgian studies and expeditions, especially in India and China.
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Conserving large populations of lions – the argument for fences has holes
- Packer et al. reported that fenced lion populations attain densities closer to carrying capacity than unfenced populations. However, fenced populations are often maintained above carrying capacity, and most are small. Many more lions are conserved per dollar invested in unfenced ecosystems, which avoid the ecological and economic costs of fencing.
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Stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental analysis of the Rupelian-Chattian transition in the type region: evidence from dinoflagellate cysts, foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils.
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Danian/Selandian boundary stratigraphy, paleoenvironment and Ostracoda from Sidi Nasseur, Tunisia.
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Paleoenvironmental change at the Danian-Selandian transition in Tunisia: planktic fioraminifera, calcareous nannofossil and organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst records
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Danian/Selandian boundary criteria and North Sea Basin-Tethys correlations based on calcareous nannofossil and foraminiferal trends in SW France.
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In search of the latest Danian Event in a paleobathymetric transect off Kasserine Island (North-Central Tunisia).
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An expanded lower Eocene shelf sequence from the eastern Aquitaine Basin, SW France: stratigraphy and δ18O / δ13C excursions
- The early Eocene is characterized by a succession of orbitally-controlled global stable carbon isotope excursions, with some being linked to climatic and related biotic perturbations. The impact of these isotopic excursions has been primarily studied in deep-sea sections under comparably stable conditions. In order to investigate the impact of global post-PETM isotopic signals on shallow marine settings, the Ypresian neritic ʻBlue Marls’ of the Corbières (SW France) were investigated. High-resolution records of microfossil biota and stable carbon and oxygen isotopes pinpoint biostratigraphic, paleoecologic and geochemic constraints. Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy positions the sequence in the upper part of zone NP11, possibly ranging into basal NP12, which is conformable with larger benthic foraminifera data indicating shallow benthic zone SBZ8. This implies a time span of about 0.4 Myr and high overall sedimentation rates of about ~ 32 cm/kyr for the section. A shallowing upward trend from outer neritic to coastal settings is observed in the development of the lithostratigraphy and the microfossil assemblage. The assemblages can be subdivided in seven larger biofacies and four ostracod assemblage zones. The lower third of the section is characterized by strongly fluctuating and partly high plankton/benthos-ratios for neritic settings. A final pronounced peak in plankton occurrence is associated with strong decrease of benthic biota, suggesting anoxic conditions in the outer neritic environment. Several local negative δ13C- and δ18O-excursions can be identified in the section. The upper, most pronounced and consistent negative δ13C excursion is tentatively linked to global carbon isotope excursion K (ETM3) based on the biostratigraphic constraints.
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Palynology, paleoenvironments and organic carbon isotope evolution in lagoonal Paleocene/Eocene boundary settings in North Belgium.
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The Eocene/Oligocene Boundary in the North Sea Area: A Sequence Stratigraphic Approach
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Tertiary Sequence Stratigraphy at the southern border of the North Sea Basin in Belgium.
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High-resolution holostratigraphy of Middle Paleocene to Early Eocene strata of Belgium and adjacent areas
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New data on the Paleocene-Eocene transitional strata in the southern North Sea Basin.
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Dinoflagellate cyst events and depositional history of the Paleocene/Eocene boundary interval in the southern North Sea Basin
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The Kalaat Senan section in Central Tunisia: a potential reference section for the Danian/Selandian boundary.
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The boundary between the Middle Eocene Brussel Sand and the Lede Sand Formations in the Zaventem-Nederokkerzeel area (Northeast of Brussels, Belgium).
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The Dababiya Quarry section: lithostratigraphy, clay mineralogy, geochemistry and paleontology.
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Stratigraphic architecture of the Upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic along the southern border of the North Sea Basin in Belgium.
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Terminal Maastrichtian ammonites from the Cretaceous-Paleogene Global Stratotype Section and Point, El Kef Tunisia.
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Disused Paleogene regional stages from Belgium: Montian, Heersian, Landenian, Paniselian, Bruxellian, Laekenian, Ledian, Wemmelian and Tongrian.
