Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Energie (inclusief kabels en leidingen)
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Integrating capacity building and nature conservation in large-scale biodiversity surveys: Our Planet Reviewed Papua New Guinea
- During the terrestrial survey of the “Our Planet Reviewed” project in Papua New Guinea we created a bridge between biodiversity research, capacity building and nature conservation. The scientific aim of the project was to estimate, for the first time, the biological diversity generated by altitudinal turnover of insect species. The project was set up by the Natural History Museums of Brussels (RBINS) and Paris (MNHN), the NGO Pro-Natura International, the French IRD and, as local partners, the New Guinea Binatang Research Center (BRC) and the University of Papua New Guinea. Half of the core scientific team (ca 50 persons) was made of local research assistants and the other half of international biodiversity experts. Local research assistants (called paraecologists and parataxomists) were recruited in local communities, trained by BRC and supervized by the international experts. Locals were involved in sample collection, sample pre-sorting and received training and salary. This not only speeded up sample collection, but simultaneously supported nature conservation as the locals had means of income other than from commercial logging. We also paid land-use fees to land owners as compensation for collecting plants and animals in their forest plots. Conservation initiatives by local communities were further supported by funds from private sponsors raised by BRC. Funds were also collected to allow local scientists to visit overseas laboratories and to participate to international conferences. To summarize, large-scale biotic surveys are not only essential to understand the functioning of complex tropical ecosystems where biodiversity is highest but can also be important drivers of capacity building and nature conservation. Associated movie: “In the treetops of Papua New Guinea”. Director: Maurice Leponce. Author: Maurice Leponce & Gildas Corgnet, 2015, HD, 16min
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Ant mosaics in neotropical forests and elsewhere. . In XXII Simposio de Mirmecologia, 18-22 October, pp. 76, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brasil.
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Data flow in IBISCA projects. . In XXII Simposio de Mirmecologia, 18-22 October, pp. 97, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brasil.
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Studying ants in the treetops: perspectives.
- Studying ants in the treetops: perspectives Maurice Leponce Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 29 rue Vautier, 1000 Brussels, Belgium Cranes, by offering direct access to the forest canopy, allow detailed studies of trophic interactions between ants, plants (floral and extra-floral nectaries) and other insects (especially honeydew producing Hemiptera). Crane availability and operation time (daytime) are however limiting the extent of these studies. We will review arboreal ant sampling methods that could be useful complements to canopy cranes. In particular we designed a rapid assessment protocol to study the spatial distribution (across trees and along tree trunks) and dominance hierarchy of ants in rainforests. This protocol is based on baits spread every 5m along a rope. One end of the rope is tied around the trunk and, with the help of a sling-shot, the other is slung over a branch in the canopy, forming a loop that enables the baits to be easily brought back down for inspection. On-site confrontations between dominant ants colonizing baits allow to map colony extension on neighbour trees. The baitline protocol has also potential to study food preferences, diel activity and to monitor dominant ant populations.
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In the treetops of Papua New Guinea. . In XXII Simposio de Mirmecologia, 18-22 October, pp. 159, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brasil.
- Papua New Guinea rainforests are among the most biodiverse on Earth. They still cover extensive areas but are being altered at a rapid rate. Their biodiversity is still largely unexplored especially in the treetops, called the canopy. For exploring the canopy biodiversity, new tools based on hot air or helium balloons are being developed. They allow collecting in situ plants and insects. Ants reign in the canopy. They are sometimes found living inside extraordinary epiphytes, which adapted their structure to accommodate the ants. For protecting native rainforests, an innovative approach, linking biodiversity research and capacity building, is implemented. Gifted naturalists, called parataxonomists and paraecologists, are recruited in villages and trained by internationally renowned scientists. Research stations create local employment. This source of income added to money from sponsors allow local communities to obtain access to a higher level of education and health care without having to give in to the pressure related to deforestation. (Author & director: Maurice Leponce, 2015, HD, 16min)
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Arboreal ant mosaics meltdown with elevation. In XXII Simposio de Mirmecologia, 18-22 October, pp. 302, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brasil.
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From individual diet determination to food web disentanglement: the use of stable isotopes and fatty acids in the study of ant trophic ecology. In: Congress of the Graduate School BEE (Biodiversity, Ecology, Evolution) Université Libre de Bruxelles, p. 17
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Fourmis, papous et isotopes: les réseaux trophiques le long du Mont Wilhelm. In 28ème Congrès de l'Union Internationale pour l'Etude des Insectes Sociaux, UIEIS 2015, Tours, 26-28 août, p. 17.
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Check list of ground-dwelling ant diversity (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Iguazú National Park with a comparison at regional scale
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Climate mediates the effects of disturbance on ant assemblage structure
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How territoriality and host-tree taxa determine the structure of ant mosaics.
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Traits allowing some ant species to nest syntopically with the fire ant Solenopsis saevissima in its native range
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The fire ant Solenopsis saevissima and habitat disturbance alter ant communities.
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The dynamics of ant mosaics in tropical rainforests characterized using the Self-Organizing Map algorithm
- Ants, the most abundant taxa among canopy-dwelling animals in tropical rainforests, are mostly represented by territorially-dominant arboreal ants (TDAs) whose territories are distributed in a mosaic pattern (arboreal ant mosaics). Large TDA colonies regulate insect herbivores, with implications for forestry and agronomy. What generates these mosaics in vegetal formations, which are dynamic, still needs to be better understood. So, from empirical research based on three Cameroonian tree species (Lophira alata, Ochnaceae; Anthocleista vogelii, Gentianaceae; and Barteria fistulosa, Passifloraceae), we used the Self-Organizing Map (SOM, neural network) to illustrate the succession of TDAs as their host trees grow and age. The SOM separated the trees by species and by size for L. alata, which can reach 60 m in height and live several centuries. An ontogenic succession of TDAs from sapling to mature trees is shown, and some ecological traits are highlighted for certain TDAs. Also, because the SOM permits the analysis of data with many zeroes with no effect of outliers on the overall scatterplot distributions, we obtained ecological information on rare species. Finally, the SOM permitted us to show that functional groups cannot be selected at the genus level as congeneric species can have very different ecological niches, something particularly true for Crematogaster spp. which include a species specifically associated with B. fistulosa, non-dominant species and TDAs. Therefore, the SOM permitted the complex relationships between TDAs and their growing host trees to be analyzed, while also providing new information on the ecological traits of the ant species involved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Rotifers as Bio-indicators of Freshwater Quality: A Case Study from the Upper Cambodian Mekong River Basin
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Belgian report on the 19th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal, Canada, 2 – 5 November 2015 and the 9th Meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Arti
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L'arbre du vivant, trente ans de systématique
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Les trente ans de la Société française de systématique
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L'arbre du vivant: classification phylogénétique des Annélides
- Résumé Les Annélides, ou vers segmentés, forment un groupe généralement considéré comme monophylétique, qui est traditionnellement divisé entre les Polychaeta et les Clitellata. Ils sont évolutivement anciens, écologiquement importants et extrêmement diversifiés en terme d’espèces et de plans d’organisation. Pour ces raisons, les Annélides ont toujours constitué l’un des problèmes majeurs dans la résolution de la phylogénie des Métazoaires. La révolution conceptuelle et méthodologique liée à l’analyse cladistique et surtout l’accès, via l’ADN, à une nouvelle classe de caractères ont bouleversé la classification des Annélides au cours des 20 dernières années. Tout récemment, le développement de la phylogénomique a permis, non seulement, de proposer une phylogénie de base stable pour les Annélides mais, également, de résoudre les principaux problèmes liés à ce groupe, tels que la monophylie des Annélides, la composition taxinomique du groupe, le plan d’organisation de l’annélide ancestral, ou la nature mono- ou paraphylétique des Polychètes et des Oligochètes. Ce travail résume les connaissances les plus récentes sur la phylogénie et l’évolution d’un taxon dont l’extraordinaire diversité a peu d’équivalent parmi les Métazoaires. Mots clés : Annélides, phylogénie, évolution Summary Annelida, or segmented worms, constitute a group generally considered as monophyletic, traditionally divided between Polychaeta and Clitellata. They are evolutionary ancient, ecologically important and extremely diversified in terms of species and body plans. For these reasons, Annelida have always represented one of the largest unsolved problems in metazoan phylogeny. The conceptual and methodological revolution related to cladistic analysis and, in particular, access to a fully new category of characters through DNA have drastically changed the classification of Annelida during the last 20 years. Very recently, the development of phylogenomics enabled not only to propose a stable basal phylogeny of Annelida but, also, to resolve the main problems associated to this group, namely the annelid monophyly, the taxonomic composition of the group, the body plan of the ancestral annelid, or the mono- or paraphyletic nature of Polychaeta and Oligochaeta. This work summarizes the most recent knowledge on phylogeny and evolution of a taxon of which the extraordinary diversity has few equivalent amongst the Metazoa. Key words: Annelids, phylogeny, evolution
