Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Sperm whales from the Miocene of the North Sea: a re-appraisal
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A new porpoise (Cetacea, Odontoceti, Phocoenidae) from the Pliocene of the North Sea.
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A new stem-sperm whale (Cetacea, Odontoceti, Physeteroidea) from the latest Miocene of Peru
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Beaked whale mysteries revealed by sea floor fossils trawled off South Africa.
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Using the 3D Coupled Physical-Biological Model MIRO&CO-3D to Assess Diatom-Phaeocystis Colony Blooms in the Southern Bight of the North Sea and the Response to Short-Term Climatic and Nutrient Changes.
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Assessing connectivity in young flatfish and its implementation in fisheries management.
- Recently, it has been shown that commercial fisheries target specific size/age classes, causing a loss of genetic diversity as well as altering life cycles (fisheries-induced evolution). This represents a serious threat for the future of commercial stocks. Such features have also been observed in the North Sea stocks of sole (Solea solea), which have been overfished in the past 20 years. For example, heavy fishing pressure has led to smaller individuals. Given its commercial importance in the North Sea fishery, a larger effort has to be made to preserve this valuable resource. To improve sole stock management, managers would benefit from an upgraded biological assessment of population structure and connectivity patterns. We will address the following questions: 1. Does larval dispersal vary in time and space? 2. What biotic and abiotic factors are driving larval connectivity? And once known, 3. Can we predict the impact of changes in physical and biological drivers? 4. Can we define sub-populations based on connectivity patterns? My research project aims at filling those gaps, by focusing on population connectivity at the larval and postlarval stages. A suite of 200 highly variable SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) and state-of-the-art genotyping (Illumina-Veracode) will be employed to investigate the population structure of sole at a regional scale (<150km) within the North Sea and eastern English Channel. Additional insights will be gained by otolith microchemistry, used to trace the movement of single individuals between spawning and nursery grounds. Temporal variability will be studied through the combination of two years of intensive sampling and historical datasets spanning the last two decades. Finally, results of hydrodynamic modelling of larval dispersal will be compared to collected data in order to investigate the role of selected biotic and abiotic factors in driving connectivity. Overall, this study will help the sustainable management of the fishery by defining significant ecological units, while the molecular markers will allow tracing any fish present on the market to its origin, hence fighting illegal fishing.
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How is the connectivity of sole larvae affected by wind and temperature changes in the Southern North Sea?
- Connectivity throughout the life cycle of flatfish remains an open question, especially at the early life stages. Also the impact of anthropogenic factors, such as climate change, on larval dispersal remains poorly known. The case of sole (Solea solea) is of particular interest because it is one of the most valuable commercial species in the North Sea. It is important to understand how the retention/dispersal of larvae would be affected by climate change in order to propose appropriate measures for the management of the North Sea stock. The transport of sole larvae from the spawning grounds to the nurseries is driven by hydrodynamic processes but the final dispersal pattern and larval abundance may be affected by behavioural and environmental factors. An increase of temperature could affect for instance the spawning period, the duration of the pelagic stage and the mortality of eggs and larvae. Modifications in the magnitude, variability and/or direction of the wind regime might affect egg and larval retention and dispersal through changes in the hydrodynamics. We compare scenarios of a particle-tracking transport model (IBM) coupled to a 3D hydrodynamic model (COHERENS) to investigate the impact of climate change, through temperature increase and wind regime change. The model has been implemented in the area between 48.5°N-4°W and 57°N-10°E over the period 1995 to 2010. Sensitivity of connectivity between spawning grounds and nurseries to climate change is assessed by estimating the impact of hypothetical (i) temperature increase and (ii) changes in wind magnitude/direction.
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Nieuwe vissensoort ontdekt in vuursteen door Ludo Indeherberge
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Het museum Hauff te Holzmaden
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Inktvissen met weke delen bewaring uit het Toarciaan van Holzmaden
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Recensie: Een walvis in de stad: de collecties van de Leuvense Faculteit Wetenschappen
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Application of magnetic susceptibility as a paleo-climatic proxy on Paleozoic sedimentary rocks and characterization of the magnetic signal – IGCP580 projects and events
- The International Geoscience Program project IGCP-580 (started in 2009), focuses on the application of magnetic susceptibility (MS) as a paleoclimatic proxy on Paleozoic sedimentary rocks and on the characterization of the magnetic susceptibility signal. Here we provide a summary of the scientific targets behind the project and a summary of the organized activities. This project concerns three main issues: the first one consists of compiling the available MS data from the different researchers and continuing the collection of new data (with a main focus on the Devonian). The second issue focuses on the identification of the nature and origin of the magnetic minerals carrying MS signal. The last issue concerns the application of MS as a correlation, cyclostratigraphic and paleoclimatic tool. The IGCP-580 community consists of 245 researchers, from 45 countries (including Kenya, Namibia, Vietnam, Iran, Uzbekistan, Algeria, Tunisia, Colombia, Nigeria, India, etc.). During the project, we organized five meetings (Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Austria, Canada), three special sessions in international meetings and eight field workshops, as well as various training sessions.
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A 3D ArcGIS geological model of the underground of Brussels for hydrogeological uses
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Early seed plants from Western Gondwana: Paleobiogeographical and ecological implications based on Tournaisian (Lower Carboniferous) records from Argentina
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The rooting system of Leptophloeum Dawson: New material from the Upper Devonian, Famennian Witpoort Formation of South Africa
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Catalogue of the types and illustrated specimens recovered from the ‘black marble’ of Denée, a marine conservation-Lagerstätte from the Mississippian of southern Belgium
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Thorezia vezerensisgen. et sp. nov., a new seed plant with multiovulate cupules from the Late Devonian of Belgium
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Challenges in Aquatic Sciences
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Centralizing thematic (freshwater) biodiversity data using the Darwin Core standard and GBIF’s Integrated Publishing Toolkit (IPT)
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Ostracoda (Crustacea) Fauna of Congo River (Africa) and Amazon River (Brazil) Catchments
