Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Les poissons crétacés de Nardò. 36°. Compléments à l'étude de Nardoechelys robinsi Taverne, 2002 (Teleostei, Anguilliformes)
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Les poissons crétacés de Nardò. 37°. Compléments à l'étude de Bannikovperca apula Taverne, 2010 (Teleostei, Beryciformes)
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Les poissons du Santonien (Crétacé supérieur) d'Apricena (Italie du Sud). 7°. Garganoclupea svetovidovi gen. et sp. nov. et Apricenaclupea ridewoodi gen. et sp. nov. (Teleostei, Clupeiformes)
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Tirer parti de tous les vestiges: os, coquilles, charbons, graines, pollen et spores
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Where is my jelly?
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OSERIT: A downstream service dedicated to the Belgian Coastguard Agencies
- The research project OSERIT aims at developing a “Oil Spill Evaluation and Response Integrated Tool” for the Belgian Coast Guard Agencies. This web-based tool will gather relevant, scientific based information needed to support the decision-making process in case of oil spilled at sea. OSERIT targets two categories of users. The first category includes operational users who need to access marine and oil spill drift forecast. The second category of users includes environmental representatives who need to compare several scenarios in order to assess the potential environmental consequences of various combating strategies. To meet this ambitious goal, a new web-based interface and a new 3D oil drift and fate mathematical model are being developed. This article first explains how OSERIT development is dictated by end-users requirements on its quickness, reliability, user-friendliness, accessibility and inherent quality. The main model features are then pr esented. Finally, the model performances are illustrated using a real case: the oil leak that happened in the Gannet field in August 2011. OSERIT should be ready for operational use in September 2012.
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Linking human activities to eutrophication in the Southern North Sea.
- The Southern North Sea faces eutrophication problems. They result from growing anthropogenic pressure in the river watersheds, and subsequent increase in nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) loading to the sea. Establishing the link between human activities and eutrophication problems requires the identification of the major nutrient sources and the ecological response of the coastal ecosystem to these nutrient alterations. This information is crucial to mitigate eutrophication in coastal zones by applying appropriate dual-nutrient reduction strategies, therefore achieving the Good Environmental Status of EU marine waters by 2020. Very recently, MIRO&CO has been upgraded to MIRO&CO V2 and coupled to a generic watershed model based on Riverstrahler/Seneque (Billen et al. 1994). A nutrient tracking approach (Ménesguen et al. 2006) has been adapted and implemented in MIRO&CO V2. The transboundary nutrient transport method has been used to track the nutrients in the sea, and trace back their sources (river, ocean, and atmosphere). This new model tool is used to assess the current eutrophication status in the Southern North Sea based on existing metrics (OSPAR, MSFD and WFD). This is a first and necessary step before assessing the impacts of realistic nutrient reduction scenarios on eutrophication problems. This work is done in the framework of the EMoSEM EU project (www2.mumm.ac.be/emosem/) that aims at providing support to eutrophication management in the North Atlantic Ocean, using state-of-the-art modelling tools.
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A modelling approach to trace the origin of jellyfish swarms in the Southern North Sea.
- The life cycle, the phenology and the interannual variability of jellyfish (i.e. cnidaria medusozoa scyphozoa) are under study across the world as there is debate on their increasing occurrence under human pressure (overfishing, eutrophication, climate change) (Condon et al. 2012). Beside interference in human activities, jellyfish swarms affect the marine food web as these organisms feed on fish eggs and larvae, and compete for food with adult fish (Lynam et al. 2005, Pauly et al. 2009). Whether jellyfish nuisance can be mitigated remains unclear and depends on our understanding of the causes of outbreaks. Most North Sea jellyfish species have a sessile polyp stage as part of their life cycle, and therefore need solid substrate to fix. While A. aurita polyps are visible along the Belgian and Dutch coasts, the location of other species polyps (e.g. Cyanea, Chrysaora) remains largely unknown. Tracing back the origin of an observed jellyfish swarm in the North Sea could help identifying the potential location of polyps and the timing and temperature of strobilation. A Lagrangian particle tracking model parameterized for jellyfish in the English Channel and the southern North Sea is used in backtracking (15 days) and forecast (3 days; forced by UKMO forecast) modes to study the potential origin and fate of jellyfish swarms. A backtracking simulation was applied on a jellyfish swarm observed in 2013 in the Belgian coastal zone . It allowed identifying potential areas of origin for the outbreak, raising new scientific questions. A first sensitivity study illustrates the wind influence on the backtracking simulation.
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Towards a model for the redistribution of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) due to pile driving in Belgian waters
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Where did common porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) come from before stranding?
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Strandings of the common porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) in the southern North Sea: what did they die of, where did they come from?
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Linking human activities to eutrophication along the river-ocean continuum with an ecological model.
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Chironomid distribution along a pollution gradient in Ethiopian rivers, and their potential for biological water quality monitoring.
- Water pollution resulting from the rapidly intensifying use of freshwater resources in Ethiopia is increasing the need for continuous follow-up and monitoring of the country’s aquatic ecosystems, in order to maintain their biological diversity and water quality. Chironomids (non-biting dipteran midges) are often used for biological water quality assessment because their larvae tend to respond rapidly and sensitively to changes in the aquatic environment. Larval chironomid assemblages from 37 sites in 20 Ethiopian rivers were analysed in 2010 to assess the relationship between species composition and water quality. Cluster analysis of local physical and chemical variables was used to classify sites into three different water quality classes: 15 sites were classified as not or slightly polluted, 16 as moderately polluted and six as heavily polluted. We recovered 21 chironomid taxa, representing three subfamilies, with Chironominae (13 taxa) making the largest contribution, followed by Tanypodinae and Orthocladinae (four taxa each). Polypedilum nubifer, P. wittei, Polypedilum type Wabe, Cryptochironomus sp. and Conchapelopia sp. were the dominant species in unpolluted or slightly polluted sites. Chironomus alluaudi and C. imicola were indicators of heavily polluted sites, typified by low (<2 mg l–1) concentrations of dissolved oxygen. Heavily polluted sites, such as the Modjo and Sebata rivers, also held a lower number of species and genera than less-impacted sites. Larval chironomid assemblages proved useful as indicators of river water quality in Ethiopia when taxa are identified at the species and/or genus level.
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BIOFRAG - a new database for analysing BIOdiversity responses to forest FRAGmentation.
- Habitat fragmentation studies have produced complex results that are challenging to synthesize. Inconsistencies among studies may result from variation in the choice of landscape metrics and response variables, which is often compounded by a lack of key statistical or methodological information. Collating primary datasets on biodiversity responses to fragmentation in a consistent and flexible database permits simple data retrieval for subsequent analyses. We present a relational database that links such field data to taxonomic nomenclature, spatial and temporal plot attributes, and environmental characteristics. Field assessments include measurements of the response(s) (e.g., presence, abundance, ground cover) of one or more species linked to plots in fragments within a partially forested landscape. The database currently holds 9830 unique species recorded in plots of 58 unique landscapes in six of eight realms: mammals 315, birds 1286, herptiles 460, insects 4521, spiders 204, other arthropods 85, gastropods 70, annelids 8, platyhelminthes 4, Onychophora 2, vascular plants 2112, nonvascular plants and lichens 320, and fungi 449. Three landscapes were sampled as long-term time series (>10 years). Seven hundred and eleven species are found in two or more landscapes. Consolidating the substantial amount of primary data available on biodiversity responses to fragmentation in the context of land-use change and natural disturbances is an essential part of understanding the effects of increasing anthropogenic pressures on land. The consistent format of this database facilitates testing of generalizations concerning biologic responses to fragmentation across diverse systems and taxa. It also allows the re-examination of existing datasets with alternative landscape metrics and robust statistical methods, for example, helping to address pseudo-replication problems. The database can thus help researchers in producing broad syntheses of the effects of land use. The database is dynamic and inclusive, and contributions from individual and large-scale data-collection efforts are welcome.
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Towards more equal footing in north–south biodiversity research: European and sub-Saharan viewpoints
- Research collaboration between developed countries from the northern hemisphere and developing countries in the southern hemisphere is essential for the understanding and protection of the major proportion of biodiversity located in the tropics. Focusing on the case of sub-Saharan Africa, we here assess the real involvement of northern versus southern contributors, and caution against unequal academic benefit sharing arising from non-commercial biodiversity research that may ultimately hamper sustainable knowledge transfer and long-term biodiversity conservation. We discuss possible drivers that may have led to a business of raw biodiversity data. While we fully support the current efforts to stamp out biopiracy through international biodiversity policies and agreements, we illustrate that such legislative frameworks may further constrain biodiversity research, especially in countries where regulations are poorly streamlined and bureaucracy remains rather inert. We therefore ask for workable solutions towards more equal footing in north–south biodiversity research, and propose a number of steps to transgress the current barriers towards a more fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from biodiversity research.
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Abstract book Belqua 2014 workshop, 5 maart 2014, Koninklijke Academie voor Wetenschappen, Brussel, België.
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First field campaign report linking the Scheldt to Rhine Thames Land project
- 1. Heyvaert V.M.A., Bogemans F., Busschers F., Cohen K., Gibbart P., Walstra J. (2014). First field campaign report linking the Scheldt to Rhine Thames Land project.3pp.
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Temporal and geographical trends on the type of biodiversity research funded on a competitive basis in European countries
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BiodivERsA 2012-2013 Project Call Brochure: Invasive species and Biological Invasions
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First field campaign report linking the Scheldt to Rhine Thames Land project
