Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Stable isotopes reveal effects of environmental changes on ecological niches of Iphimediidae amphipods
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Validating fish and seafood labelling using DNA barcoding
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Invasive Alien Species in Belgium (IAS): examining the utility of Genbank and BOLD for species identifications
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Monitoring of Exotic MOsquitoes in Belgium (MEMO): molecular validations of morphological species identifications
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Complex effect of projected sea temperature and wind change on flatfish dispersal
- Climate change not only alters ocean physics and chemistry but also affects the biota. Larval dispersal patterns from spawning to nursery grounds and larval survival are driven by hydrodynamic processes and shaped by (a)biotic environmental factors. Therefore, it is important to understand the impacts of increased temperature rise and changes in wind speed and direction on larval drift and survival. We apply a particle-tracking model coupled to a 3D-hydrodynamic model of the English Channel and the North Sea to study the dispersal dynamics of the exploited flatfish (common) sole (Solea solea). We first assess model robustness and interannual variability of larval transport over the period 1995-2011. Then, using a subset of representative years (2003-2011), we investigate the impact of climate change on larval dispersal, connectivity patterns and recruitment at the nursery grounds. The impacts of five scenarios inspired by the 2040 projections of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are discussed and compared with interannual variability. The results suggest that 33% of the year-to-year recruitment variability is explained at a regional scale and that a 9-year period is sufficient to capture interannual variability in dispersal dynamics. In the scenario involving a temperature increase, early spawning and a wind change, the model predicts that (i) dispersal distance (+70%) and pelagic larval duration (+22%) will increase in response to the reduced temperature (–9%) experienced by early hatched larvae, (ii) larval recruitment at the nursery grounds will increase in some areas (36%) and decrease in others (-58%), and (iii) connectivity will show contrasting changes between areas. At the regional scale, our model predicts considerable changes in larval recruitment (+9%) and connectivity (retention -4% and seeding +37%) due to global change. All of these factors affect the distribution and productivity of sole and therefore the functioning of the demersal ecosystem and fisheries management.
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Current status of deepwater oil spill modelling in the Faroe-Shetland Channel, Northeast Atlantic, and future challenges
- Abstract As oil reserves in established basins become depleted, exploration and production moves towards relatively unexploited areas, such as deep waters off the continental shelf. The Faroe-Shetland Channel (FSC, NE Atlantic) and adjacent areas have been subject to increased focus by the oil industry. In addition to extreme depths, metocean conditions in this region characterise an environment with high waves and strong winds, strong currents, complex circulation patterns, sharp density gradients, and large small- and mesoscale variability. These conditions pose operational challenges to oil spill response and question the suitability of current oil spill modelling frameworks (oil spill models and their forcing data) to adequately simulate the behaviour of a potential oil spill in the area. This article reviews the state of knowledge relevant to deepwater oil spill modelling for the FSC area and identifies knowledge gaps and research priorities. Our analysis should be relevant to other areas of complex oceanography.
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Découverte de Tropideres albirostris (Schaller, 1783) en Région de Bruxelles-Capitale (Coleoptera: Anthribidae)
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A new Antarctic species of Orchomenella G.O. Sars, 1890 (Amphipoda: Lysianassoidea: Tryphosidae): is phasecontrast micro-tomography a mature technique for digital holotypes?
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Phylogenomics and biogeography of sawflies and woodwasps (Hymenoptera, Symphyta)
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BopCo: an identification service for species of policy concern, and its role in the Belgian speciesid.be consortium
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Fish movement
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AUTOMATIC MONITORING OF BIODIVERSITY IN THE NORTH SEA USING eDNA (Zero-Impact)
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Compartive genetic analysis of invasive mosquito species in Belgium supports diverse introduction pathways
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BOPCO: An identification service for species of policy concern, including invasive alien species
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Application of environmental DNA and quantitative PCR to detect the presence of four invasive crayfish species in Brussels waterbodies (Belgium)
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The Belgian barcoding facility for organisms and tissues of policy concern
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Morphological, acoustic and genetic identification of a reproducing population of the invasive African clawed frog Xenopus laevis (Anura, Pipidae) recently discovered in Belgium
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Monitoring potential disease hosts and vectors in Belgium: findings from two case projects
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Biodiversity of the freshwater crabs of Benin: a genetic approach
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BopCo: The Belgian barcoding facility for organisms and tissues of policy concern
