Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Mega-tsunami conglomerates and flank collapses of ocean island volcanoes
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Chenier-type ridges in Giralia Bay (Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia) - Processes, chronostratigraphy, and significance for recording past tropical cyclones
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Migration of Barchan Dunes in Qatar–Controls of the Shamal, Teleconnections, Sea-Level Changes and Human Impact
- Barchan dune fields are a dominant landscape feature in SE Qatar and a key element of the peninsula’s geodiversity. The migration of barchan dunes is mainly controlled by dune size, wind patterns, vegetation cover and human impact. We investigate the variability of dune migration in Qatar over a time period of 50 years using high-resolution satellite and aerial imagery. We then explore its relation to the regional Shamal wind system, teleconnection patterns, and limitations in sand supply associated with the transgression of the Arabian Gulf. Strong size-dependent differences in migration rates of individual dunes as well as significant decadal variability on a dune-field scale are detected, which are found to correlate with the intensity of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM), in particular during years of relatively strong (weak) summer Shamals. High uncertainties associated with the extrapolation of migration rates back into the Holocene, however, do not permit further examination of the timing of the loss of sand supply and the onset of the mid-Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) highstand. For the youngest phase considered in this study (2006–2015), human impact has likely accelerated dune migration under a weakening Shamal regime through sand mining and excessive vehicle traffic upwind of the core study area.
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Paleoclimate Relevance to Global Warming☆
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Geomorphology, Geoarchaeology and Palaeoenvironments
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ENHANCED FIELD OBSERVATION BASED PHYSICAL AND NUMERICAL MODELLING OF TSUNAMI INDUCED BOULDER TRANSPORT PHASE 1: PHYSICAL EXPERIMENTS
- Coasts around the world are affected by high-energy wave events like storm surges or tsunamis. By focusing on tsunami impacts, we investigate tsunami-induced transport of boulders by an interdisciplinary combination of field observations, laboratory experiments and advanced numerical modelling. In phase 1 of the project we conduct physical laboratory experiments based on real-world data. Following the experimental phase we will develop an enhanced numerical boulder transport model (BTM) based on an existing two-phase model.
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How To Discriminate Athalassic and Marginal Marine Microfaunas: Foraminifera and Other Fossils from an Early Holocene Continental Lake in Northern Saudi Arabia
- The occurrence of athalassic foraminiferal species, along with the brackish-water ostracod Cyprideis torosa, the barnacle Amphibalanus amphitrite, and brackish-water gastropods, prove the existence of a saline lake at Tayma, northern Saudi Arabia, during the early to mid-Holocene. Outcrops at the former shoreline, as well as a single sediment core, allow a reconstruction of the history of the main lake phase. Whereas these outcrops contain masses of calcareous micro- and macrofossils, the core from the modern sabkha does not.Four foraminiferal species were identified: Ammonia tepida is dominant, Quinqueloculina seminula is common, Flintinoides labiosa and Discorinopsis aguayoi are rare. Sieve-pore analysis and shell chemistry of C. torosa, as well as varying but generally high proportions of test anomalies (up to 50%) in foraminifers, indicate fluctuating, mostly hypersaline lacustrine conditions. We suggest, based on these results and on a literature overview on the worldwide distribution of Quaternary athalassic foraminifer taxa, that a combination of low diversity, exclusively marginal marine taxa, combined with occurrences of test anomalies >10% can be used to recognize athalassic saline waters in the fossil record.
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Chronostratigraphy and geomorphology of washover fans in the Exmouth Gulf (NW Australia) – A record of tropical cyclone activity during the late Holocene
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Lakes or wetlands? A comment on ‘The middle Holocene climatic records from Arabia: Reassessing lacustrine environments, shift of ITCZ in Arabian Sea, and impacts of the southwest Indian and African monsoons’ by Enzel et al.
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Luminescence dating of cyclone-induced washover fans at Point Lefroy (NW Australia)
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Pathways of unintentional introduction and spread of 88 invasive alien species of union concern in Belgium: identification and prioritization
- Article 13 of the Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species (the ‘IAS Regulation’) requires Member States to identify and prioritize pathways of unintentional introduction and spread of IAS of Union Concern. This report identifies priority pathways of unintentional introduction in Belgium for the 88 IAS of Union Concern listed to date (2023). Priority pathways are defined in the IAS Regulation as pathways requiring actions by priority because of the volume of the alien species using the pathway or of the potential damage these species can inflict on biodiversity. First, pathways of introduction and spread were identified for each of the listed species by reviewing pathway information contained in the EU risk assessments using the definitions of the CBD classification framework (CBD, 2014) and the interpretation manual of Harrower et al. (2018). The relevance of these pathways was considered for Belgium, based on expert knowledge and review. Second, pathways were prioritised using a methodology that takes into account the species impact, establishment potential and the frequency of introduction via the different pathway. The results of this prioritization are in line with results of the two previous prioritization analyses (NSSIAS, 2018 and 2020). The top 12 pathways are still the same, with pathways only changing a maximum of two ranks. In terms of importance, escape of animal species from the private premises of their owner and spread of plants beyond where they were planted are still the main pathways for animal and plant species. Only 3 extra pathways are added to the list of pathways through which the species of Union Concern are introduced to and spread within Belgium, but these pathways are only relevant for the four ant species and two other newly added species on the list. Since pathway action plans were not written in a species specific manner, we see no immediate need for an update of the current National action plan on priority pathways of unintentional introduction and spread of invasive alien species of the Union list in Belgium, taking into account that the new species could be taken into account in already existing actions on awareness raising or biosecurity measures. Instead of adding extra preventative actions or tackling additional pathways, we conclude that generating more data on species and pathways would lead to better adapted plans and ameliorate prevention in the long run.
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Comparative Anatomy of Mandibular Neurovascular Canals in Modern Human and Great Apes: A Pilot Study With Cone Beam Computed Tomography
- The aim of the present study was to compare mandibular neurovascular canal anatomy in human and great apes by using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). The anatomical variability of mandibular neurovascular canals (mandibular, incisive and lingual canals) of 129 modern humans and great apes (Homo, Pan and Gorilla) were analyzed by linear measurements on CBCT images. The Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test and Dunn’s all pairs for joint ranks were applied to compare the variability of mandibular canals among these groups. Human, Chimpanzee and Gorilla groups showed significant differences in the dimensions of the mandibular canal, mental foramen, incisive canal, lingual canal and anterior mandibular bone width. Bifid mandibular canals and anterior loops were the anatomical variations most frequently observed in the Gorilla. Humans had a larger mental foramen and a distinctive incisive canal. The latter could not be identified in the Gorilla group. The variability in the anatomy within mandibles of human and non-human primates, shows different forms in the neurovascular structures. In comparison to the mandible of great apes, the incisive canal is suggested to be a feature unique to the human mandible.
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Reconstructing the genetic history of late Neanderthals
- Although it has previously been shown that Neanderthals contributed DNA to modern humans1,2, not much is known about the genetic diversity of Neanderthals or the relationship between late Neanderthal populations at the time at which their last interactions with early modern humans occurred and before they eventually disappeared. Our ability to retrieve DNA from a larger number of Neanderthal individuals has been limited by poor preservation of endogenous DNA3 and contamination of Neanderthal skeletal remains by large amounts of microbial and present-day human DNA3,4,5. Here we use hypochlorite treatment6 of as little as 9 mg of bone or tooth powder to generate between 1- and 2.7-fold genomic coverage of five Neanderthals who lived around 39,000 to 47,000 years ago (that is, late Neanderthals), thereby doubling the number of Neanderthals for which genome sequences are available. Genetic similarity among late Neanderthals is well predicted by their geographical location, and comparison to the genome of an older Neanderthal from the Caucasus2,7 indicates that a population turnover is likely to have occurred, either in the Caucasus or throughout Europe, towards the end of Neanderthal history. We find that the bulk of Neanderthal gene flow into early modern humans originated from one or more source populations that diverged from the Neanderthals that were studied here at least 70,000 years ago, but after they split from a previously sequenced Neanderthal from Siberia2 around 150,000 years ago. Although four of the Neanderthals studied here post-date the putative arrival of early modern humans into Europe, we do not detect any recent gene flow from early modern humans in their ancestry.
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Plan de recherche pour le Plan d’Aménagement et de Gestion 2024- 2034: Parc National de la Kibira
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A new genus and species of Tachydromiinae (Diptera: Empididae) from the Oriental Realm.
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A new species of Paramedetera, with a key to the species from China (Diptera: Dolichopodidae)
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New yellow-legged Hybos from Nanling, Guangdong, China (Diptera, Empidoidea, Hybotidae)
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A new species of Oedalea from China, with a key to the Asian species (Diptera, Hybotidae).
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Description of three new species of Platypalpus Macquart from Guangdong (Diptera: Hybotidae, Tachydromiinae)
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Revision of Elaphropeza Macquart from Guangdong (Diptera: Hybotidae, Tachydromiinae)
