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Linking the evolution of two prefrontal brain regions to social and foraging challenges in primates
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On the female specimen <i>Nigma walckenaeri</i> (Roewer, 1951) misidentified as <i>Nigma puella</i> (Simon, 1870)
Get PDFAn erratum for HENRARD et al. (2022) is presented. The female dictynid specimen collected in the Jean Massart Botanical Garden (Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium), originally published as Nigma puella (Simon, 1870), has been morphologically re-examined and subjected to DNA-barcoding (COI) for species identification. The present investigation demonstrates that the specimen was misidentified, and is re-assigned to Nigma walckenaeri (Roewer, 1951)
Landslides, bedrock incision and human-induced environmental changes in an extremely rapidly formed tropical river gorge
No full textLandslides are hillslope processes controlled by natural changing topographic conditions. Landslides are also influenced by human activities. Yet, understanding the space-time occurrence of landslides and their interactions with these typically long-term natural and short-term human-induced controls remains a key challenge in many regions, especially in tropical environments where data scarcity is commonplace. Here we decipher these dynamic processes in the Ruzizi Gorge located in the Kivu Rift (Central Africa), that is an exceptional geomorphological landmark whose origin is associated with the rerouting of >7000 km2 of drainage area from Lake Kivu during the Holocene. This bedrock river has also seen its landscape disturbed over the past decades by the development of the city of Bukavu (DR Congo). In this study, we combine detailed field observations, historical aerial photographs, archive analysis and satellite imagery to compile a multi-temporal inventory of 385 landslides and constrain their dynamics. We show that extremely high incision rates during the early stage of the formation of the gorge explain the space-time clustering of thousand-year-old large (up to ∼2 km2) landslides, independently from the lithological context. These landslides are currently non-active and poorly eroded. Their deposit areas partly cover the riverbed with boulders, armouring the channel and inhibiting further incision. The landslides that occurred over the last 60 years are shallower slope failures of smaller size and higher mobility. They tend to disappear rather quickly from the landscape, sometimes within a few years. Their distribution is primarily controlled by threshold slopes, lithology, and the past large landslides, the influence of the land use being less pronounced. Overall, the sediment mobilization rates associated with these high frequency landslides significantly outpace the extreme landslide erosion pulse associated with the gorge formation. Our results provide insight on interactions between channel-hillslope coupling and feedbacks among landslide processes and river gorge formation in a unique environment
Technical Expertise Report ref. exp-141, 10/2/2016 - Applicant: Dr. Dirk Huyge, Royal Museums of Art and History, 10, Parc du Cinquantenaire, 1000 Brussels, 26/11/2015
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Continent-wide genomic analysis of the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer)
Get PDFThe African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a wild bovid with a historical distribution across much of sub-Saharan Africa. Genomic analysis can provide insights into the evolutionary history of the species, and the key selective pressures shaping populations, including assessment of population level differentiation, population fragmentation, and population genetic structure. In this study we generated the highest quality de novo genome assembly (2.65 Gb, scaffold N50 69.17 Mb) of African buffalo to date, and sequenced a further 195 genomes from across the species distribution. Principal component and admixture analyses provided little support for the currently described four subspecies. Estimating Effective Migration Surfaces analysis suggested that geographical barriers have played a significant role in shaping gene flow and the population structure. Estimated effective population sizes indicated a substantial drop occurring in all populations 5-10,000 years ago, coinciding with the increase in human populations. Finally, signatures of selection were enriched for key genes associated with the immune response, suggesting infectious disease exert a substantial selective pressure upon the African buffalo. These findings have important implications for understanding bovid evolution, buffalo conservation and population management
A whole genome based phylogeny to investigate the evolution of host-plant preferences in Afrotropical <i>Dacus </i>(Tephritidae)
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