Titel Promotor Affiliaties "Korte inhoud" "Project BioBrasil: Science-based development of a conservation management plan for golden-headed lion tamarins" "Kristel De Vleeschouwer" "Koninklijke Maatschappij voor Dierkunde van Antwerpen" "Golden-headed lion tamarins are small arboreal primates classified as endangered as the result of continuing deforestation in the Atlantic Forest. Being endemic to the Atlantic Forest of southern Bahia, they have long served as a regional flagship species. The GHLT geographic range is divided in two portions, each of which dominated by a distinct vegetation type and markedly different in terms of degree of fragmentation and disturbance. Cattle ranching is the primary anthropogenic activity in the western portion, resulting in extremely small and isolated fragments of semi-deciduous, mesophytic forest. Coastal humid forest characterizes the east, and the primary forms of land uses here include shade-cocoa agroforestry (‘cabruca’) and other agricultural activities. While forest remnants in the east are larger and less isolated than in the west principally due to the presence of cabruca, the decline in cocoa prices and a fungal disease (witch’s broom) have caused many landowners to convert their shade-cocoa into pastures or other crops, increasing levels of forest degradation and fragmentation and decreasing the amount of suitable connecting matrix. Most remaining wild populations of GHLTs occur in the eastern portion of the distribution, which covers approximately 45% of the total distribution area, but contains the largest remaining continuous forest remnant, the only fragment large enough to sustain a genetically viable population of GHLTs (Zeigler et al. 2010). This eastern portion thus plays a critical role in the species´ conservation, and actions that focus on maintaining forest integrity and connectivity here are doubtlessly the most effective way of securing the long-term survival of the species. Project BioBrasil objective is to contribute to the long-term survival of GHLTs by assisting the development and implementation of a conservation action plan for the species, based on sound scientific information, ensuring the participation of key organizations and stakeholders in the process. With less than 2% of the forest in the GHLT distribution legally protected, the majority of today´s remaining wild populations reside in unprotected forest on private lands. Securing the long-term survival of GHLT populations will require the collaboration and participation of local communities, and the development of sustainable landscape management guidelines compatible with the long-term persistence of self-sustaining GHLT populations in the wild, while meeting the needs of local communities. In the past 10 years, Project BioBrasil´s activities have focussed mainly on acquiring the necessary scientific/ecological information to nurture the development of science-based conservation actions, with small initiatives in the area of education and direct conservation actions. To accomplish both its research and conservation mission, the Project´s new research and conservation strategy includes the following points: 1. implementation of a multidisciplinary research program as a basis for development of a full GHLT conservation action plan, preferably in collaboration with larger projects to improve knowledge acquisition and data sharing; 2. increased strategic support (expertise, scientific information, fundraising) to promote science-based conservation strategies that benefit GHLTs and their landscape in the area of education, public politics and socio-economics 3. increased participation in planning workshops and position-taking in steering groups that address issues relevant to GHLT conservation" "Projet Grands Singes, Cameroon: Community based conservation of great apes in non-protected areas of Cameroon" "Nikki Tagg" "Koninklijke Maatschappij voor Dierkunde van Antwerpen" "The threats faced by populations of great apes vary across their range, but mainly comprise hunting, forest loss and fragmentation and disease epidemics. Populations of large bodied and slow reproducing species, like chimpanzees and gorillas, do not easily recover from even low hunting pressures, and rates of offtake in many cases dramatically exceed any sustainable limit. With the encroachment of humans more and more into ape habitats and the reduction of remaining forests through agriculture and logging, existing populations experience greater conflicts with people, an increased chance of virus transmission and more intense hunting pressures. Climate change is likely to compound each of the existing threats to the survival of apes, by causing vegetation shifts and reducing the suitability of habitats, and increasing the occurrence of infectious diseases, for example. People living in ape habitats are generally poverty-stricken, living hand-to-mouth below the poverty line, with few of their basic needs being met.Cameroon is a large country, with approximately 200 000 km2 of great ape habitat in the form of tropical rainforest; only 23% of which falls into protected areas such as national parks and reserves – many of the country’s great apes therefore have little official protection. The Dja Biosphere Reserve in the southeast of the country is an area of exceptional conservation priority for great apes: an area of great size and biodiversity and still harbouring healthy populations of great apes. Animals live in and around protected areas, with ranges and territories often spanning into and beyond these more disturbed buffer zones. As part of the range-wide fight to preserve wild populations of great apes, active protection of populations living in buffer zones of parks and reserves is crucial to species’ survival. In the northern buffer zone of the Dja Reserve, forest resources are heavily used by local people and logging companies alike. Hunting for bushmeat is a traditional activity, yet increased commercialisation of the bushmeat trade as a result of accessibility of firearms, the carving up of forests by logging, agriculture and human population growth and a swelling demand from towns and cities, is leading to the depletion of populations and species at local, regional and national levels.To address these issues, the CRC runs Projet Grands Singes (PGS) in this area. The target is to promote tropical conservation and decelerate the rate of decline of great apes through a community-based conservation and development approach. This approach respects the economic requirements of rural people, through mutually-interdependent conservation and development objectives (sustainable hunting management, the provision of incentives in conservation, environmental education, etc). It is arguably impossible to study endangered species without concerning yourself with their conservation, and on the flipside, informed conservation efforts require science-based evidence and support, strengthening the intricate link between research and conservation. In a further step, PGS uses scientific research as a conservation tool to forge a rare and important direct link between wildlife conservation and benefits for the local communities: regular employment of local people in research activities reinforces the value of living wildlife and intact forests to the community.PGS seeks to respond to the urgent need for population estimates, surveys and monitoring of western lowland gorillas and chimpanzees across the entirety of their range—including within surrounding and connecting matrices—to help improve and devise ape conservation actions, prevent population isolation and loss of genetic variation, and to effectively manage PAs. Through long-term, hypothesis-driven, applied- conservation research in situ, PGS staff and students investigate great ape ecology, diet and behaviour; forest structure and use by primates, the impacts of human activity on great apes, phenology, botany and food availability of the rain forest habitats; and the changing status of great apes in the site and elsewhere, for improved understanding and species conservation in the long term." "Zaadverspreiding, herbebossing en de beschikbaarheid van resources voor bedreigde frugivore primaten  in Zuid-Bahia: defaunatie, matrix-connectiviteit en klimaatverandering." "Alain Hambuckers, Kristel De Vleeschouwer" "Project BioBrasil, Koninklijke Maatschappij voor Dierkunde van Antwerpen, Koninklijke Maatschappij voor Dierkunde van Antwerpen" "The aim of this study is to understand how lion tamarins and their habitat might be affected by climate change by focusing on whether and how the distribution of their key tree species might shift. In a context where future climate conditions are likely to change, whether lion tamarins’ key fruiting and sleeping-site tree species could even encounter propitious conditions for growth is a first question, and whether this possible migration would be helped or hindered by natural processes of seed dispersal and regeneration is another. We will be using a dynamic vegetation model (DVM) called CARAIB to understand the tree species’ response to climate change. Responding to critiques of DVMs, our objective is to improve the model to include plant-animal interactions in the form of seed dispersal by tamarins, as well as overlaying the results on land-use maps to support conservation practitioners in their efforts to conserve vital areas for tamarin conservation. All four species of lion tamarins are endangered due to severe habitat loss and fragmentation. They are also subject to pressure from hunting, with their vulnerability increasing with habitat degradation, which favours human mobility. Lion tamarins are frugivores, and sleep in tree holes. Several studies show that at least two species (golden-headed lion tamarins, L. chrysomelas and golden lion tamarins, L. rosalia) are effective seed dispersers and disseminators. Modelling climate change impacts on the primates themselves is not possible, given their highly localised distribution, but it is possible to model impact on tree species constituting their habitat, which are vital for their survival." "Investigating the role of gorillas in forest maintenance and regeneration." "Jean-Louis Doucet" "Koninklijke Maatschappij voor Dierkunde van Antwerpen, Koninklijke Maatschappij voor Dierkunde van Antwerpen, Koninklijke Maatschappij voor Dierkunde van Antwerpen" "The role of primates as seed dispersers is widely recognized by ecologists and that of the western lowland gorilla in particular is of relevance, as this species seems to fulfil important criteria for effective dispersal, both quantitatively and qualitatively. One trait that makes it potentially unique as a seed disperser is its regular deposition of seeds in open canopy environments (which it prefers for nesting) where light will not be a limiting factor for subsequent seedling growth and survival. This may infer implications for population dynamics of dispersed plants and is relevant to timber exploiters as many timber species require a high light regime at seedling stage. Despite this importance, seed dispersal by the western lowland gorilla has not been thoroughly investigated. The present research aims to improve the knowledge of the ecological and economic functions fulfilled by the critically endangered western lowland gorilla in a logging concession at the northern periphery of the DBR. Through faecal content analysis, germination trials and monitoring of seedling emergence and growth, this study is designed to describe the diversity of species dispersed, elucidate whether or not other tight relationship exists between gorillas and plant species, and evaluate the effectiveness of dispersal directed towards nesting sites. We believe that providing an economic interest of western lowland gorilla conservation in logging concessions, ie, quantifying the recruitment of seedlings of this timber species by gorillas, and describing how they contribute to forest regeneration and biodiversity maintenance, could be an effective strategy given that logging concessions harbour most remaining gorilla populations.Results to date demonstrate that seeds of 57 species are consumed and passed undamaged by gorillas and one faecal clump contains, on average, 2.4 seed species and 51.8 seeds; a value which exceeds those previously reported for gorillas and confirms the unique quantitative contribution to seed dispersal of this primate species. Seeds remain in the gut on average for 54.7 hours (measured in captive gorillas), which enables their dispersal over long distances. Moreover, gut passage does not reduce the germination performances of seeds; on the contrary, half of all species tested experienced an enhanced germination success, possibly as a result of separation from the fruit pulp or abrasion of the seed coat. Furthermore, because of the preference of gorillas for nesting in open canopy areas and the fact that half of all defaecation occurs at nest sites, most seeds are dispersed in habitats of early successional stages (62.7%), namely light gaps (23.8%) and young secondary forests (38.9%), with higher light regimes than other habitat types. The theory that gorilla-mediated seed dispersal directed at nest sites may be particularly suitable for post-dispersal seed fate has obtained support from ongoing pairwise comparison of seeds marked at nest site with seeds marked in control sites, where seedlings experience a higher survival and growth rate at nest sites. Furthermore, camera trap data demonstrate a potential; relationship between gorillas and one large-seeded commercial timber species, Chrysophyllum lacourtianum (Sapotaceae), whereby gorillas may play a particularly important dispersal-related role as alternative dispersers may be rare or non-existent.Time line: PhD 2009-2015Supervision: Nikki Tagg | Zjef Pereboom | Jean-Louis Doucet (Université de Liège, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech) | Roseline Beudels-Jamar (Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences) Funding: CRC (KMDA Dehousse) / BelSPo (SSTC)" "The role of temperament on health status and sociality of golden-headed lion tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysomelas)" "Selene S. C. Nogueira" "Koninklijke Maatschappij voor Dierkunde van Antwerpen, Project BioBrasil, Koninklijke Maatschappij voor Dierkunde van Antwerpen" "Different types of temperament and personality can affect various ecologically relevant aspects, such as the way in which animals respond to environmental disturbances, potentially influencing animal health and survival. The golden-headed lion tamarin is a primate endemic to the Atlantic Forest of southern Bahia, and threatened with extinction. Understanding how the personality of these animals can influence health and social aspects influencing their survival and reproduction, can be of great importance for the conservation of the species. Thus, individuals belonging to four groups of GHLTs ranging in areas under different pressure from human activities (degraded fragments and shade cocoa plantation) will be studied to evaluate the relationship between personality, social relationships and parasite load. Behavioral and physiological data will be collected individually over two years. We will investigate the role of personality in two natural situations: 1) territorial encounters between different groups, and 2) use of matrix and open areas between  forest fragments. We will investigate the relation between personality and parasite load, predicting that bolder animals will have a higher parasite load. In addition, we will investigate the existence of polymorphisms in genes of the neuropeptides oxytocin receptors and vasopressin and the relationship with the sociality of animals." "The Ecology of Living in Small Fragments: Resource availability and feeding ecology of GHLTs groups in small fragments and the effects of matrix connectivity, hunting pressure and climate change on their long-term changes for persistence." "Alexandre Schiavetti, Eliana Cazetta, Leonardo C. Oliveira, Kristel De Vleeschouwer" "Koninklijke Maatschappij voor Dierkunde van Antwerpen, Project BioBrasil, Koninklijke Maatschappij voor Dierkunde van Antwerpen" "Golden-headed lion tamarins use both mature and degraded forest in addition to cabruca agroforest, the traditional form of cocoa cultivation used in Southern Bahia where cocoa is grown under the shade of native forest trees. Yet, cabruca can differ considerably in vegetation structure, which likely affects local habitat suitability and pathways for GHLTs to move between fragments. Cabruca is the principal habitat within the matrix connecting forest fragments, in addition to a variety of other landscape elements (e.g. pasture, agricultural areas) that are generally unsuitable for use as part of a group´s home range but vary in suitability for GHLT movement between forest fragments. Currently very little information exists on the factors that limit GHLT movement between fragments and those that determine mortality of dispersing individuals in the matrix. Such data, however, are important determinants for the outcome of population and landscape models that test the long-term survival of wild GHLT populations given current and future changes in the landscape. Genetic data suggest that, in the eastern part of the GHLT distribution range, gene flux is maintained in areas connected principally by mature and/or secondary forest, whereas gene flux in areas connected by cabruca alone seems compromised. This decreased gene flux is particularly important because the eastern region contains the only forest fragment large enough to sustain a genetically viable population of GHLTs. Given the extreme degree of fragmentation in the western portion of the GHLT distribution range, maintaining the integrity of the eastern forest block and its connectivity with other forest fragments in the landscape, thus ensuring gene flux, is critical for the long-term persistence of the species. In order to develop sound conservation measures for both eastern and western populations of GHLTs, it is critical to understand ecological pressures on individuals and groups in cabruca areas and in degraded fragments as well as factors that affect suitability and permeability of cabruca and other landscape elements. This will improve our understanding of the species´ flexibility in using extremely fragmented and degraded habitat and the actual potential of the matrix for maintaining connectivity and gene flux between GHLT populations in fragments across the landscape. Such information is essential for the definition of effective landscape management scenarios compatible with the long-term persistence of self-sustaining GHLT populations in southern Bahia. In addition to matrix permeability and the particular characteristics of the fragment in itself, additional factors acting on a larger scale (ecosystem) may affect the viability of GHLT groups in small and medium sized fragments. GHLTs, along with other frugivorous species are important dispersers of a large number of tree species. Particularly in small fragments, the disperser assembly is likely to be impoverished, both due to changes in the availability of resources to dispersers, difficulties with dispersers reaching fragments, and human activities e.g. hunting and logging or forest-degrading activities that directly impact on disperser presence and activity. Even if present in small fragments, the medium- and long term establishment of tree species that are key to GHLTs may be compromised as a result of these factors, implicating on the availability of GHLT resources in the long term. Additionally, larger scale factors such as climate change may impact on the distribution patterns of important tree species. The current overall research program conducted by Project BioBrasil intends to study the effects of forest fragmentation on GHLTs (and possibly other frugivores) in small to medium sized fragments from several perspectives: 1) By investigating matrix permeability around small fragments considered at the limit of carrying capacity for a group of GHLTs; 2) By investigating the ecology of GHLT groups living in small fragments; 3) By investigating the factors that affect the short-, medium and long-term availability of resources in small and medium sized fragments: spatial and temporal changes in seasonality (intra- and interannually), effects of climate change on the distribution of key tree species; diversity of the disperser assembly contributing to maintaining key plant resources for GHLTs and the resources available to them in small fragments; the intensity of hunting in fragments and its impact on the disperser assembly." "XANES meets ELNES: een studie van heterogene materialen op verschillende lengte-schalen." "Koen Janssens" "Elektronenmicroscopie voor materiaalonderzoek (EMAT), AXES (Antwerpen X-straal analyse, Elektrochemie en Speciatie)" "Het project beoogt de resultaten met elkaar te vergelijken en te confronteren, bekomen met twee verwante technieken voor het bekomen van structurele informatie in vaste materialen: X-straal absorptie near-edge spectroscopie (XANES) en elektron verlies near-edge spectroscopie (ELNES). Beide technieken leveren informatie op over de dichtheid van de niet-bezette niveaus in een atoom en hoe deze niveaus door de omringende atomen worden beinvloed. Beide methoden maken gebruik van andere primaire projectielen en detectie methoden zodat ze op andere lengte schalen werken." "Diepte-selectieve chemische beeldvorming van cultureel erfgoedobjecten (DICHO)." InViLab "Ondanks de mogelijkheid tot het succesvol karakteriseren van de toestand van materialen van schilderijen alsook andere kunstobjecten op niet-invasieve wijze, Macro X-Ray Fluorescentie beeldvorming (MA-XRF) lijdt aan een nadeel dat zijn meest gewaardeerde toepassing aanzienlijk beïnvloedt nl het onthullen verborgen functies en overgeverfde composities. Hoewel de penetratieve eigenschappen van de primaire en secundaire röntgenstralen met voordeel kunnen worden gebruikt om ondergrondse informatie te onthullen die cruciaal is voor kunsthistorici en –conservatoren, zal de mate waarin een bepaalde laag selectief gevisualiseerd kan worden, afhangen van de exclusieve aanwezigheid van een element in die laag. Bijgevolg verschijnen lagen met een vergelijkbare elementaire signatuur vermengd in hetzelfde distributiebeeld terwijl de exacte volgorde van de lagen onduidelijk blijft. Bijgevolg is in veel gevallen een (betwiste) monsterextractie verplicht om de gedetecteerde elementen toe te wijzen aan een specifieke laag binnen de verfstratigrafie. Om chemische beeldvorming met een extra dieptedimensie aan te vullen, wordt een dubbele aanpak gepresenteerd: (1) het scheiden van de oppervlaktesignalen van diepere signalen door de MA-XRF-detector hoekgeometrie uit te breiden en de resulterende potentiële diepte-informatie te benutten die binnen de absorptie-effecten op emissielijn verhoudingen ligt door een niveau van gegevensverwerking toe te voegen aan het bestaande protocol; (2) het reconstrueren van de opbouw van de laag en de toewijzing van de gedetecteerde signalen door een infrarood thermografische camera op te nemen in de meetopstelling. Om het aantal aanwezige lagen en hun volgorde te karakteriseren, zal een multi-sinus warmte-excitatie worden gebruikt in het spectrale bereik van 1.5-5μm, gecombineerd met toepassing specifieke post-processing van de hypercube-afbeeldingen in het frequentiedomein. De voorgestelde multimodale MA-XRF + IRT-meetmethodologie is ontwikkeld op basis van testmodellen en gevalideerd op historische schilderijen en houten panelen, in samenwerking met het Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten (KMSK) te Antwerpen." "Ensor Research Project" "Herwig Todts" "Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen" "In de zomer van 2013 lanceerde het Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen (KMSKA) een nieuw project: het Ensor Research Project (ERP). De ambities liggen hoog, want het museum wil hét referentiecentrum worden voor kunsthistorisch en materiaaltechnisch onderzoek van het oeuvre van James Ensor. Centraal in dit project staat het creatieproces: van idee tot afgewerkt schilderij. Met 38 schilderijen en meer dan 600 tekeningen bezit het museum de grootste en meest veelzijdige collectie van James Ensor ter wereld. Voldoende materiaal voor onderzoek, dus. Theoretisch en kunsthistorisch Het Ensorproject van het KMSKA combineert twee benaderingswijzen. De eerste invalshoek bestaat uit een onderzoek naar de theoretische grondslagen van de artistieke keuzes die Ensor maakte. Dat gebeurt op basis van een analyse van de kunstkritische en kunsthistorische receptie van Ensors werk en van een ‘close reading’ van Ensors – gepubliceerde en ongepubliceerde - eigen geschriften. Klassiek kunsthistorisch onderzoek vormt de tweede pijler. Daarbij worden primaire bronnen (archivalia), iconografie, de techniek en de vormgeving van de werken onderzocht. De bevindingen van materiaaltechnisch onderzoek door fotografische opnamen met röntgen- en infraroodlicht of met de PXRF (Portable X-ray Fluorescentie Spectrometer) vullen de onderzoeksresultaten aan. Soms gebeurt het onderzoek op locatie. Als de reizende tentoonstelling The Scandalous Art of James Ensor in 2015 ook het Getty Museum in Los Angeles aandoet, krijgt het KMSKA een unieke kans aangeboden. ERP-onderzoekster Karen Bonne mag als visiting conservator het Ensorwerk Adam en Eva uit het paradijs verjaagd uit de collectie van het KMSKA vier maanden lang in L.A. restaureren. Tegelijkertijd werkte ERP-onderzoeker Herwig Todts drie maanden als Museum Guest Scholar aan het Getty Research Institute. Medewerkende partners: University of Antwerp. AXES. Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry & Speciation Mu.ZEE - Kunstmuseum aan Zee. Collecties van de Provincie West-Vlaanderen en de stad Oostende" "Hoe veranderen sensoriële representaties in het volwassen brein onder invloed van beloning?" "Wim Vanduffel" "Laboratorium voor Neuro- en Psychofysiologie, Laboratorium voor Circuit-neurowetenschappen" "Vele vormen van leren zijn gebaseerd op de associatie van een neutrale stimulus met een belonende of aversieve ervaring. Momenteel weten we niet i) hoe de corticale en subcorticale hersenrepresentaties van sensoriële stimuli veranderen tijdens en na het leerproces, noch ii) welke structuren en netwerken cruciaal zijn om die veranderingen te induceren. We willen deze vragen beantwoorden op een multimodale en inter-disciplinaire manier door gebruik te maken van de meest moderne correlationele en causale technieken in muizen, apen en mensen. Onze geïntegreerde en vergelijkende aanpak laat ons toe om de plasticiteit van de sensoriele representaties te onderzoeken op verschillende spatio-temporele niveau’s, vanaf het enkelvoudige neuron tot het volledige brein. In elke soort zullen we ons toespitsen op de dominante sensoriële modaliteit (reukzin bij muizen en het zicht bij aap en mens). Deze aanpak laat ons toe om vergelijkingen te maken tussen zowel sensoriële modaliteiten en diersoorten, om zo algemene neurale mechanismes van volwassen plasticiteit te identificeren. Specifiek zullen we plasticiteit in sensoriële hersengebieden bestuderen tijdens belonings-gedreven leren en tijdens het leren van nieuwe stimuli. Het voorgestelde onderzoek zal fundamentele principes van volwassen hersenplasticiteit ontrafelen, die op lange termijn belangrijk kunnen zijn om de rehabilitatie van patiënten met hersenpathologiëen te bevorderen evenals het optimaal functioneren van ouderen. Ten slotte zullen we nieuwe onderzoekstechnieken, die recent ontwikkeld zijn in de muis, toepassen en valideren in een primaten-model, hetgeen cruciale informatie zal opleveren vooraleer deze methodes therapeutisch bij de mens toegepast kunnen worden."