Erik Verheyen - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Erik Verheyen

We determined near complete and complete monkeypox virus genomes in a shrew (Crocidura littoralis... more We determined near complete and complete monkeypox virus genomes in a shrew (Crocidura littoralis), two squirrels (Funisciurus anerythrus, Funisciurus bayonii), and produced shorter sequences from two rats (Stochomys longicaudatus, Cricetomys sp. 2) originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This suggests that a number of rodents besides squirrels (families Muridae and Nesomyidae) and shrews (order Eulipotyphla) are potential monkeypox virus reservoirs.

Molecular Biology and Evolution, 1994

Lake Tanganyika harbors the oldest, morphologically and behaviorally most diverse flock of cichli... more Lake Tanganyika harbors the oldest, morphologically and behaviorally most diverse flock of cichlid species. While the cichlids in Lakes Malawi and Victoria breed their eggs exclusively by buccal incubation (termed "mouthbrooding"), the Tanganyikan cichlid fauna comprise mouthbrooding and substrate-spawning lineages (fish spawn on rocks, and never orally incubate eggs or wrigglers). The substrate-spawning tribe Lamprologini appears to occupy a key position that might allow one to elucidate the origin of the Tanganyika flock, because five rive&e (therefore nonendemic) species from the Zaire River system have been assigned to this tribe, in addition to the lake's endemic species, which make up almost 50% of all 17 1 species known from this lake (Poll 1986). From 16 species (18 individuals) of the tribe Lamprologini, a 402-bp segment of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene was sequenced, and, from 25 lamprologine species (35 individuals), sequences from the mitochondrial control region were obtained. To place the Lamprologini into a larger phylogenetic framework, orthologous sequences were obtained from eight nonlamprologine Tanganyikan cichlid species (13 individuals). The Lamprologini are monophyletic, and a clade of six Tanganyikan lineages of mouthbrooders, representing five tribes (Poll 1986), appears to be their sister group. Comparisons of sequence divergences of the control region indicate that the Lamprologini may be older than the endemic Tanganyikan tribe Ectodini, and short basal branches might suggest a rapid formation of lineages at an early stage of the Tanganyika radiation. It is interesting that three analyzed riverine members of the tribe form a monophyletic group; however, they are not the most ancestral branch of the Lamprologini. This might indicate that they are derived from an endemic lamprologine ancestor that left Lake Tanganyika by entering the Zaire River system. These riverine species may not have seeded the Tanganyikan radiation, as currently thought, but may have recently recolonized the river after a long period of isolation, as soon as the lake was connected to the Zaire River again about 2 Mya. Neolumprologus moorii, endemic to Lake Tanganyika, appears to represent the most basal clade of the Lamprologini. Complex breeding behavior, involving the usage of gastropod shells and associated with dwarfism, is likely to have evolved in parallel in several lineages among the Lamprologini. The tribe Lamprologini may be in need of revision, since several genera appear to be polyphyletic.

Belgian Journal of Zoology

NATO Science Series: IV: Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2004

Ecosystems of deep ancient intercontinental lakes during their long history went through differen... more Ecosystems of deep ancient intercontinental lakes during their long history went through different stages of development. Due to geological transformations and global climatic variability environmental conditions became more or less favourable for water organisms. ...

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 1996

The East African Lakes Tanganyika, Malawi and Victoria each harbour hundreds of endemic invertebr... more The East African Lakes Tanganyika, Malawi and Victoria each harbour hundreds of endemic invertebrate and vertebrate species. Inferences about the ecological and evolutionary processes responsible for the origin of these species flocks will only be possible when they are made within historical and comparative frameworks. Specifically, the relative importance of intrinsic characteristics and extrinsic factors may offer information about the processes that drive diversification and speciation in these species. We investigated the sequence variation of a segment of the mitochondrial DNA control region of 32 populations representing all four nominal species in the three genera of eretmodine cichlids from Lake Tanganyika. Based on a phylogenetic analysis of these data we attempted to evaluate the importance of major lake level fluctuations on patterns of intralacustrine speciation. The geography of genetic variation reveals a high degree of within-lake endemism among genetically well-sepa...

The subfamily Dendromurinae has occupied various systematic positions in the different classifica... more The subfamily Dendromurinae has occupied various systematic positions in the different classifications of the Muroidea and different genera have been attributed to this taxon (e.g. Lindsay 1988, Chaline et al. 1977). For example, the genus Deomys (Thomas, 1888), originally believed to be a link between the cricetid and murid rodents, has subsequently been attributed to the Dendromurinae. Alston, 1896 ; to its own subfamily Deomyinae Ellerma'n, 1941, before being reallocated to the Dendrom:urinae by Rosevear (1969) and Meester and Setzer (1971), (see also Musser and Carleton 1993). A recent study using morphological and DNA-DNA hybridisation data concludes that the Dendromurinae are paraphyletic and'that the status of this subfamily. has to be revised (Denys et al. 1995). The present study evaluates this hypothesis by studying a similar set of taxa with another molecular marker. We compare an UPGMA-tree based upon DNA-DNA hybridisation data (Denys et al. 1995) with 'a'mitochondrial DNA phylogeny based upon parsimony an'alyses of a portion of the cytOchrome b gene (cyt b). DNA was isolated from tissue samples of the collections of the department of biology of the University of Antwerp (RUCA). This study concerns 10 spedes representing the Murinae Illiger, 1815, Cricetomyinae Roberts, 1951, Dendromurinae Alston, 1896 and Gerbillinae Gray, 1825. We sequenced a portion of the mitochondrial cyt b gene of 2 specimens/species of Arvicanthis nairobae J.A. Allen, 1909; Cricetomys gambianus Waterhouse, 1840; Lophuromys flavopunctatus Thomlls, 1888; Deomys ferrugineus Thomas, 1888 and one specimen/species of Steatomys krebsii Peters, 1852 ; Steatomys pratensis Peters, 1846 ; Tatera valida (Bocage, 1890) ; Taterillus gracilis (Thomas, 1892); Hybomys univittatus (Peters, 1876) and, one specimen of an Hybomys species to be described yet. ,PCR-reactions and DNA sequencing protocols have been described elsewhere (Verheyen et al. 1995). The primers used to amplify a 402 bp long cyt b gene segment were L13724 (5'-cgaagcttgatatgaaaaaccatcgttg-3') and H14139 (5'-aaactgcagcccctcagaatgatatttgtcctca-3', Kocher et al. 1989). The cyt b sequences (see annex) as well as information about the origin of the used specimens are available upon request.

This article verifies the hypothesis that rodents are sensitive to the effects of habitat fragmen... more This article verifies the hypothesis that rodents are sensitive to the effects of habitat fragmentation in the Masako nature reserve. We trapped rats along transects crossing three different land cover types (fallow, edge habitat and secondary forest) by means of « clapette » type traps. A total of 653 collected individuals enabled to determine the response of species to edge effects and to classify them on the basis of their abundances. Only the most abundant species (n ≥ 50 individuals) were used in this study. The collected data reveal that in the edge zone, Deomys ferrugineus, Hybomys univittatus and Hylomyscus stella are characterised by abundances which are intermediate to those of the adjacent habitats whereas Praomys jacksoni showed a lower abundance. D. ferrugineus was shown more abundant in the secondary forest; H. univittatus and H. stella were characterised by higher abundances for fallow land cover. The statistical analyses showed that D. ferrugineus, H. univittatus and H. stella are species with response type IV (abundances in the edge are intermediate to those of the adjacent habitats). D. ferrugineus prefers the secondary forest to the fallow land whereas H. univittatus and H. stella prefer the fallow land to the secondary forest. Praomys jacksoni is found to be a species with response type II, i.e. it is more frequently found in the interior habitat (fallow and secondary forest) and seems to avoid the zone of contact (edge). This study evidences the existence of edge effects and underlines their importance for biodiversity conservation in tropical forest ecosystems.

Page 1. 79 Chapter 5 DNA Barcoding Amphibians and Reptiles Miguel Vences , Zoltán T. Nagy , Gontr... more Page 1. 79 Chapter 5 DNA Barcoding Amphibians and Reptiles Miguel Vences , Zoltán T. Nagy , Gontran Sonet , and Erik Verheyen Abstract Only a few major research programs are currently targeting COI barcoding of amphibians ...

Since Darwins‟ “The Origin of Species” there has been a continued interest to gain insight in the... more Since Darwins‟ “The Origin of Species” there has been a continued interest to gain insight in the way species are formed. Initially, the role of geographic isolation in speciation received most attention, as it was believed that the spatial separation of populations formed the most important barrier for reproduction. It is now clear however that other factors than geographic isolation, such as sexual selection or environmental changes, contribute to speciation. Although the external processes influencing speciation have been the subject of many studies, the genetic basis of the speciation process itself remains largely unknown.

SIL Proceedings, 1922-2010

Diversity, 2021

The Atchakpa freshwater reservoir (Ouémé Basin, Benin) was found to harbour an unexpected populat... more The Atchakpa freshwater reservoir (Ouémé Basin, Benin) was found to harbour an unexpected population of a cichlid species that was presumed to be Sarotherodon melanotheron. This species became dominant in the reservoir and became the main fisheries target species. We applied DNA barcoding to identify this population. Besides specimens from the reservoir, we also sequenced S. melanotheron from its native range in Benin at the lower Ouémé and Sô Rivers, and from Lake Nokoué, and Porto-Novo Lagoon. High sequence similarity indicated that all specimens were conspecific. Hence, we cannot exclude that a natural range extension led to the presence of the species in the reservoir. A comparison with sequences from NCBI GenBank confirmed that all samples belonged to the subspecies S. m. melanotheron, which is native to Benin. This comparison also showed that this subspecies was previously introduced in the Philippines. We call for further studies to investigate the socioeconomic, ecological a...

Background: Squeaker catfishes (Pisces, Mochokidae, Synodontis) are widely distributed throughout... more Background: Squeaker catfishes (Pisces, Mochokidae, Synodontis) are widely distributed throughout Africa and inhabit a biogeographic range similar to that of the exceptionally diverse cichlid fishes, including the three East African Great Lakes and their surrounding rivers. Since squeaker catfishes also prefer the same types of habitats as many of the cichlid species, we hypothesized that the East African Synodontis species provide an excellent model group for comparative evolutionary and phylogeographic analyses. Results: Our analyses reveal the existence of six major lineages of Synodontis in East Africa that diversified about 20 MYA from a Central and/or West African ancestor. The six lineages show a clear geographic patterning. Two lineages are endemic to Lake Tanganyika (plus one non-endemic representative), and these are the only two Synodontis lineages that diversified further into a small array of species. One of these species is the cuckoo catfish (S. multipunctatus), a unique brood parasite of mouthbrooding haplochromine cichlids, which seems to have evolved in parallel with the radiation of its cichlid host lineage, the Tropheini. We also detect an accelerated rate of molecular evolution in S. multipunctatus, which might be the consequence of co-evolutionary dynamics. Conclusion: We conclude that the ancestral lineage of today's East African squeaker catfish fauna has colonized the area before the Great Lakes have formed. This ancestor diversified rapidly into at least six lineages that inhabit lakes and rivers in East Africa. Lake Tanganyika is the only lake harboring a small species flock of squeaker catfishes.

Comptes Rendus Biologies, 2019

The taxonomy of African shrew species is still unresolved due to their conserved morphology. This... more The taxonomy of African shrew species is still unresolved due to their conserved morphology. This also affects knowledge concerning their geographic distribution. In Nigeria, using mitochondrial Cytochrome b gene sequences, we carried out a survey for shrews from the genus Crocidura across various ecological zones to determine taxa that are present and also to assess their phylogeographic structure. Our analyses include 183 specimens collected with Sherman traps from 19 localities around the country. We detected six taxa: Crocidura olivieri lineages II, III and IV, C. hildegardeae, C. jouvenetae, and C. foxi. Among these, C. hildegardeae and C. jouvenetae are reported in Nigeria for the first time. Phylogenetic comparison of our genetic sequences to those generated from other parts of Africa demonstrate that all species in our study, as currently defined, are in need of taxonomic revision. Geographically, Nigeria seems to represent the easternmost boundary for C. olivieri lineage II and C. jouvenetae, and the western distribution limit of C. olivieri lineage IV and C. hildegardeae. The Niger River appears to be the most significant topographical barrier restricting these taxa. This information is vital to preserving the diversity but also managing the epidemiological potential of these small mammals.

European Journal of Taxonomy, 2017

In 1966, Robert William Hayman, Xavier Misonne and Walter Verheyen published their listing of the... more In 1966, Robert William Hayman, Xavier Misonne and Walter Verheyen published their listing of the Congolese, Rwandan and Burundian bat specimens in the collections in the museums of Tervuren, Brussels, Geneva, London and New York. In the fifty years that have passed since, some major changes have been introduced in the taxonomy of the Chiroptera: new species have been discovered, species have been split off, species have been moved to other genera, and additional material has been collected. We re-evaluated the data presented by Hayman et al., and supplemented this with specimen records found in the literature and in online catalogs. This resulted in 136 species, represented by 20 231 specimens (compared to 113 species and 8567 specimens originally). When available, we also recorded additional information such as locality, sex and age, collector, collection date and preservation type of the voucher specimen. The distribution maps of the Congolese taxa are revised to represent the cu...