Chris Van Liefferinge

University of Antwerp | UA · Department of Biology

In 2003 trof de Vlaamse Milieu Maatschappij (VMM) bij een waterkwaliteitstaalname in de Dorpbronbeek een rivierdonderpad (Cottus sp.) aan. In dit bovenloopje van de Kleine Gete nabij Linter komt de laatste (gekende) natuurlijke rivierdonderpadpopulatie van het Demerbekken op Vlaamse bodem voor. Door de beperkte afmetingen van de beek en de toenemen...

Microhabitat suitability models are useful tools to enhance the reintroduction success of fish. Since 2008, a translocation and reintroduction program has been carried out in Flanders to prevent substantial loss of genetic variability in the Cottus perifretum (bullhead) population, and to meet the goals set by the Habitat Directive. To this end, ha...

Bullhead is a small, bottom-dwelling freshwater fish species. It used to be common in Flanders (Belgium) but nowadays only few and isolated populations remain. Consequently bullhead is listed as IUCN susceptible in the national Red List and fully protected. It is also listed in the EC Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). Management should aim to conserv...

The aim of this study was to combine different lines of evidence on the impact of chemical pollution on benthic invertebrate communities in three European river basins (Elbe, Scheldt, and Llobregat). The study integrates chemical analyses, a battery of different sediment toxicity tests, and field data from soft-sediment meio- and macrobenthic fauna...

Implementation of the Controlled Reduced Tide (CRT) technique could increase the total surface of tidal freshwater marshes in Europe and ease implementation of restoration projects in coastal defense and riverine ecosystems. The goal was to determine whether a regularly flooded area connected to a freshwater tidal river could act as an important fo...

Bullhead is a small bottom-dwelling freshwater cottid. It is endangered in most of Western Europe. Consequently it is listed in the EC Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC. In Belgium two indigenous species occur: Cottus perifretumin the Scheldt River drainage and Cottus rhenanusin the Meuse River drainage.

De rivierdonderpad is een klein zoetwatervisje dat behoort tot de familie van de Cottidae en goed aangepast is aan zijn leven als bodembewoner. In België komen er van nature twee rivierdonderpadsoorten voor: Cottus perifretum, in het stroomgebied van de Schelde, en Cottus rhenanus, in het stroomgebied van de Maas (Volckaert et al., 2002). Vroeger k...

Until 2003 Cottus perifretum was believed to be extinct from the Demer River basin in Flanders, Belgium. However, that year a relict population of this bullhead species was found in the Dorpbronbeek. The Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) and the Agency for Nature and Forests (ANB) launched a conservation project to preserve this popul...

The existence of two morphotypes, broadheaded and narrowheaded, in European eels Anguilla anguilla is common knowledge among fishermen and eel biologists in Europe. To test whether European eels really are dimorphic in head shape, a total of 277 specimens from two locations in Belgium (Scheldt–Lippenbroek and Lake Weerde), in combination with a lar...

The spatial variation in the fish communities of four small Belgian rivers with variable habitat diversity was investigated by electric fishing to define the minimum sampling distance required for optimal fish stock assessment and determination of the Index of Biotic Integrity. This study shows that the standardised sampling distance of 100m was no...

With 3 figures and 7 tables In 2005 and 2006, the macroinvertebrate and nematode community from soft sediment areas in impounded sections of the river Elbe in the Czech Republic near Pardubice was investig-ated. 99 macroinvertebrate taxa, most of them belonging to the Oligochaeta and the Chiro-nomidae, were found with total abundance ranging betwee...

This paper reviews published knowledge on how to deal with invasive species during biological quality assessments in European river systems for water management and assessments of ecological quality required, for example, by the European Water Frame Work Directive. The papers studied included international papers and some standards for water assess...

Door inpoldering en havenuitbreiding is de oppervlakte intergetijdengebieden in het Schelde- estuarium stelselmatig afgenomen. In combinatie met de uitdieping van de Schelde leidt dit tot een sterk toegenomen tij en een verhoogd risico op overstromingen. In het Sigmaplan maakt de uitbreiding van intergetijdengebieden deel uit van de strategie om he...

Microhabitat use and preferences of juvenile and adult bullhead Cottus gobio, from the River Voer, Flanders, were studied and compared across different seasons. Water depth, water velocity near the substratum, surface water velocity and substratum type used by C. gobio differed between seasons. These differences, however, were not attributable to d...

From 1994 to 2000, 154 sites belonging to the grayling and trout zones were used to develop a fish-based multimetric Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) as a tool to assess upstream brooks in Flanders (Belgium). All sites had a slope of at least 3 and a maximum width of 4.5m. Fish assemblages were surveyed by electrofishing. From 28 candidate metrics 9...