The decline of insects threatens many ecosystems worldwide. While the effects of pesticides are well researched, there has been a lack of knowledge about the effects of other anthropogenic pollutants. Animal ecologists at the University of Bayreuth have now studied the effects of diesel exhaust particles on bumblebees for the first time. In two new studies, they show that these fine dust particles can significantly damage the organism of bumblebees if they are permanently ingested through food. The Bavarian State Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection funded the research work as part of the BayÖkotox project network.
In long-lived lakes that existed for millions of years freshwater snails developed a particularly high diversity of species. A new study by SNSB paleobiologist Thomas A. Neubauer now shows the importance of these ecosystems for the evolution of freshwater snails on a global and deep-time scale. Neubauer has summarized the evolutionary history of snails in freshwater ecosystems over the past 340 million years. Analysis of literature and available data on distributions and diversity of species through time led to a new understanding of long-lived lakes as islands of evolution.
The goal of the new joint project "ProcessPig" is to promote animal-welfare oriented pig husbandry and to reduce environmentally harmful emissions. Prof. Dr. Agnes Koschmider, Chair of Business & Information Systems Engineering and Process Analytics, is cooperating with numerous research institutions, companies and farms in this project. The main goal is the development of a digital monitoring system that records and analyses the behavioural patterns of pigs in freely ventilated barns. The EU is funding the project with more than 484,000 euros over the next three years as part of the European Innovation Partnership for Agriculture (EIP Agri).
An international study published in „Nature“ shows for the first time on a global scale for what reasons and to what extent tree species invade ecosystems where they are not native. A total of 226 scientists from 54 countries in all continents contributed to this study on invasive tree species. PD Dr. Andreas Hemp from the University of Bayreuth studied 65 plots at different altitudes on Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
Ants understand if a place is easily crowded just by looking at it, and use this knowledge to avoid overcrowded food sources in advance, without actually seeing the overcrowding
If you uncover a piece of soil in your garden with a spade, you will see a seemingly unspectacular crumbly structure when looking at the piece with your naked eye. "But the soil is subject to constant change – with immediate consequences for issues of food security or climate change", explains Prof. Dr. Nadja Ray. She holds the Chair of Geomatics and Geomathematics at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (KU).
How do solitary bees and wasps recognize their homes? Biologists Dr. Sylvie Vandenabeele and Professor Thomas Schmitt investigated this question. They were able to demonstrate the importance of olfactory markers.
For nearly twenty years, the Floodplain Institute of Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt has been researching the effects of restoration measures on water bodies and floodplain landscapes. Meanwhile, KU geographers are among the leading researchers in this field. Their expertise, which they have gathered in a model project in the Danube floodplains between Neuburg and Ingolstadt, is now being incorporated into an environmental program of the European Union.
In the northwest of the Republic of Chad, in a remote desert region of the Tibesti Mountains, there are irrigated gardens divided into floors for the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, herbs and dates. Dr. habil. Tilman Musch, a social anthropologist at the University of Bayreuth, established these Sahara gardens in close cooperation with local residents. He reports on the goals, challenges and successes of the project, which has been funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation since 2021 and follows on from earlier traditions of oasis horticulture in the Sahara, in the journal "Berichte über Landwirtschaft" published by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL).
Most plants worldwide live in symbiosis with fungi. Often there is an exchange of nutrients from which both partners benefit. In numerous other cases, however, the plants feed unilaterally at the expense of the fungi. International research groups led by Prof. Dr. Gerhard Gebauer at the University of Bayreuth have now presented a groundbreaking method in the journal "New Phytologist" that makes it possible for the first time to apply isotope analyses to all forms of symbiosis between plants and fungi without restrictions. In principle, it will be possible in the future to determine for each plant which and how many nutrients it obtains from fungal partners.
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