Kompetenzzentrum für Biodiversität und integrative Taxonomie (KomBioTa)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hohpublica.uni-hohenheim.de/handle/123456789/79

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Enhanced crop diversity but not smaller field size benefit bats in agricultural landscapes
(2025) Hiller, Thomas; Gall, Friederike; Grass, Ingo; Hiller, Thomas; Ecology of Tropical Agricultural Systems, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Gall, Friederike; Ecology of Tropical Agricultural Systems, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Grass, Ingo; Ecology of Tropical Agricultural Systems, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
Context: Farmland biodiversity continues to decline due to the expansion and intensification of agriculture. Historically, efforts to conserve farmland biodiversity have focused on conserving habitats outside agricultural production areas. More recently, attention has turned to the conservation potential of the cropland matrix, where reducing field size and increasing crop diversity to promote crop heterogeneity can significantly benefit farmland biodiversity. Bats are one group of farmland species that have experienced dramatic declines over recent decades. Objectives: Here we investigated the effects of crop heterogeneity (crop diversity, field size) and landscape structural elements (e.g. length of linear structures, distance to forest, proportion of semi-natural habitat) on the activity of bat functional groups. Results: Increasing crop diversity led to greater bat activity, especially for open space foraging bats. However, contrary expectations, bat activity was not affected by heterogeneity in crop configuration, i.e. field edge density. Furthermore, structural landscape elements, including hedgerows and distance to forest, were important predictors of bat activity, especially for species that hunt in highly cluttered spaces. While crop diversity clearly benefited bat activity, the lack of effect of crop configurational heterogeneity on bat foraging activity may suggest heterogeneityarea trade-offs and intensive pesticide use in small-scale vegetable production. Conclusions: Therefore, in addition to maintaining high levels of crop diversity, promoting hedgerows and tree lines between farmland and woodland may facilitate bat activity across the agricultural landscape matrix. The combination of high crop heterogeneity and structural elements provides favorable hunting grounds for bats and may promote their conservation in agricultural landscapes.
High genetic diversity of Echinococcus canadensis G10 in northeastern Asia: Is it the region of origin?
(2023) Wassermann, Marion; Addy, Francis; Kokolova, Ludmila; Okhlopkov, Innokentiy; Leibrock, Sarah; Oberle, Jenny; Oksanen, Antti; Romig, Thomas
Echinococcus canadensis consists of 4 genotypes: G6, G7, G8 and G10. While the first 2 predominantly infect domestic animals, the latter are sylvatic in nature involving mainly wolves and cervids as hosts and can be found in the northern temperate to Arctic latitudes. This circumstance makes the acquisition of sample material difficult, and little information is known about their genetic structure. The majority of specimens analysed to date have been from the European region, comparatively few from northeast Asia and Alaska. In the current study, Echinococcus spp. from wolves and intermediate hosts from the Republic of Sakha in eastern Russia were examined. Echinococcus canadensis G10 was identified in 15 wolves and 4 cervid intermediate hosts. Complete mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) sequences were obtained from 42 worm and cyst specimens from Sakha and, for comparison, from an additional 13 G10 cysts from Finland. For comparative analyses of the genetic diversity of G10 of European and Asian origin, all available cox1 sequences from GenBank were included, increasing the number of sequences to 99. The diversity found in northeast Asia was by far higher than in Europe, suggesting that the geographic origin of E. canadensis (at least of G10) might be northeast Asia.
Reduced body mass in a highly insectivorous mammal, the garden dormouse — ecological consequences of insect decline?
(2025) Erhardt, Stefanie; Förschler, Marc I.; Fietz, Joanna; Erhardt, Stefanie; Department of Zoology, Institute of Biology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Förschler, Marc I.; Department for Ecological Monitoring, Research and Species Protection, Black Forest National Park, Seebach, Germany; Fietz, Joanna; Department of Zoology, Institute of Biology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
Biodiversity is decreasing worldwide, and early indicators are needed to identify endangered populations before they start to decline in abundance. In mammals, body mass (BM) is regarded as an indicator of fitness, and its loss is used as an early warning signal preceding population decline. The garden dormouse ( Eliomys quercinus , Gliridae, BM: 60–110 g) is a small mammalian hibernator that has disappeared from over 50% of its former range in the last decades. The aim of this study was to investigate whether garden dormice from a presumably thriving and stable population already show early warning signals, which may precede a population decline. We therefore conducted capture‐mark‐recapture studies during 2003–2005 (Period 1) and 2018–2021 (Period 2) in the Northern Black Forest, one of its last natural distribution areas in Germany. We collected fecal samples, measured BM, and tibia length as a proxy for size and age. Results revealed that in Period 2 adult dormice had a significantly lower (12%) pre‐hibernation BM, corrected for body size, and juveniles showed a significantly lower BM gain after weaning than nearly two decades ago. Fecal samples collected in Period 2 showed that arthropods represented the main food residues in fecal samples during juvenile growth and pre‐hibernation fattening. Ambient temperature during hibernation showed no correlation with BM at emergence. We could not detect a phenological time shift in reproduction; however, we found only one birth peak in Period 2, compared with two birth peaks in Period 1. Observed changes in BM and reproduction pattern represent early warning signals, as they point to an insufficient availability of high‐quality food, which prevents dormice from meeting their nutritional requirements, with potentially serious consequences for their reproductive success and survival. As arthropods are the dominant food resource, their decline may at least partly explain this phenomenon.

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