Research

Funding: DFG SI 1462/4-2, 210.000 EUR

Project Details:
The central aim of the first phase of our project was to correlate subzero membrane phase and permeability properties of sperm with their ability to survive freezing and thawing. In addition, biomolecular stability of freeze-dried sperm and physical properties of glasses for dry preservation have been investigated. We discovered that ice formation triggers a membrane phase transition, which is dependent on the ice nucleation temperature, the cooling rate, and the type of cryoprotective agent that is used. Freezing-induced membrane phase changes were used to investigate the cell membrane permeability to water allowing prediction of optimal cooling rates for cryopreservation. Furthermore, we discovered that membranes become permeable for molecules for which they are normally impermeable during freezing, while the cells survive freezing zu beladen. We found that simply exposing cells to freezing can thus be used to load cells with membrane impermeable lyoprotective agents, such as sucrose or trehalose, which preserves chromatin in freeze-dried sperm even under accelerated aging conditions. Whereas in the first phase of this project water and solute transport processes have been predominantly studied at the cellular and membrane level, in the next phase this will be extended to the tissue level and multiple component solutions. Membrane transport parameters of oocytes for water and cryoprotective agents will be determined from cell volume responses in a microfluidic device. Membrane permeabilization during loading cells with cryoprotective agents will be investigated by studying uptake of membrane-impermeable molecules. It is planned to investigate if sodium ions also pass membranes during freezing and if freezing in reduced sodium increases cryosurvival. Diffusion of protective molecules in ovarian tissues and concomitant dehydration will be investigated to develop a mass transport model, which will allow to correlate distribution of protectants with cryosuriviva. Storage stability of cryopreserved specimens will be investigated by studying molecular mobility and membrane transport processes near the glass transition temperature with the aim to develop formulations allowing cryogenic storage at higher temperatures.

Funding: Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft durch die Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung, 671.093 EUR

Project Details:
Thailand and Cambodia are both affected by malnutrition of children and mothers, be it by the by the sheer number of persons suffering from it (Thailand), be it by the high percentage of the general population (Cambodia). While consuming insects (entomophagy) has a long tradition in these countries and is relatively widespread, this tradition involves gathering from the wild and subsequent preparation and consumption of the fresh or frozen insects. On one hand, if food insects, because of their nutritional benefits, are to play a major role in providing food for mankind, farming rather than collecting from the wild will be necessary. These techniques, already practiced in some parts of Thailand and Cambodia, have the potential to be used as mini-livestock by families, as many insect species may be raised sustainably on agricultural side streams with less ecological impact as more typical livestock. On the other hand, rearing insects is prone to create surpluses in insect production, making preservation techniques necessary to ensure food safety by extending shelf life. These novel products may be produced for the family or sold at local markets creating an extra income.
IFNext attends these needs. The overall goal is to produce insects sustainably for the own consumption resp. to generate products that can be sold on the market and that actually meet the expectations of farmers and consumers alike.

Cooperation Partners:

Dr. Rachakris Lertpatarakomol, MUT: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mahanakorn University of Technology (มหาวิทยาลัยเทคโนโลยีมหานคร)

Dr. Keo Sath, RUA: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Royal University of Agriculture (សាកលវិទ្យាល័យភូមិន្ទកសិកម)

Dr. Chhay Ty, LDC: Centre for Livestock and Agricultural Development (មជ្ឈមណ្ឌលអភិវឌ្ឍន៍ការចិញ្ចឹមសត្វ និងកសិកម្ម)

Dr. Jamlong Mitchaothai, KMITL: Faculty of Agricultural Technology, King Mongkut?s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (สถาบันเทคโนโลยีพระจอมเกล้าเจ้าคุณทหารลาดกระบัง)

Funding: Bundesanstalt für Gewässerkunde (BfG); Projektleitung in der BfG: Dr. Thomas Taupp, Referat U4 Tierökologie, 230.122 EUR

Project Details:
The estuary of the Elbe is exposed to significant anthropogenic activities such as commercial shipping, fishing, deepening and recreational activities. The estuary is the entrance to the Port of Hamburg and the Kiel Canal - the Elbe is thus one of the busiest waterways in Europe.
Despite the strong anthropogenic use, marine top predators from the North Sea regularly enter the Elbe. Rich fishing grounds attract not only porpoises to the port of Hamburg, but also seals use the Elbe and can be seen at low tide on the then exposed tidal flats. However, it is unclear to what extent seals use the tidal Elbe, in which areas they forage, if they exhibit site fidelity and whether there is a regular exchange with animals from the North Sea.
For this reason, up to 10 harbour seals will be briefly caught at various haul-outs in the tidal Elbe, will be checked for their health and subsequently equipped with special bio-telemetry tags ("SMRU GPS Phone Tags"). Since seals spend most of their lives in the water, where it is difficult to observe them, telemetry (recording of behavioral and environmental data using electronic devices) is a very useful method for assessing behavior, habitat use and interactions between the animals and their environment. The tags record the movements and the diving behavior of the animals in detail and then send the data via the local mobile phone network, which enables a live tracking of the seals. The data obtained will give an insight into the space use, the site fidelity and the home ranges, and will also allow an estimate of possible conflicts, e.g. with the shipping traffic in the Elbe.
In addition, in the course of the catches, various samples are to be taken for further analyses (e.g., heavy metal pollution, exposure to organochemical substances and diet analyses).

Results:

Final Report:

Tracking and survey of harbor seals in the Tidal Elbe River.

https://sync.academiccloud.de/index.php/s/l4KcvGJBNRprh4j

Funding: Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung, 344.512 EUR

Project Details:
The aim of the project is to establish an innovative husbandry concept within the framework of the model and demonstration project (MuD) in selected practical farms with broiler chicken husbandry, which meets the high demands on animal welfare and the environment. The following approaches are being worked on within the framework of the project:
-Structuring of the fattening house by installing an additional level with a manure belt for species-appropriate resting, drying and removal of manure and an animal-friendly removal of slaughter animals.
-Establishment of activity zones in the barn, providing animals with options for pecking and dust bathing.
Separate-sex fattening by dividing the house lengthwise into two areas with a net/grid.
-Adapted feeding by protein reduction with supplementation of some essential and semi-essential amino acids (Dl-methionine, valine, isoleucine, gycin). This should produce less N-volatile substances, improve the pollutant gas concentrations in the barn and reduce the nutrient loads in the manure.

Cooperation Partners:

Landwirtschaftskammer Niedersachsen

Praxisbetriebe

Funding: Bundesministerium für Umwelt-, Naturschutz und nukleare Sicherheit über Kuratorium für Technik und Bauwesen in der Landwirtschaft, 26.729 EUR

Project Details:
The aim of the project is to describe, analyse and evaluate existing, innovative and particularly forward-looking husbandry practices and techniques for emission reduction on the basis of the BAT (Best Available Technique) criteria and the IED Directive and following the BAT Reference Document on Intensive Animal Husbandry.

Funding: Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft , 190.960 EUR

Project Details:
Animals have become a core moral issue in Western societies. All those who earn their money from animals should be able to think through their position and present it in a well-considered manner. However, the experiences of recent years also show how relatively quiet the voices from agriculture are in an ever louder concert on this topic. In this sense, a solid project on ethics in livestock farming serves the purpose of self-positioning internally and the ability to engage in discourse externally. The basis of the project is to be a well-founded, applied ethical analysis of the current debate on animal husbandry, from which a handbook will be centrally produced.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Results:

EthOrNu should offer "ethical orientation for livestock farming" in several respects: It should make the moral discourses in society more understandable for those involved who earn their money from livestock farming, and at the same time create an offer to position themselves in these discourses. Conversely, it is intended to open up relevant agricultural expertise for those interested in ethical issues and to help them make informed judgments about animal husbandry. The novelty lies in this bridge, which can be crossed from both sides. Only by combining both elements is it possible to make a competent assessment of the real and concrete conditions in livestock farming. The central building block for this is the creation of a handbook that presents relevant knowledge in an attractive way for both sides and opens up the possibility of further use. From the handbook, it will be possible to develop materials that also make the results accessible for the specific (initial, further and continuing) training of livestock farmers. Furthermore, central contents and theses from the project were tested in the field, e.g. in a larger presentation of the "decision cascade" at the Animal Welfare Day in Triesdorf (April 2022). The collaboration with the "Responsibility of advisors in livestock farming" project also made it possible to discuss the key ethical content of the handbook with a highly interesting target group, namely agricultural advisors, at several workshops.

Funding: Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Verbraucherschutz, 386.653 EUR

Project Details:
Niederwildbesätze, Lebensraum und Biotopverbesserung
Biotopverbesserungsmaßnahmen im Rahmen von Agrarumweltprogrammen oder Greening sowie die Anlage von Blühflächen und anderen Maßnahmen von Jägern und Naturschützern leisten einen wichtigen Beitrag zum Erhalt der Niederwildbesätze und Agrarvögel; es ist jedoch anzunehmen, dass die bislang realisierten Anteile an naturnahen Flächen (Bracheflächen, Blühstreifen, Feld- und Grabenränder, Hecken sowie Gehölze) für eine umfassende Erholung der Niederwildbesätze nicht ausreichen und höhere Flächenanteile zu fordern sind.
In diesem Projekt sind folgende Maßnahmen geplant:

- Erstellung einer zusammenfassenden Übersicht der bisher realisierten verschiedenen Maßnahmenflächen als auch der naturnahen, permanenten Habitatstrukturen auf regionaler und lokaler Ebene im Verhältnis zu den konventionell (und ökologisch) bewirtschaften Agrarflächen
- Modellierung des Zusammenhanges der Populationsentwicklungen der letzten 10 - 20 Jahre und der Populationsdichten von Hase, Fasan und Rebhuhn in Zusammenhang mit den Lebensraumfaktoren (Anbaukulturen etc.), der Habitatstrukturen (Grenzlinien, Habitatstrukturen, Diversität etc.) auf regionaler Ebene in Niedersachsen
- Bewertung der Effektivität von Agrarumweltprogrammen, Greening- und anderen Biotopverbesserungsmaßnahmen auf die Niederwildpopulationen unter Berücksichtigung der Witterung anhand von Wetterdaten (z.B. Temperatur, Niederschlag, Frosttage, Extremwetterlagen etc.) des Deutschen Wetterdienstes
- Habitatstruktur- und Bodennutzungskartierungen sowie die Scheinwerferzählungen erfolgen in ausgewählten und teils seit 1994 beteiligten Referenzreviere verteilt über Niedersachsen,
- in Gebieten mit einem höheren Anteil an Maßnahmenflächen werden neue Referenzreviere akquiriert und kartiert, speziell Pilotprojektgebiete für das Niederwild werden bevorzugt als Referenzgebiete eingerichtet,
- angestrebt wird die Bearbeitung und Einrichtung von 30-50 Referenzreviere, die nach Projektende selbstständig unter Anleitung durch Mitarbeiter der Landesjägerschaft Niedersachsen im Rahmen der Wildtiererfassung und des bundesweiten Wildtier-Informationssystems der Länder Deutschlands weiterhin Scheinwerferzählungen durchführen sollen.

Funding: CEPI, 821.851 EUR

Project Details:
Rift Valley Fever Impfstoffentwicklung

Funding: DFG, 176.898 EUR

Project Details:
Abwehrschwächen gegenüber Infektionen und ihre Kontrolle

Funding: DFG, 214.427 EUR

Project Details:
Virus detection, pathogenesis and intervention