Research

Project Details:
Ohrerkrankungen, insbesondere Otitiden, stellen einen wichtigen Erkrankungskomplex bei Heimtierkaninchen dar. Die Arbeit soll die verschiedenen Therapieoptionen (konservative Verfahren versus chirurgische Behandlungsmöglichkeiten) vergleichend analysieren. Des Weiteren sollen etwaige Spätfolgen und das Auftreten von Rezidiven anhand von klinischen und bildgebenden Verfahren systematisch untersucht werden, um Rückschlüsse auf gewählte Therapieoptionen ziehen zu können.

Project Details:
In der Studie werden die Daten der eingelieferten Wildsäuger der letzten 10 Jahre sowie des aktuellen Jahres 2021 statistisch erfasst und ausgewertet.

Die Studie hat folgende Ziele:
-Statistische Darstellung von Tierart, Erkrankung, Therapie, Dauer des stationären Aufenthaltes sowie dem weiteren Verlauf
-Erhebung der Behandlungskosten
-Gewinn von wissenschaftlich fundierten Erkenntnissen bezüglich der Heilungsmöglichkeiten bei Wildsäugern
-Entwicklung eines Leitfadens zur Entscheidungsfindung bezüglich der Rehabilitation bzw. Euthanasie von Wildsäugern unter Berücksichtigung des rechtlichen Rahmens

Neben der Auswertung der im Rahmen der Diagnostik erhaltenen Befunde soll zusätzliches Augenmerk auf den Parasitenstatus jedes Tieres gelegt werden. Außerdem sollen euthanasierte und verstorbene Tiere mit unklarer Todesursache seziert und veränderte Organe histopathologisch und ggf. mikrobiologisch untersucht werden. Der retrospektive Teil soll alle erhobenen Daten zu eingelieferten Wildsäugern statistisch erfassen, die im Zeitraum der Jahre 2010 - 2020 erhoben wurden.

Project Details:
Im Rahmen dieser Studie werden zum einen die An- und Herausforderungen untersucht, mit denen sich die Studierenden im Übergang in das Hochschulleben konfrontiert sehen.
Dazu soll im Besonderen erfasst werden, welche Ansprüche speziell das Studium der Veterinärmedizin in dieser Phase stellt. Zum anderen werden die bereits bestehenden Angebote untersucht, die das selbstregulierte Lernen der Studierenden fördern. Zusätzlich wird in dieser Arbeit weiterer Bedarf der Studierenden bezüglich der institutionellen Hilfestellung insbesondere in diesem Studienabschnitt ermittelt.

Results:

Zintl, Jana (2022): Untersuchungen zum selbstregulierten Lernen in der Studieneingangsphase der Veterinärmedizin an der Tierärztlichen Hochschule Hannover. Online unter: https://elib.tiho-hannover.de/receive/tiho_mods_00007949

Project Details:
Im Rahmen dieser Studie im Zentrum für E-Learning, Didaktik und
Ausbildungsforschung der Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover soll die
aufgrund der COVID-19-Pandemie eingesetzte hybride Form der universitären Lehre
auf ihre Nachhaltigkeit und die Übertragbarkeit auf vergleichbare Situationen
untersucht und mit der Lehre in einer rein digitalen Form sowie der reinen
Präsenzlehre verglichen werden. Im Fokus dieser Arbeit stehen das Wintersemester
2020/2021 sowie das Sommersemester 2021. Die hybride Form wird hier als
Kombination aus Präsenz- und digitaler Lehre definiert.

Results:

Naundorf, Hannah (2022): Untersuchung der Hybridsemester-Lehre während der COVID-19-Pandemie an der Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover.

Funding: SP Europäische Innovationspartnerschaften (Landwirtschaftskammer Niedersachsen), 89.794 EUR

Project Details:
In two pig farms in three subsequent nursery periods animal health data, daily weight gain and
treatments will be compared between two identical piglet rearing compartments. In one
compartment the drinking water pipes will be cleaned prior to arrival of piglets by an innovative
cleaning process. The cleaning process combines mechanical cleaning forces using a mobile
flushing device equipped with a constant pressure system, with a new chemical cleaning concept.
The cleaning substance is based on the synergistic interaction of vitamins, organic acids, metal
ions and detergents, each of which attacking different target structures of pathogens. The
process resulted in a strong antimicrobial efficacy and in destruction of extracellular nucleic acids
(e.g. genes coding for resistance against antimicrobials). The effectiveness of the cleaning
process will be verified by chemical and microbiological examination of water pipe deposits prior
to and after cleaning. The cost-effectiveness of the process will be evaluated by performance
data, expenditure of time and material costs.

Project Details:
The aim of this project is to characterize the situation of S. suis-related disease outbreaks on farms. The main influence of PRRSV circulation on farms, specific S. suis genotypes and pathotypes on tonsils and predefined environmental factors on the occurrence and development of S. suis-related disease will be assessed. The aim is to elaborate recommendations for practice with regard to outbreak prevention on farms.

Cooperation Partners:

Kooperationspartner des EU Projektes PigsSuis (PROGRAM FOR INNOVATIVE GLOBAL PREVENTION OF STREPTOCOCCUS SUIS, Referenznummer 727966

Funding: Ministerium für Energiewende, Landwirtschaft, Umwelt, Natur und Digitalisierung, 199.000 EUR

Project Details:
The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) population is still recolonizing large areas of Germany and nowadays inhabits almost all parts of the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein (SH). In the context of rising otter numbers, various conflicts appear on the agenda, such as road traffic as the main cause of death of otters, contamination of water bodies or the interface between fisheries and otter protection. Otters found dead can play a valuable role to answer various scientific questions, as many aspects of the ecology and behavior of this strictly protected and highly elusive species still remain cryptic. Within the first two successful years of a pilot study starting in 2019, a wide network of collaborators was established, who strategically collect all otters found dead in SH and hand them over to ITAW for examination. Over 90 otters from the years 2015-20 (some were stored from previous years) have already been examined. During the standardized post mortem examinations the age and sex of all animals, as well as the nutritional status, are determined and all abnormalities are recorded. Further, a whole spectrum of diagnostics is undertaken, including: histology, bacteriology, virology, parasitology, population genetics, dietary analysis, reproduction analysis and to some extent contaminant analysis. This allows an extensive insight into the current population health status of Eurasian otters. All findings together build a solid base for species protection measures, management decisions and conflicts of interests. The continuation of the project for initially two years is an important step to guarantee a long term data collection and to assess possible population trends of the otter population.

Funding: LKN, 49.979 EUR

Project Details:
Harbour porpoises are representatives of the top predators from the group of mammals in the North Sea and Wadden Sea. With the amendment of the National Park Act in 1999, part of the National Park was explicitly dedicated to harbour porpoise protection, as a high density of mother-calf pairs was found there. As part of the reorganisation of the Federal-and State Marine Programme (BLMP), a programme for joint monitoring of marine mammals was agreed in January 2011, which meets the requirements of monitoring according to the relevant European guidelines and international conventions. In this programme, the Schleswig-Holstein National Park Administration (NPV) in the Schleswig-Holstein State Agency for Coastal Protection, National Parks and Marine Conservation (LKN) has the task of organising, implementing and financing the acoustic monitoring of harbour porpoises. The acoustic surveys for the NPV are carried out by the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research (ITAW) as part of the joint marine mammal monitoring under the BLMP. For this purpose, measuring stations are operated at five specified sites in the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea (Lister Tief, Meldorfer Bucht, Rochelsteert and Westerland) and for the first time in the estuary of the Elbe river (close to the measuring pile ?Zehnerloch?). The monitoring stations are equipped with click detectors (Cetacean-Porpoise Detectors, C-PODs), which record the echolocation activity of harbour porpoises. The C-PODs are maintained and data downloaded on a regular basis. The data obtained are evaluated for optimising the acoustic monitoring as well as necessary extensions for a permanent operation of the measuring stations. The data of this long-term study provide information on a possible rhythm and tidal dependence in the porpoise detections over the course of a day and a year.

Funding: VolkswagenStiftung, 119.800 EUR

Project Details:
Tagging wild animals is important to investigate their behaviour and habitat use. The project "Realising a game changer in tagging wild animals; stress-free instrumentation" is part of the funding initiative ?Experiment? of the Volkswagen Foundation. Its goal is to achieve a less stressful tagging experience for wild animals. To this end, so-called self-affixing smart tags are under development. For this, animals do not need to be caught and immobilized, but they can nevertheless be equipped with new hi-tech devices that inform researchers about their habits. Smart tags are undergoing testing in, and customisation for, several different species. The goal is to reduce any stress experienced by animals while being outfitted with transmitters to make this process more animal-friendly. Another advantage is that data recorded after tagging are immediately usable, rather than researchers having to discard initial data because the animal is behaving aberrantly following capture. Indeed, after attaching the types of transmitters used to date, animals usually display abnormal behaviour, which can lead to considerable deviations in measured data and even to the tagged animal leaving its usual habitat. Animal tagging is employed in many research projects worldwide. The collected data provide information about how animals live, their use of space, energy expenditure, behaviour, and even emotional states. Thus, they provide important information for protection and management. Indeed, such is the power of the approach that it has progressed to a distinct discipline called biologging.

Cooperation Partners:

Prof. Dr. Rory Wilson, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University (SU), Swansea, UK

Funding: Bundesamt für Naturschutz, 478.092 EUR

Project Details:
The species group of marine mammals represents a relevant ecosystem component in German marine waters. According to the latest assessment of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC, MSFD), marine mammals in the North Sea and Baltic Sea have not achieved good conservation status. Good data bases as well as scientifically robust approaches to assessing status are needed to adopt measures that will subsequently lead to good conservation status for the respective populations of marine mammal species. To ensure that these data are as comprehensive, comparable, and area-wide as possible, regional coordination of monitoring and indicators used for assessment is essential. Because marine mammals are highly mobile species, it is also imperative from a scientific perspective to coordinate and review the implementation of indicators and the effectiveness of monitoring at the international level. In addition, the development of the indicators is an important tool for future research concepts in the monitoring field and requires the results, scientific analyses and approaches to the design of the indicators to be brought into the international process.
The goal of this project is to further develop data-based, regionally accepted indicators for assessing the status of marine mammals in the North and Baltic Seas and to bring them to national and regional agreement. Different approaches to assess the status of biodiversity under the MSFD will be developed, refined and harmonized at international, regional and national levels. They are used nationally as well as regionally and internationally in marine conservation conventions (relevant for Germany: Oslo-Paris Commission (OSPAR) and Helsinki Commission (HELCOM)) by numerous bodies and working groups (e.g. under the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES)). The cooperation regarding the MSFD and partially the Council Directive on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora will be organised within the framework of BLANO in Germany.
Scientists at the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research (ITAW) of the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (TiHo) Foundation have in the past developed or implemented national and international research projects as well as monitoring concepts with a focus on marine mammals, so that long-standing data series, expert knowledge and basic principles for the design of indicators are available and can be incorporated into the process. A continuous cooperation is necessary in the various working groups, in order to guarantee a sufficient incorporation of German research results and indicator concepts on international level. This is enabled within the framework of this project.

Cooperation Partners:

Dr. vet. med. Paulo Dorneles