Research

Funding: Teile des Projektes Industrie, Gesellschaft für Kynologische Forschung, BMBF (Lichtenberg-Stipendium), Bruns-Stiftung, GKF, Boehringer-Ingelheim, 110.000 EUR

Project Details:
Hunde mit Krampfanfällen machen ungefähr 10% des neurologischen Patientengutes aus. Im Rahmen dieser Projekte wird versucht, die Diagnostik und Therapie zu verbessern. Magnetresonanzuntersuchungen (MRT) und spezielle EEG-Techniken werden derzeit auf ihre Bedeutung für die Diagnostik in der Praxis evaluiert. Neue Anästhesieprotokolle werden für die EEG Diagnostik untersucht. Die Häufigkeit der Entwicklung von Krampfanfällen nach Trauma soll bei Hund und Katze ermittelt werden. In einer multizentrischen Studie wird die Wirksamkeit neuer antikovulsiv wirkenden Substanzen bzw. neuer Therapiestrategien getestet. Der Einfluss von Endocannabinoiden auf den Krankheitsverlauf wird studiert. Biomarker für die Epileptogenese in Liquor cerebrospinalis und Serum/MRT werden gesucht. Derzeit wird die Th17 Antwort näher beleuchtet, bzw. werden volumetrische Untersuchungen durchgeführt und Therapiemassnahmen überprüft. In einer Studie in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Zuchtverband wird der Phänotyp der idiopathischen Epilepsie des Hundes beim großen Schweizer Sennenhund angesehen.

Cooperation Partners:

multizentrische Studien - mehrere Kleintierpraxen, Universität Bern, Universität München

Funding: Industry (Veterinary pharmaceuticals/Vaccines), 489.252 EUR

Project Details:
Die Impfstoffentwicklung gegen COVID-19 ist von höchster Dringlichkeit, wofür es jedoch zunächst einiger prä-klinischer Experimente bedarf, bevor Studien im Menschen angewandt werden können. MVA-SARS-CoV-2 Impfstoffe sollen hierfür im Tiermodell auf Sicherheit und Immunogenität getestet werden. Dabei soll das Hamstermodell im Vordergrund stehen, da Hamster ein ähnlich aufgebautes ACE-2 Protein exprimieren und sich darüber hinaus schon in der SARS-CoV-1 Forschung als Tiermodell bewährt haben.

Funding: Bundesamt für Gewässerkunde, Koblenz, 29.583 EUR

Project Details:
Dietary analysis of otters found dead are the subject of this study. Relevant otters where dissected as part of a previous project that aimed at investigating anticoagulant rodenticides (rat poison) in predators. During necropsies, all stomachs and the intestinal content of otters was sampled, if available. Continuing, all remains found in the gastrointestinal tracts of the otters were specially prepared to allow identification of prey species. Two methods will be used therein: hard part analysis, which targets visible bones, scales etc., and metabarcoding, which identifies prey species genetically. In combination, both methods together will create a realistic overview of the prey spectrum of otters from Lower Saxony. All results will be presented as a short report.

Results:

The results of the hard component analysis confirm fish as the most frequently eaten prey class of otters in Lower Saxony. Furthermore, components of amphibians, plants, arthropods, and very sporadically of birds, mammals and molluscs were detected in the stomachs. The Cyprinidae family was the most frequently identified fish family. That otters are opportunistic predators that feed on a variety of fish species depending on availability in their range (Kruuk, 2006; Buglione et al., 2020) was confirmed by the metabarcoding results. The study was able to show that the combination of hard component analysis and metabarcoding is suitable to break down and describe the feeding ecology of otters in Lower Saxony. While metabarcoding could identify fish species that would otherwise have been overlooked, hard component analysis could provide estimates of the number of prey eaten.

Funding: Common Wadden Sea Secretariat (CWSS), 4.994 EUR

Project Details:
The Quality Status Report (QSR) is commissioned by the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat (CWSS). The report is published at regular intervals and provides information on the current status of the Wadden Sea. In order to be able to present the human impact on this sensitive ecosystem, the latest results from science and research are compiled. The authors are experts from different research disciplines from the three countries over which the Wadden Sea extends - Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. There are different reports on the various main topics. ITAW coordinated the report for the state of marine mammals.

Results:

https://qsr.waddensea-worldheritage.org/reports/marine-mammals

Funding: MELUND, 19.177 EUR

Project Details:
Since 2002, ITAW has been conducting flight-based surveys for harbour porpoises in the EEZ and the 12sm zone of the North Sea. A dedicated monitoring of harbour porpoises in the North Sea and Baltic Sea has been carried out in projects of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) since 2008. Within the framework of this survey and monitoring, valuable data series on the spatio-temporal occurrence and density of harbour porpoises could be collected including the area of the whale sanctuary in the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park.
ITAW also has proven expertise in bioacoustics and acoustic monitoring of cetaceans. Click Detectors (C-PODs) have already been used in numerous projects to study harbour porpoise habitat use and the effects of offshore wind farm construction and operation on harbour porpoises. The LKN POD monitoring has been operated by ITAW since 2011 and valuable data on acoustic harbour porpoise activity could also be collected in the area of the whale sanctuary in the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea.
The aim of the project is to evaluate the whale sanctuary in terms of occurrence, abundance, seasonality and importance of the whale sanctuary as a habitat for harbour porpoises for feeding and as a calving and breeding area.
For this purpose, the following data sources are to be evaluated in depth:
a) Dedicated visual surveys to record harbour porpoise abundance in the German North Sea (12 nm plus EEZ);
b) Modelled density area maps to determine model-based abundance;
c) Acoustic monitoring of harbour porpoises using stationary click detectors (C-PODs) in the Wadden Sea.

Results:

Abschlußbericht im Auftrag des Landesbetriebes für Küstenschutz, Nationalpark und Meeresschutz Schleswig-

Holstein (LKN.SH) und des Ministeriums für Energiewende, Klimaschutz, Umwelt und Natur

(MEKUN)

https://www.tiho-hannover.de/fileadmin/57_79_terr_aqua_Wildtierforschung/79_Buesum/downloads/Berichte/Walschutzgebiet_Bericht_ITAW_20221012_final.pdf

Funding: Aarhus University, DK, 9.736 EUR

Project Details:
In 2021, data on the abundance and distribution of marine mammals were to be collected as part of an environmental impact assessment. The study area is located in the Kattegat near the Danish island of Hesselø. A new offshore wind farm is to be built there. The main target species of the present survey was the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena).
The flight surveys were conducted by Aarhus University and followed the line transect method. In total, the area was surveyed three times in 2021. ITAW was commissioned by Aarhus University to accompany the planning and organisation of the new survey and to quality assure and evaluate the collected data.

Results:

For the three surveys of the study area, densities and abundances of harbour porpoises were estimated and the inaccuracies (95% confidence intervals and coefficient of variation (CV)) associated with the estimation were determined. The processed data and results were submitted to the client.

Funding: Aarhus University, DK, 4.451 EUR

Project Details:
On behalf of Aarhus University (Denmark), data on abundance and distribution of marine mammals have been collected annually since 2012. Five Natura 2000 sites in the Danish North Sea and Skagerrak were surveyed in 2021. The main target species was the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). The flight surveys were conducted by Aarhus University and followed the line transect survey method. ITAW was commissioned to quality assure and evaluate the data collected.

Results:

For the individual study areas, densities and abundances of harbour porpoises could be estimated and the inaccuracies (95% confidence intervals and coefficient of variation (CV)) associated with the estimation were determined. The processed data and results were submitted to the client.

Funding: Aarhus University, DK, 4.451 EUR

Project Details:
On behalf of Aarhus University (Denmark), data on the abundance and distribution of marine mammals has been collected annually since 2012. Five Natura 2000 sites in the Danish North Sea and Skagerrak were surveyed in 2020. The main target species was the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). The flight surveys were conducted by Aarhus University and followed the line transect survey method. ITAW was commissioned to quality assure and evaluate the data collected. For the individual study areas, densities and abundances of harbour porpoises could be estimated and the inaccuracies (95% confidence intervals and coefficient of variation (CV)) associated with the estimation were determined. The processed data and results were submitted to the client.

Results:

Report of the Aarhus University (Denmark)

Videnskabelig rapport fra DCE - Nationalt Center for Miljø og Energi nr. 475

https://dce2.au.dk/pub/SR475.pdf

Funding: UKSH, Institut für Toxikologie und Pharmakologie für Naturwissenschaftler, Kiel, 8.404 EUR

Project Details:
Samples of bycaught common eiders from the danish Baltic Sea, which undergo post-mortem examinations at the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research, are provisioned for toxicological analysis at the Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel.
At the Institute for Toxicology and Pharmacology for Natural Scientists, organ samples of liver, kidneys, muscle, brain and fat as well as bile are analysed for residues of explosive compounds of dumped munition. These are 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT) and its derivates, which have been detected in blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) in other studies. The examination of common eider tissues will allow to draw conclusions about possible accumulation in the trophic chain.

Results:

https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12152002

Funding: Ministerium für Energiewende,Landwirtschaft, Umwelt, Natur und Digitalisierung des Landes Schleswig-Holstein, 20.000 EUR

Project Details:
Especially during sensitive life stages, i. e. the upbringing of offspring, predators can have a negative influence on their prey. This pilot study therefore aims to record and compare the spatiotemporal behavior of predator and their prey species. One focus hereby is the relevance of permanent landscape structures such as hedges as well as additionally created elements such as wildflower strips or fallow land.
Predators like the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the non-indigenous racoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) as well as the European hare (Lepus europaeus) as a prey species occur in Schleswig-Holstein. To conduct the pilot study, individuals of these species are equipped with tags automatically collecting GPS data. Furthermore, the tags record spatial movements of the individual on three axes. With the received data, individual home ranges, nightly activities, and daily resting areas can be analysed. Eventually, captured patterns can be compared to identify overlaps between predators and their prey as well as the influence of structural landscape elements.

Results:

Abschlußbericht

https://www.tiho-hannover.de/fileadmin/57_79_terr_aqua_Wildtierforschung/79_Buesum/downloads/Berichte/2021_Praedatorenbericht.pdf