Overview of research projects

Funding: Bundesamt für Naturschutz, 743.359 EUR

Project Details:
As top predators, marine mammals play a crucial role in the ecosystem, as they regulate and maintain marine food webs, promote the biodiversity of the marine environment and contribute to the overall maintenance of the ecological balance. The protection of their habitats and the conservation of the biodiversity of marine mammals is of great importance and can contribute to the long-term health of the entire marine ecosystem.
Against the background of increasing or shifting populations of marine mammals, lower life expectancy and the increase in anthropogenic activities, threats and conflicts caused by stressors are also increasing, including fishing (bycatch, entanglement, overfishing, habitat degradation), shipping traffic (noise, collisions, pollution), offshore wind energy projects (noise, habitat loss, increasing shipping traffic), raw material extraction, sand and gravel mining and tourism.
Scientifically robust concepts and high-quality data are required to assess the status in order to adopt measures that will subsequently lead to a good conservation status of the respective populations of marine mammal species. To ensure that this data is available as comprehensively, comparably and are-wide as possible regional coordination of monitoring and the indicators used for evaluation is essential.
The aim of this research project is to develop recognized indicators based on reliable data in order to reliably assess the status of marine mammals in the North and Baltic Seas. These indicators are to be defined and coordinated at both regional and national level, which is also stipulated by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Various approaches for assessing the status of biodiversity within the framework of the MSFD are being developed, improved and harmonized at international, regional and national level. The indicators are used nationally, regionally and internationally in marine conservation agreements (relevant for Germany: Oslo-Paris Commission (OSPAR) and Helsinki Commission (HELCOM)) by numerous committees and working groups (e.g. under the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES)).
The ITAW plays a leading role in these committees, for example as head of the expert groups and in the development of indicators.
In this way, the project is generating evaluation methods, models, basic knowledge that can be used in the long term, and urgently needed knowledge on options for action, which is required for the implementation of political and social objectives, for example under the (MSFD).

Project Details:
The peptide hormone Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 (FGF21) has been identified as a major metabolic regulator to orchestrate various adaptations during periods of dysbolic states. It has gained interest over the past years regarding the metabolic challenges of early lactation in cattle. The study aims to identify stimulators/inhibitors of FGF21 using a primary hepatocyte-cellculture, by mimicking only specific stressors occurring during the mentioned period of early lactation and therefore facilitates determination of the underlying mechanisms. T

Funding: Stiftung Innovation in der Hoschullehre, 339.015 EUR

Project Details:
Gaining knowledge about the anatomy and physiology of the forestomaches of ruminants is an important part of veterinary education. This sets the basis for proper diagnosis of diseases and surgical interventions on this organ system in their future professional practice. During their preclinical study part at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation (TiHo), all veterinary students attend certain anatomical and physiological practical courses related to this topic. These courses also include the work with living animals, hence defined as animal experiments. However, the goal of thorough and sustainable veterinary training, conflicts with the raising legal and public pressure to reduce the number of animal experiments and desired improvement of animal welfare. This project aims to develop a virtual anatomical model of the ruminant forestomaches to be implemented into the Virtual Learning Lab of the Clinical Skills Lab (CSL). This virtual resource can be accessed by all students online at any time, providing flexible learning opportunities. According to the 2022 teaching report, students rated the opportunities for deepening their knowledge at the CSL very positively and expressed a desire for additional offerings that allow for independent and needs-based learning of practical, job-relevant skills. Therefore, a second aim of this project is the development of a malleable 3D model of the rumen, simulating its motility and allows for manual palpation of the organ. Simulations play an important role in medical education and are assessed as very useful by the students when linked to practical relevance. The planned project ranges within the framework of the 3Rs concept for animal experiments providing both, a refinement and a reduction method. Using the simulator, students can learn how to palpate the rumen before they do it on a living animal during the practical course. This helps to reduce anxiety and leads to a more skilled and animal-friendly handling. The virtual forestomach model offers the opportunity for independent preparatory learning and thus contributes to reduce the number of animals used in the anatomical practical courses. During the clinical study phase, both models can be used for repetition of anatomical and physiological basics to support final exam preparation and the acquisition of clinical and surgical skills. Therefore, both models can be used across semesters, promoting the development of learning- and career-related skills and competences.

Funding: Niedersächsischen Ministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Verbraucherschutz, 480.000 EUR

Project Details:
Infectious diseases in wild animals are currently on the rise and with them the questions of what these infectious agents mean for native wild animal populations, hunters and other people who handle these animals. Since Covid-19, awareness has once again been raised that infectious diseases from wild animals can be a source of danger for humans. For example, influenza and West Nile viruses have been observed in more and more species, sometimes leading to significant losses in populations. The first-time detection of Usutu viruses in native seals in the Wadden Sea and the new occurrence of myxomatosis in brown hares in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony are also evidence of the pathogens' enormous tendency to adapt and spread.
Overall, there is great uncertainty among hunters and the general public with regard to infectious diseases in wild animals, so there is an urgent need for action. The Food and Veterinary Institute Braunschweig/Hanover of the LAVES is responsible for the examination of wild animals at the Hanover site. Among other things, the institute deals with pathogen situations, the etiology of diseases and the causes of death of wild animals sent in.
The information and experience on wild animal infectious diseases in Lower Saxony provided by the LAVES, the TiHo and the Lower Saxony Hunting Association (LJN) is to be pooled in the study in order to improve understanding of the occurrence, spread, population significance and risk management.
The aims of the project are as follows:
1. veterinary summary of individual animal findings of wild animals from Lower Saxony
2. to determine the veterinary significance for the various wild animal populations
3. targeted and statistically representative sampling and investigation of newly emerging infectious diseases or suspicious deaths in wild animals
4. analysis of the occurrence and potential impact of infectious diseases on
wildlife populations, particularly in the case of novel pathogens
5. risk assessment and development of hygiene concepts for hunters and other
stakeholders
6. advice for decision-makers on sustainable wildlife infection management

Cooperation Partners:

Veterinärinstitut Hannover des LAVES

Funding: Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands, 174.600 EUR

Project Details:
Pinnipeds are frequently infected with respiratory nematodes commonly referred to as lungworms. Distinctively, lungworms are particularly prevalent pathogens of young harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in Northern Europe. In the Netherlands, young harbour seals frequently strand on human accessible areas and display severe clinical symptoms associated with lungworm infection; as a result, they are often admitted to the nearest rehabilitation centre for treatment. Currently, the number of lungworm patients admitted for rehabilitation is limited for conservation purposes, however, there is a lack of clear criteria regarding the selection of those lungworm patients that should receive care. Critically, there remains an absence of clinical parameters that directly indicate the disease progression; thus veterinarians lack the clinical tools to determine the severity of the infection, and consequently, the likelihood of survival. Furthermore, there is currently insufficient data regarding the fate of rehabilitated lungworm patients post release. Therefore, to prevent potentially unnecessary admissions of lungworm patients, further insights regarding the severity of infection and post-release survival rates are required.

This research project will employ a multiple strategy approach with the overarching aim to develop a triage system for seal rehabilitation centres to assess prognosis for seals either directly at the point of stranding or upon admission. Through comprehensive investigations, this project will provide unprecedented insights into the pathology of lungworm-infected harbour seals, identify clinical parameters associated with survival to and after release, as well as assess the behaviour and survival of seals post release from rehabilitation using telemetry devices. Ultimately, if applicable, this project will result in the development of a prognostic tool to guide the selection of lungworm-infected harbour seals most suitable for rehabilitation. This project, led by the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research (ITAW) in collaboration with three major Dutch seal rehabilitation centres (Aseal Stellendam, Sealcentre Pieterburen and Ecomare), as well as Utrecht University and Wageningen Marine Research, is funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands.

Project Details:
Etwa ein Drittel aller Humanpatienten und Zweidrittel aller caninen Patienten mit Epilepsien werden mit den vorhandenen Medikamenten nicht anfallsfrei. Die Entwicklung neuer Therapiestrategien gehört daher zu den großen medizinischen Herausforderungen im Bereich der Epilepsieforschung. Pharmakologische Behandlungen mit Anfallssuppressiva (Antiepileptika) sind zudem mit dosis-abhängigen unerwünschten Nebenwirkungen assoziiert, so dass neben der Entwicklung neuer Medikamente zunehmend auch nicht-pharmakologische Begleit-therapien untersucht werden. Regelmäßiges aerobes Ausdauertraining kann einen therapeutischen Einfluss auf epileptische Anfälle haben und zudem eventuell die Wirksamkeit von Medikamenten direkt beeinflussen. Die Projekthypothese ist, dass sich die antikonvulsive Wirksamkeit verschiedener Klassen von Antiepileptika durch Kombination mit geeigneten Trainingsparametern verstärken lässt, so dass eine geringere Dosis der Medikamente für die Behandlung eingesetzt werden muss, was in der Folge das Risiko unerwünschter Nebenwirkungen senken sollte. Als Nebenhypothese postulieren wir, dass die zu verifizierende Wirksamkeitsverbesserung nicht auf eine Veränderung der Plasmakonzentration des Antiepileptikums zurückzuführen ist, sondern auf Veränderungen der Rezeptoren und Kanäle im epileptischen Netzwerk.

Project Details:
The monitoring and evaluation of emotions in animals is of increasing interest due to the public awareness on anima, welfare but also because laboratory animals serve as model species for the development of psychological drugs. The reliable evaluation of emotions is still a scientific challenge, as emotions are not only the result of automatic physiological reactions, but also underline cognitive evaluation processes (Kalat & Shiota, 2007). Thus, the emotional perception of a situation can depend on individual personality or experience. In order to be able to assess animal welfare, it is important to develop reliable methods for recording the emotional state of an animal. Although it is possible to determine an animal's condition using physiological measurements (e.g. blood sampling, implants to measure the heart rate), these measures are invasive and do not provide any information about the emotional valence of the condition (an increased heart rate occurs with both negative and positive emotions). An alternative is offered by behavioural tests that can be used to test the personality of animals as well as the emotional cognitive evaluation of a situation. One way of testing cognitive judgement is the ?Judgement Bias Task?. The animal learns to distinguish between a positive and a less positive stimulus and to react accordingly. They are then presented with an unknown ambivalent stimulus. Their reaction makes it possible to assess whether an animal is ?optimistic? (selects as with a positive stimulus) or ?pessimistic? (selects as with a positive stimulus). These findings will allow a better assessment of emotions in animals and can later be used to investigate the impact of different housing conditions, environmental enrichment or pharmacological effects on an animal's emotions.

Funding: H. Wilhelm Schaumann Stiftung, 57.600 EUR

Project Details:
Enterococcus cecorum (EC) is an increasingly relevant bacterial pathogen in broiler chickens, and the disease is globally widespread. Affected birds typically exhibit lameness in the second half of the production cycle due to inflammation of the thoracic vertebrae and hip joints. Mortality rates can exceed 10%, and culling rates and medication use increase significantly. EC infections are considered a major cause of the high frequency of antimicrobial treatments in broiler production. Additionally, they represent a significant animal welfare issue, as bone inflammations are highly likely to cause severe pain.

Management practices such as antibiotic therapies or prophylactic use can be problematic, as they promote resistance and contradict antibiotic stewardship principles. Therefore, alternative strategies are urgently needed, including vaccination programs, breeding approaches, management measures in parent stock farms and hatcheries, as well as the use of feed additives. However, scientific evidence confirming the effectiveness of these methods is still lacking.

Studies show that EC can survive in the environment for at least six months and can still be detected in certain areas of poultry house equipment even after cleaning and disinfection. Since only a subset of strains is pathogenic, targeted decontamination of parent stock farms, hatcheries, and broiler facilities could help contain the spread of the pathogen. Effective cleaning and disinfection are essential. In practice, disinfectants such as aldehydes, quaternary ammonium compounds, cresols, oxidative agents, and organic acids are commonly used. Physical methods such as UV irradiation or ozone fumigation are also applied. The effectiveness of these measures depends on factors such as the correct concentration of active substances, application technique, removal of organic residues, and structural conditions of the facility. Deficiencies in these areas can lead to pathogen persistence and subsequent infections.

For other Enterococcus species, reduced sensitivity to chemical disinfectants has been reported for certain strains. However, no corresponding data are currently available for EC. Clinical isolates of Enterococcus faecium from hospitals have also shown decreasing sensitivity to alcohol-based disinfectants.
Research Objectives:

-Investigation of EC sensitivity to various biocides
-Analysis of the effectiveness of UV irradiation as a physical disinfection method

The findings from this study aim to optimize disinfection strategies in poultry farming, reduce antibiotic use, and thereby improve both animal health and welfare.

Funding: Fritz-Ahrberg-Stiftung, 100.000 EUR

Project Details:
The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, a zoonosis that can be transmitted to humans by infected cats or through the consumption of contaminated foodstuffs or inadequately heated meat from infected intermediate hosts. Primary infections during the early stages of pregnancy are of particular concern due to the absence of maternal immunity, which allows the pathogen to cause severe foetal damage and abortions. There is currently no comprehensive and systematic monitoring of the pathogen in the food chain in Germany. Moreover, the accessibility of the pertinent testing methodologies is constrained. The project therefore aims to develop a rapid, field-proven detection method based on the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technique and to corroborate its validity for pertinent food matrices. Thereafter, the method will be employed to appraise the impact of diverse manufacturing techniques employed on sample products on the pathogen load, and to extrapolate recommendations for industrial manufacturing processes.

Funding: EU Commission, 1.100.900 EUR

Project Details:
Work programme 2025-2027 of the EU Reference Laboratory for Classical Swine Fever

Cooperation Partners:

Dr. Christoph Staubach (FLI Riems)