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Light effects on the vertical positioning of the freshwater jellyfish (Craspedacusta sowerbii Lankester, 1880)

We experimentally manipulated the presence of light and light intensity (F = 36.7 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹; D = 0 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹; L = 4.8 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹; M = 21.4 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹) and tested their effects on the vertical positioning of the freshwater jellyfish (Craspedacusta sowerbii) medusae. For the experiments, approximately 100 C. sowerbii medusae were collected in August 2017 in two lakes (Haager Weiher and Leitner Weiher) in Bavaria, Germany. Testing was carried out at Seeon Limnological Station in close vicinity to the collection site. The experimental columns were 7.4 cm in diameter and 170 cm high and were marked with horizontal lines every 5 cm for visual position estimation. Four replicates run in parallel. One C. sowerbii medusa was used in each experimental column. Data cover three light treatments, each run twice: 1) 16:8 h full light (F)–dark (D) light intensity cycles (nF = 716, nD = 428), 2) 16:8 h full light (F)–full dark (D) light intensity cycles complemented with low (L) and medium (M) light intensities (nF = 96, nM = 96, nL = 48, nD = 288), and 3) altered light intensities in approximately 2-hour periods randomly among dark, low, medium, and full light intensities (nF = 96, nM = 76, nL = 72, nD = 336). Results show that light alone was sufficient to trigger a vertical position change of jellyfish towards the water surface, especially high light.

Organic matter composition in the subsoil: Contribution of root litter and microbial-derived compounds

The aim of P2 within the Research Unit 'The Forgotten Part of Carbon Cycling: Organic Matter Storage and Turnover in Subsoils (SUBSOM)' is to contribute to the understanding of the different sources and stabilization processes of subsoil organic matter. This will be achieved by the analysis of the soil organic matter composition in topsoil versus subsoil by 13C NMR spectroscopy in bulk soils as well as organo-mineral associations. This will be done on a number of soil profiles differing in parent material and mineralogy and therefore also in the relevance of organo-mineral associations for subsoil C stabilization. In addition, a specific sampling approach will allow to differentiate three zones associated with the dominating effect of (1) leaching of DOC (the 'bulk soil' between trees), (2) root litter decomposition (the 'root-affected zone'), and (3) direct rhizodeposition of root exudates (the 'rhizosphere' sensu strictu). The contribution of above-ground versus below-ground litter is differentiated by the analysis of cutin and suberin biomarkers. Organic matter derived from microbial sources will be identified by the microbial signature of polysaccharides in the subsoil through the analysis of neutral sugars and amino sugars. Organo-mineral associations will be further characterized by N2-BET analyses to delineate the coverage of the mineral phase with organic matter. With these analyses and our specific analytical expertise at the submicron scale (nanoSIMS) we will participate in selected joint experiments of the research unit.

Sonderforschungsbereich Transregio 38 (SFB TRR): Strukturen und Prozesse der initialen Ökosystementwicklung in einem künstlichen Wassereinzugsgebiet; Structures and Processes of the Initial Ecosystem Development Phase in an Artificial Water Catchment, Teilprojekt C 04: Hydrologische Oberflächenprozesse während der Entwicklungsphase eines künstlichen Einzugsgebiets

Das Hauptziel des Projekts ist die Untersuchung und die Entwicklung von Methoden nicht nur zur punktuellen, sondern auch zur flächenhaften Bestimmung der Bodenfeuchte. Zur Anwendung sollen Geländetechniken wie Time-Domain Reflectrometry (TDR), Georadar (GPR), Elektrische Widerstand (ER), Elektromagnetische Induktion (EMI) sowie GNSS Scatterometry kommen. Eine der methodischen Hauptfragen ist die Nutzung der GNSS Scatterometry zur Ermittlung der Bodenfeuchte im Feldmaßstab. Eine weitere grundlegende Forschungsfrage wird die weitere Entwicklung der elektrischen und elektromagnetischen geophysikalischen Techniken für bodenkundliche Anwendungen sein.

Simulation experiment of evapotranspiration on Beeches from 2012 to 2021

Effect of agricultural intensification on cereal aphid-primary parasitoid-hyperparasitoid food web structures and interactions

Changes in agroecosystem management (e.g. landscape diversity, management intensity) affect the natural control of pests. The effects of agricultural change on this ecosystem service, however, are not universal and the mechanisms affecting it remain to be understood. As biological control is effectively the product of networks of interactions between pests and their natural enemies, food web analysis provides a versatile tool to address this gap of knowledge. The proposed project will utilize a molecular food web approach and examine, for the first time, how changes in plant fertilisation and landscape complexity affect quantitative aphid-parasitoid-hyperparasitoid food webs on a species-specific level to unravel how changes in food web interactions affect parasitoid aphid control. Based on the fieldderived data, cage experiments will be conducted to assess how parasitoid diversity and identity affect parasitoid interactions and pest control, complementing the field results. The work proposed here will take research on parasitoid aphid control one step further, as it will provide a clearer understanding of how plant fertilization affects whole aphid-parasitoid food webs in both simple and complex landscapes, allowing for further improvements in natural pest control.

Community-mediated mechanisms to stabilize pollination of agricultural production highly dependent on shrinking honey bee populations under global change

Almond in California represents an agroecosystem pollinated solely by a single species, the European honey bee, a species that is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to manage due to substantial, unpredictable mortality. Therefore, sustainable and high output production require a more integrated approach that diversifies sources of pollination. For this purpose, detailed data of our understanding how diversity can stabilize pollination are required. The project will identify alternative wild pollinator species and collect high quality data contributing to our understanding of how diversity (pollen and insects) can bolster honey bee pollination during stable and unstable climatic conditions. The research will be carried out on almond orchards in Northern California known to be either pollinator species rich (up to 30 species) or depauperate (honey bees only). The replicated extremes in pollinator diversity represent a unique opportunity to study the effects of diversity on pollination in real agroecosystems combined with laboratory and glasshouse experiments. The overall goal is to provide basic research that is essential for our general understanding of how insect diversity can affect high-quality pollination under land use and climate change.

Forschergruppe (FOR) 456 degree of celsius: The role of Biodiversity for element cycling and trophic interactions: An experimental approach in a grassland community, FOR 438: Die Bedeutung von Biodiversität für Stoffkreisläufe und trophische Interaktionen: Ein Versuchsansatz in Grasslandgesellschaften - Teilprojekt: Diversität und Funktion von arbuskulären Mykorrhiza- und Bodenpilzen mit oxidativem Potential in Grasländern mit unterschiedlichen Stufen pflanzlicher Diversität

Das Jena Experiment hat es sich zum Ziel gesetzt Zusammenhänge zwischen Pflanzendiversität und Ökosystemprozessen zu untersuchen. Unsere Arbeiten beschäftigen sich mit einer der Schlüsselgruppen in unterirdischen Ökosystemprozessen - den Pilzen. Das Wirtsspektrum arbuskulärer Mykorrhizapilze (AMF) wird innerhalb der Monokultur-Plots untersucht. In Polykulturen unterschiedlicher Diversität soll der Zusammenhang zwischen Artenreichtum von Pflanzen und AMF vertiefend studiert werden. Durch ein Experiment mit stabilen Isotopen soll der Beitrag der AMF für die Nährstoffverteilung zwischen einzelnen Pflanzenarten, aber auch zwischen funktionellen Gruppen näher beleuchtet werden. Weiterhin wird untersucht, ob Zusammenhänge zwischen Stickstoffmineralisierung, Anreicherung organischer Substanzen sowie der Diversität und dem Expressionsprofil pilzlicher Laccasegene bestehen.

Forschergruppe (FOR) 1320: Crop Sequence and Nutrient Acquisition from the Subsoil, Plant induced weathering of minerals in the subsoil - release of 'non-exchangeable' potassium from 2:1 layer minerals (TransMinK)

The proposal addresses the potential of subsoil to contribute to K nutrition of crops. More specifically we will address the processes controlling release of K from interlayer of 2:1 clay minerals as this is expected to be the dominant K fraction in the subsoil. While it has been shown in the past that this so called 'non-exchangeable' K can be released due to root activity, there are controversial results concerning the role of soil solution K concentration in the rhizosphere required to trigger the process. Likewise little information is available about the concentration dynamics of other cations (NH4, Ca) in the rhizosphere and their impact on K release and vermiculitization supposed to be associated with this process. Model studies with substrate from the central field trial will be conducted in compartment systems equipped with micro suction cups. The measurement of dynamic changes of soil solution composition with increasing distance from the root surface will be combined with investigations of changes in mineralogy by XRD, TEM and SEM-EDX. Changes of mineralogy as a result of plant induced K release from interlayer will also be studied on bulk soil and rhizosphere samples collected within the central field and the central microcosm experiment and with mineral bags exposed in the field during a cropping cycle. Finally, X-ray CT will be used to access changes in soil texture, i.e. clay distribution around roots and the temporal spread of roots in biopores which is a prerequisite for K uptake from such structures.

The parent material as major factor for the properties of the biogeochemical interface: Integrative analysis

The formation of biogeochemical interfaces in soils is controlled, among other factors, by the type of particle surfaces present and the assemblage of organic matter and mineral particles. Therefore, the formation and maturation of interfaces is studied with artificial soils which are produced in long-term biogeochemical laboratory incubation experiments (3, 6, 12, 18 months. Clay minerals, iron oxides and charcoal are used as major model components controlling the formation of interfaces because they exhibit high surface area and microporosity. Soil interface characteristics have been analyzed by several groups involved in the priority program for formation of organo-mineral interfaces, sorptive and thermal interface properties, microbial community structure and function. Already after 6 months of incubation, the artificial soils exhibited different properties in relation to their composition. A unique dataset evolves on the development and the dynamics of interfaces in soil in the different projects contributing to this experiment. An integrated analysis based on a conceptual model and multivariate statistics will help to understand overall processes leading to the biogeochemical properties of interfaces in soil, that are the basis for their functions in ecosystems. Therefore, we propose to establish an integrative project for the evaluation of data obtained and for publication of synergistic work, which will bring the results to a higher level of understanding.

Biogeochemical reactivity of Fe-organic matter coprecipitates

Iron(III) (hydr)oxide-organic associations in soils have been recognized to play an important role in the biogeochemical cycling of iron, carbon, and of nutrients like phosphate. In temporarily moist or water-logged soils such associations can form via the coprecipitation of dissolved organic matter (OM) with Fe(III) (hydr)oxides (FHOs). At present, it is generally unknown which factors control the formation and composition of Fe(III)-OM coprecipitates and how the structural properties translate into the cycling of the FHO and OM component involved. The objectives of the project are thus to elucidate (i) the structural properties of Fe(III)- OM coprecipitates under different environmental conditions, (ii) the subsequent stability of Fe(III)-OM coprecipitates against dissolution under both oxic as well as anoxic conditions, (iii) the changes in Fe(III)-OM coprecipitate composition upon redox oscillations, and (iii) their cumulative effects on oxyanion sorption. To achieve these goals, various batch experiments will be conducted. By using multiple analytical tools, this project will gain a fundamental understanding of the abiotic and biotic controls on the formation, structure, and biogeochemical reactivity of Fe(III)-OM coprecipitates in acidic and neutral temporarily moist soils and soils subject to redox oscillations.

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