Ecology

An Animal Invasion

Whether they arrive as stowaways aboard ships, are abandoned from aquariums, or even deliberately introduced, more and more foreign animal species are arriving in German waterways from around the world. The result is that exotic animals that have almost no natural enemies are threatening native species. Researchers are studying this phenomenon, taking Lake Constance as an example to find out how the ecosystem is affected by the new arrivals.

An Animal Invasion
 

Duck Stop

Above all, they want to answer one question: do water birds prefer plant food? To find out, biologists from Constance and the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell are diving into the depths of Lake Constance to study the menu of the water birds. And there are plenty of birds: up to 260,000 of them overwinter on Lake Constance. When they all go in search of food, there are most certainly consequences for the animal and plant world. What do life and survival look like on and in the lake? Do the feeding habits of the birds change over the course of the year? Are there gender-specific or perhaps individual differences in the choice of food? And what do the researchers discover on the bottom of the lake?

Duck Stop
 

Function through Diversity

Hauling, planting and weeding trees: when the spadework is finished, it will be the largest biodiversity experiment in the world. A new forest is being created on 60 hectares in Xingangshan, in Eastern China. Gardeners are planting 96 native plant species and more than half a million trees and bushes. As we watch the trees grow little by little and experience the daily life of the Chinese workers, the students from Germany, Switzerland and China explain to us the most important factors of the ecosystem. What roles do herbs, herbivores, bacteria and, of course, climate play?

Function through Diversity
 

Rainforest

Biodiversity in the tropical rainforests of Ecuador is under serious threat. To gain more pastures, mankind is exploiting the ecosystem by slashing and burning – at the expense of both flora and fauna. Researchers at the San Francisco research station are doing pioneering work in a quest for new ways for mankind to use nature without destroying it.

Rainforest
 

The Start of Nature

The hour of birth: to observe the creation of an ecosystem from the start, geologists and ecologists in Cottbus want to start from time zero. Because young ecosystems are rare, the scientists are constructing the "Hühnerwasser" artificial water catchment area in a former brown-coal mine. It is hoped that the open-air laboratory will answer important questions: How does new life form in the soil? What influence do microorganisms and water have during this process? And how does the soil structure change?

The Start of Nature
 
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