Der Feldhamster (Cricetus cricetus) ist in Deutschland vom Aussterben bedroht und auch in seinem letzten sächsischen Vorkommensgebiet in Nordsachsen liegen die Bestandszahlen unterhalb der Nachweisgrenze. Dort, wie auch in weiten Teilen unserer übrigen modernen Kulturlandschaft, wurde er unter anderem durch intensive Landwirtschaft verdrängt. Können Auswilderungen auf Grundlage von Nachzuchten in deutschen Zoos helfen, die Situation für den Feldhamster wieder zu verbessern und den Bestand langfristig zu sichern? Welche Möglichkeiten der Vermittlung bieten Zoos dabei, um diverse Zielgruppen für den lokalen Artenschutz zu mobilisieren? Ziel der Masterarbeit war die Erarbeitung eines Auswilderungskonzepts für Feldhamster im Rahmen eines Artenschutzprojektes des Zoo Leipzig. Für Flächen im Landkreis Nordsachsen wurde ein umfänglicher Maßnahmenkatalog zur Förderung der Biodiversität durch nachhaltige Nutzung erarbeitet. Ergänzend dazu wurde ein Informationskonzept ausgearbeitet, das eine beispielhafte Aufklärungsstrategie für verschiedene Zielgruppen in diesem Interessenfeld veranschaulichen soll.:EINLEITUNG 1. Problemstellung 2. Ziel der Arbeit und inhaltlicher Schwerpunkt 3. Methodische Vorgehensweise TEIL I GRUNDLAGEN 4. Rechtliche und planerische Vorgaben 4.1. Gesetzliche Vorgaben 4.1.1. Gesetzliche Vorgaben zum Artenschutz 4.1.2. Gesetzliche Vorgaben zu Auswilderungen 4.2. Vorgaben aus der Gesamt- und Fachplanung 4.2.1. Landesentwicklungsplan 4.2.2. Regionalplan 5. Auswilderungen in der Theorie 5.1. Begriffsdefinition 5.2 Zoologische Voraussetzungen 5.3 Räumliche Voraussetzungen 5.4 Ablauf 5.5 Artübergreifende Referenzprojekte zu Auswilderungen 6 Der Feldhamster: Ein Kurzporträt 6.1 Heutige Populationen und Verbreitungsschwerpunkte 7 Auswilderungsprojekt für Feldhamster des Zoo Leipzig 7.1. Über die Rolle von Zoos in der Naturschutzarbeit TEIL II FELDHAMSTER IN NORDSACHSEN 8. Historische Bestandsentwicklung unter Betrachtung von fördernden und gefährdenden Faktoren 8.1. Entwicklung der Hamsterpopulation im Raum Delitzsch im Kontext der historischen Rahmenbedingungen 8.2. Schlussfolgerungen aus der Geschichte 8.3. Ableitung von Grundprinzipien für Feldhamsterschutzmaßnahmen 9. Lebensweise und Habitatansprüche des Feldhamsters 9.1. Hamsterbaue 9.1.1. Sommer- und Winterbaue 9.1.2. Dauerbaue und zeitweilige Baue 9.2. Aktivitätsverhalten 9.2.1 Phänologie 9.2.2 Mortalität durch landwirtschaftliche Feldbearbeitung und Verkehr 9.2.3 Anpassungen an Prädation 9.2.4 Überwinterung und Winterschlaf 9.3 Sozialverhalten und Populationsdynamik 9.3.1 Populationsschwankungen 9.3.2 Reproduktion 9.3.3 Aktionsraum 9.4 Ernährungsweise 9.4.1. Das „Hamstern“ 9.4.2 Aufnahme und Auswirkungen von chemischen Pflanzenschutzmitteln 9.4.3 Eignung verschiedener Anbaukulturen für die feldhamsterfreundliche Bewirtschaftung 9.4.4 Habitatbedingungen durch wechselnde Anbaufaktoren 9.4.5 Ackerbegleitflora 9.5 Übersicht zum Habitatleitbild 10. Analyse und Bewertung des Planungsgebietes 10.1 Biotope, Landnutzungen und bisherige Feldhamsterschutzmaßnahmen 10.2 Schutzgebiete 10.3 Boden 10.4 Barrieren und Risikozonen 10.4.1. Prädationsgefahr durch Wildtiere 10.4.2. Ständige Risikozonen: Erhöhte Prädationsgefahr durch Hauskatzen 10.4.3. Temporäre Risikozonen auf begünstigten Flächen für den Bau von Anlagen zur Gewinnung erneuerbarer Energien 10.4.4. Kaum überwindbare Barrieren 10.4.5. Schwer überwindbare Barrieren 10.4.6. Leichter überwindbare Barrieren 10.5 Habitatgesamtbewertung und Ableitung von Potenzialen 11. Akteursstrukturen 11.1. Sächsische Arbeitsgruppe zum Feldhamsterschutz 11.2. Bewirtschafter im Fokusgebiet TEIL III AUSWILDERUNGSKONZEPT 12. Projektaufbau 12.1. Zuchtprogramm und Auswilderungsbestreben des Zoo Leipzig 12.2. Bisheriger Projektfortschritt 13. Schwerpunkt: Landschaftsplanerische Maßnahmen 13.1. Rahmenkonzept 13.2 Grundsätze zur Anwendung 13.2.1 Das „Baukastenprinzip“ 13.2.2 Flächentypen 13.2.3 Maßnahmentypen 13.3 Maßnahmenübersicht und -steckbriefe 13.4 Beispielhafte räumliche Anwendung 13.5 Finanzielle Fördermöglichkeiten 13.5.1 Allgemeine Agrarförderungen 13.5.2 Projektspezifische Förderung aus Feldhamsterschutzprogrammen 14. Kommunikationsansätze für den Zoo Leipzig 6 14.1. Grundlagen 14.1.1 Kulturlandschaften als Kommunikationsräume 14.1.2. Referenzprojekte zum Thema Projektkommunikation 14.1.3. Besonderheiten der öffentlichen Kommunikation durch Zoos 14.1.4. Kommunikative Rolle des Zoo Leipzig im lokalen Netzwerk für Feldhamsterschutz 14.2. Bisherige Projektkommunikation 14.3. Informationsstrategie für die Feldhamsterauswilderung 14.3.1 Adressatenvergleich 14.3.2 Zielgruppenspezifische Kommunikationsansätze SCHLUSSTEIL 15. Reflexion und Methodenkritik 15.1 Zu Teil I: Grundlagen 15.2 Zu Teil II: Feldhamster in Nordsachsen 15.3 Zu Teil III: Auswilderungskonzept 16. Fazit und Ausblick 17. Verzeichnisse 17.1. Abkürzungsverzeichnis 17.2. Tabellenverzeichnis 17.3. Abbildungsverzeichnis 17.4. Quellenverzeichnis 18. Eigenständigkeitserklärung ANHANG Kriterien zur Bodenbewertung Berechnung des Flächenbedarfs der Betrachtungsräume Saatgutempfehlung für Blühmischungen

<p dir="ltr">In a rapidly changing world, human actions and natural events are reshaping ecosystems and presenting new challenges for conservation efforts. Within this context, unraveling the recent ecosystem transformations and their implications on a fine scale is required. The impacts of such changes are not always sudden but often gradual and sometimes as a result of historical events. With the recent advancement in technologies, the resolution of information by genome sequences spans from millions of years ago (hindcasting) to future generations (forecasting). Aquatic ecosystems pose their own challenges when it comes to ecosystem changes and the types of data required to assess impact and help inform conservation efforts. My dissertation comprises three chapters focused on using genomic techniques to generate data valuable for the conservation and management of aquatic ecosystems. Each of the three chapters is a distinct manuscript in terms of scientific publications, where Chapter 1 has already been published, Chapter 2 has been submitted to a journal, revised, and is now awaiting publication, and Chapter 3 is in preparation for submission to a peer-reviewed journal. In Chapter 1, dietary DNA from harvested North American river otter (<i>Lontra canadensis</i>)<i> </i>was used to determine whether metabarcoding of stomach content could be used to identify fish prey species consumed. In Chapter 2, DNA sequencing of endangered pupfish species in the Tularosa Basin of New Mexico was studied; before my work, it was nominally comprised of a single species, the White Sands pupfish (<i>Cyprinodon tularosa</i>). The results indicate a rapid speciation event occurred within about the last ~5000 years, driven primarily by genetic drift. Chapter 3 extends Chapter 2 by assessing the dynamics of genomic diversity over space and time while evaluating the short-term evolutionary dynamics (~18 generations) of the two native pupfish populations. This temporal study aimed to determine if the extraordinarily rapid evolution over the last ~5000 years (observed in Chapter 2) could be detected over timescales more relevant to conservation and management efforts. Overall, this dissertation used genomic sequence data from metabarcoding of the COI gene region in the otter stomach content as well as pool sequencing and whole genome resequencing of pupfish to provide key biological insights into the conservation of these aquatic species. This dissertation also provides insights into avenues for further study and highlights the significant role that conservation genomics can play in the future. The findings presented in the three chapters are discussed within the context of species’ conservation and management.</p>

M.Sc. / Climate change, loss of habitat and over-exploitation of natural resources as well as the introduction of invasive alien species through human activities are resulting in an ever increasing risk of extinction of many plant and animal species. There are two major approaches to conserving threatened and endangered species. Firstly the large scale preservation of natural habitat and ecological processes, thereby protecting the species inhabiting the habitat. The second approach involves the ex-situ breeding of rare and endangered species. It is estimated that in the next 200 years approximately 800 mammalian species will require the assistance of breeding programs to ensure long term genetic viability. Biological Resource Banks (BRB) can potentially contribute to this challenge by providing a source of genes that can be used to counter the effects of external selection pressures, genetic drift and inbreeding depression in small or fragmented populations. These banks commonly contain biological materials such as cryopreserved sperm, embryos and cell cultures mainly as genetic and research resources. . Biological resource banks can potentially use these cryopreserved gametes together with assisted reproductive technologies (ART), such as artificial insemination (AI), in vitro fertilisation (IVF), embryo transfer (ET), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and nuclear transfer (NT) to maintain genetic heterogeneity in ex-situ and wild populations. Ascertaining the appropriate protocols for developing the ARTs necessary for non-domestic species is one of the major challenges faced by reproductive physiologists. Typically, there is very little available information about the processing of semen, the effects of diluents, concentration and type of cryoprotectants and freeze-thaw methods for sperm samples of non-domestic species. Procedures proven to be highly effective in humans and laboratory or domestic species, are frequently adopted and modified for use in related wildlife species. It is thus necessary to gain knowledge of the reproductive physiology of wildlife species in order to define effective protocols for the cryopreservation of biomaterials which assists in the conservation of South Africa‘s diverse wildlife species. Sperm quality assessment is a useful tool for assessing the reproductive health of free-ranging populations as well as for selecting individuals for future assisted reproduction programs.

One of the biggest challenges with today's conservation strategy has been the increase in human-wildlife conflicts in rural areas. Different strategies in conservation have been presented, such as mainstream conservation and convivial conservation, both with the same goal but different approaches when it comes to economic, social and environmental aspects. Conservation of species and mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts are complex, both in practice and in theory. This makes the subject important to study in order to improve conservation models which in turn improve livelihoods, attitudes and surroundings for villagers affected by the conflicts. In this paper, the authors performed interviews with representatives of two administrations working with conservation of elephants as well as interviews with villagers living in wildlife management areas (WMA), specifically Burunge Wildlife Management Area (BWMA) in Manyara region, Tanzania. This paper aims to examine villagers’ perception of the BWMA and if the wildlife management areas fulfil their purpose and live up to their expectations as well as examine the potential perks and risks for villagers that live near wildlife areas. The overall perception was that the villagers were satisfied with the BWMA and the organization seemed to be successful in fulfilling their purpose regarding conservation. The risks of living near wildlife areas does seem to surpass the perks, both when looking from an economic perspective and overall safety, which makes the solutions to the conflicts a subject of great importance. / En av de största utmaningarna med dagens bevarandestrategier har varit ökningen av konflikter mellan människor och vilda djur. De olika strategierna som presenterats inom bevarande, som mainstream conservation och convivial conservation, har samma mål men olika tillvägagångssätt när det kommer till ekonomiska, sociala och miljömässiga aspekter. Att bevara arter och mildra konflikterna mellan människor och vilda djur är komplext, både i praktiken och i teorin. Detta gör det till ett ämne värt att studera vidare för att förbättra modeller för bevarande, vilket i sin tur ämnar stärka områden som: försörjning, attityder och omgivningen för bybor som drabbats av dessa konflikter. I denna artikel genomförde författarna intervjuer med representanter från två administrationer som arbetar med bevarandet av elefanter samt intervjuer med bybor som bor nära viltförvaltningsområden, närmare bestämt Burunge Wildlife Management Area (BWMA) i Babati-distriktet, Tanzania. Den här artikeln syftar till att undersöka bybors uppfattning om BWMA och huruvida viltförvaltningsområden uppfyller sitt syfte och lever upp till dess förväntningar samt att undersöka de potentiella förmånerna och riskerna för bybor som bor nära dessa områden. Den övergripande uppfattningen var att majoriteten av byborna var nöjda med BWMA och att organisationen verkade ha lyckats med att uppfylla sitt syfte gällande bevarande. Riskerna med att bo nära viltområden tycks överträffa fördelarna, både från ett ekonomiskt- och trygghetsperspektiv vilket motiverar att lösningarna på konflikterna prioriteras.

In this dissertation I propose an ethical framework for "meeting mosses." At first glance, mosses are a tiny type of plants that have been uncritically understood as "primitive plants," to the extent that they are defined by negation as "non-vascular plants." Hence, mosses have been considered as "primitive" relatives of "true" vascular plants. This distortion is linked to the fact that mosses have been overlooked and represented as a radical otherness in Western civilization. To critically examine this distortion of, and injustice toward mosses, I use the methodology of field environmental philosophy within the conceptual framework of biocultural ethics developed by Ricardo Rozzi. I complement these concepts with foundational philosophical work by continental philosophers Martin Buber and Immanuel Levinas, and ethnobotanist and indigenous writer Robin Wall Kimmerer, with emphasis on their discourses of meeting, "face-to-face," otherness, heterogeneity, and alterity. Collectively thinking with these philosophers, I address the possibility of genuinely "meeting mosses," valuing them as such and not merely as a primitive "relative" or "ancestor" of vascular plants. Drawing on several botanists' accounts of plant language and plant wisdom has sharpened my reading of human-moss interactions and enriched my engagement with the heterogeneity and alterity of the Western philosophical tradition. In his book Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition, Humanist scholar Robert Pogue Harrison argues that care (for plants and life) is the human vocation. Harrison's discussion of the diversity of "gardens" helped me to clarify multi-dimensional human-moss interactions. In terms of content and structure, I organize my analysis based on two central dimensions of human-plant interactions stated in Rozzi's biocultural ethics: biophysical and cultural, particularly, symbolic-linguistic dimensions. I explore the biophysical dimension of biocultural conservation focusing on mosses in a region where they represent the most diverse and abundant type of plants, southwestern South America. In this region, I conducted fieldwork at three reserves in Chile, Senda Darwin Biological Reserve on Chiloe Island, Magallanes National Reserve, and Omora Ethnobotanical Park in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, south of Tierra del Fuego. I investigate the linguistic-cultural dimension, through the scientific binomial nomenclature as well as through the traditional naming by indigenous cultures, particularly in China. Additionally, I examine the arts as an important cultural expression of interacting with mosses that inspires biocultural conservation. I examine the role that the arts play in the education and conservation programs at the Omora Ethnobotanical Park in Chile and Shenzhen Fairy Lake Botanical Garden in China, as a way to invite students and others to have direct encounters with mosses which lead to hands-on (tactile and place-based) moss conservation. I begin this study with a deliberation of the multiple injustices embedded in contemporary social-ecological-cultural dimensions of global change, and I suggest pathways towards caring for plants and the diversity of life. Caring for mosses is not a one-way human-plant-directed process. By nourishing our physical and cultural lives, we can metaphorically say that mosses "take care" of humans. Once we integrate both "caring for mosses" and being sensitive to the "mosses caring for us," then biocultural conservation moves towards a more reciprocal conviviality. In addition to collectively thinking with other humans, metaphorically I aim to think and feel with the mosses, and therefore I am transformed by them. This is the ultimate meaning of "meeting mosses."

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