Abstract Since the EU banned classic neonicotinoids like imidacloprid and clothianidin, they may be replaced by more recently marketed insecticides such as flupyradifurone. However, they all operate on the same neuropharmacological principle as selective agonists at the insect’s nicotinic acetylcholine…
Die Morphologie der Cochlea weist eine ausgeprägte Variabilität auf, die aus dem Zusammenspiel evolutionärer Geschichte, anatomischer Zwänge und funktionaler Anforderungen an das Hörvermögen resultiert. Trotz erheblicher Fortschritte in der Morphologie, Bildgebung und dreidimensionalen Gestaltanalyse…
This thesis investigates the role of conspecific olfactory signals in insect communication, focusing on the migratory locust (Locusta migratoria) and the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster). Insects rely heavily on chemical cues to guide social interactions, yet the ecological relevance and underlying…
Phenotypic variation occurs in a hierarchical pattern, with differences occurring among species, populations, individuals and instances. In animal behavior, within-individual variation can be determined by environmental factors or be a stochastic component of behavioral strategies. The latter is particularly…
Hearing in mammals has been the subject of research for many years. The initial studies focused on humans for medical application but with the broadening of scientific knowledge came the understanding that many animals perceive sounds far beyond the human spectrum of hearing. This variability of perception…
The presence of a coiled cochlea is a unique feature of the therian inner ear. While some aspects of the cochlea are already known to affect hearing capacities, the full extent of the relationships between the morphology and function of this organ are not yet understood—especially when the effect of…
London: Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, 2023-02-08
Biodiversity patterns emerge from ecological processes that operate across multiple spatial and temporal scales, with animal movement linking local interactions to larger-scale dynamics. This thesis investigates fundamental constraints on sustained (aerobic) movement capacities, including the effects…
This thesis aimed to understand the details of the neural architecture of the olfactory system in flies of the genus Drosophila and its evolutionary adaptation to diverse species-specific environmental conditions. In the insect olfactory first relay station, the antennal lobe, olfactory sensory neurons…
Experiments in rodent animal models help to reveal the characteristics and underlying mechanisms of pathologies related to hearing loss such as tinnitus or hyperacusis. However, a reliable understanding is still lacking. Here, four different rat strains (Sprague Dawley, Wistar, Long Evans, and Lister…
The recovery of ancient DNA can only be achieved through the destructive sampling of archaeological remains. It is, therefore, of utmost importance to maximize the efficiency of both the laboratory protocols utilized and the data generated in this fashion. Here we present four manuscripts detailing a…
This work shows that the manipulation of the somatosensory system (in form of whisker-deprivation) cross-modally influences the spared primary visual cortex of the fully adult mice. Revealed by a two choice discrimination behavioral task (visual water task) it cloud be shown, that the deprivation of…
In dieser Studie wurde gezeigt, dass der soziale Dominanzstatus Einfluss auf die okulare Dominanz Plastizität (ODP) hat. Ein Laufrad erwies sich als zuverlässiger und neuartiger Dominanz-Test. In allen Fällen konnte gezeigt werden, dass immer nur eines der beiden Tiere das Laufrad überwiegend nutzte…
Evolutionary trajectories of quantitative traits are influenced by the underlying genetic architecture of such traits. But traits do not occur in isolation, and the genetic covariation between traits can be statistically summarized by the additive genetic variance covariance matrix, G. I studied the…