Some Like It Hot: The Influence and Implications of Climate Change on Coffee Berry Borer (Hypothenemus hampei) and Coffee Production in East Africa

The negative effects of climate change are already evident for many of the 25 million coffee farmers across the tropics and the 90 billion dollar (US) coffee industry. The coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei), the most important pest of coffee worldwide, has already benefited from the temperature rise in East Africa: increased damage to coffee crops and expansion in its distribution range have been reported. In order to anticipate threats and prioritize management actions for H. hampei we present here, maps on future distributions of H. hampei in coffee producing areas of East Africa. Using the CLIMEX model we relate present-day insect distributions to current climate and then project the fitted climatic envelopes under future scenarios A2A and B2B (for HADCM3 model). In both scenarios, the situation with H. hampei is forecasted to worsen in the current Coffea arabica producing areas of Ethiopia, the Ugandan part of the Lake Victoria and Mt. Elgon regions, Mt. Kenya and the Kenyan side of Mt. Elgon, and most of Rwanda and Burundi. The calculated hypothetical number of generations per year of H. hampei is predicted to increase in all C. arabica-producing areas from five to ten. These outcomes will have serious implications for C. arabica production and livelihoods in East Africa. We suggest that the best way to adapt to a rise of temperatures in coffee plantations could be via the introduction of shade trees in sun grown plantations. The aims of this study are to fill knowledge gaps existing in the coffee industry, and to draft an outline for the development of an adaptation strategy package for climate change on coffee production. An abstract in Spanish is provided as Abstract S1.

Artificial Skin - Culturing of Different Skin Cell Lines for Generating an Artificial Skin Substitute on Cross-Weaved Spider Silk Fibres

Background: In the field of Plastic Reconstructive Surgery the development of new innovative matrices for skin repair is in urgent need. The ideal biomaterial should promote attachment, proliferation and growth of cells. Additionally, it should degrade in an appropriate time period without releasing harmful substances, but not exert a pathological immune response. Spider dragline silk from Nephila spp meets these demands to a large extent. Methodology/Principal Findings: Native spider dragline silk, harvested directly out of Nephila spp spiders, was woven on steel frames. Constructs were sterilized and seeded with fibroblasts. After two weeks of cultivating single fibroblasts, keratinocytes were added to generate a bilayered skin model, consisting of dermis and epidermis equivalents. For the next three weeks, constructs in co-culture were lifted on an originally designed setup for air/liquid interface cultivation. After the culturing period, constructs were embedded in paraffin with an especially developed program for spidersilk to avoid supercontraction. Paraffin cross-sections were stained in Haematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) for microscopic analyses. Conclusion/Significance: Native spider dragline silk woven on steel frames provides a suitable matrix for 3 dimensional skin cell culturing. Both fibroblasts and keratinocytes cell lines adhere to the spider silk fibres and proliferate. Guided by the spider silk fibres, they sprout into the meshes and reach confluence in at most one week. A well-balanced, bilayered cocultivation in two continuously separated strata can be achieved by serum reduction, changing the medium conditions and the cultivation period at the air/liquid interphase. Therefore spider silk appears to be a promising biomaterial for the enhancement of skin regeneration.

Interactions between Spider Silk and Cells - NIH/3T3 Fibroblasts Seeded on Miniature Weaving Frames

Background: Several materials have been used for tissue engineering purposes, since the ideal matrix depends on the desired tissue. Silk biomaterials have come to focus due to their great mechanical properties. As untreated silkworm silk has been found to be quite immunogenic, an alternative could be spider silk. Not only does it own unique mechanical properties, its biocompatibility has been shown already in vivo. In our study, we used native spider dragline silk which is known as the strongest fibre in nature. Methodology/Principal Findings: Steel frames were originally designed and manufactured and woven with spider silk, harvesting dragline silk directly out of the animal. After sterilization, scaffolds were seeded with fibroblasts to analyse cell proliferation and adhesion. Analysis of cell morphology and actin filament alignment clearly revealed adherence. Proliferation was measured by cell count as well as determination of relative fluorescence each after 1, 2, 3, and 5 days. Cell counts for native spider silk were also compared with those for trypsin-digested spider silk. Spider silk specimens displayed less proliferation than collagen-and fibronectin-coated cover slips, enzymatic treatment reduced adhesion and proliferation rates tendentially though not significantly. Nevertheless, proliferation could be proven with high significance (p<0.01). Conclusion/Significance: Native spider silk does not require any modification to its application as a biomaterial that can rival any artificial material in terms of cell growth promoting properties. We could show adhesion mechanics on intracellular level. Additionally, proliferation kinetics were higher than in enzymatically digested controls, indicating that spider silk does not require modification. Recent findings concerning reduction of cell proliferation after exposure could not be met. As biotechnological production of the hierarchical composition of native spider silk fibres is still a challenge, our study has a pioneer role in researching cellular mechanics on native spider silk fibres.

Thermal Tolerance of the Coffee Berry Borer Hypothenemus hampei: Predictions of Climate Change Impact on a Tropical Insect Pest

Coffee is predicted to be severely affected by climate change. We determined the thermal tolerance of the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei, the most devastating pest of coffee worldwide, and make inferences on the possible effects of climate change using climatic data from Colombia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. For this, the effect of eight temperature regimes (15, 20, 23, 25, 27, 30, 33 and 35 degrees C) on the bionomics of H. hampei was studied. Successful egg to adult development occurred between 20-30 degrees C. Using linear regression and a modified Logan model, the lower and upper thresholds for development were estimated at 14.9 and 32 degrees C, respectively. In Kenya and Colombia, the number of pest generations per year was considerably and positively correlated with the warming tolerance. Analysing 32 years of climatic data from Jimma (Ethiopia) revealed that before 1984 it was too cold for H. hampei to complete even one generation per year, but thereafter, because of rising temperatures in the area, 1-2 generations per year/coffee season could be completed. Calculated data on warming tolerance and thermal safety margins of H. hampei for the three East African locations showed considerably high variability compared to the Colombian site. The model indicates that for every 1 degrees C rise in thermal optimum (T(opt)), the maximum intrinsic rate of increase (r(max)) will increase by an average of 8.5%. The effects of climate change on the further range of H. hampei distribution and possible adaption strategies are discussed. Abstracts in Spanish and French are provided as supplementary material Abstract S1 and Abstract S2.

Tile-Based Two-Dimensional Phase Unwrapping for Digital Holography Using a Modular Framework

A variety of physical and biomedical imaging techniques, such as digital holography, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) enable measurement of the phase of a physical quantity additionally to its amplitude. However, the phase can commonly only be measured modulo 2π, as a so called wrapped phase map. Phase unwrapping is the process of obtaining the underlying physical phase map from the wrapped phase. Tile-based phase unwrapping algorithms operate by first tessellating the phase map, then unwrapping individual tiles, and finally merging them to a continuous phase map. They can be implemented computationally efficiently and are robust to noise. However, they are prone to failure in the presence of phase residues or erroneous unwraps of single tiles. We tried to overcome these shortcomings by creating novel tile unwrapping and merging algorithms as well as creating a framework that allows to combine them in modular fashion. To increase the robustness of the tile unwrapping step, we implemented a model-based algorithm that makes efficient use of linear algebra to unwrap individual tiles. Furthermore, we adapted an established pixel-based unwrapping algorithm to create a quality guided tile merger. These original algorithms as well as previously existing ones were implemented in a modular phase unwrapping C++ framework. By examining different combinations of unwrapping and merging algorithms we compared our method to existing approaches. We could show that the appropriate choice of unwrapping and merging algorithms can significantly improve the unwrapped result in the presence of phase residues and noise. Beyond that, our modular framework allows for efficient design and test of new tile-based phase unwrapping algorithms. The software developed in this study is freely available.

Defensin-Like ZmES4 Mediates Pollen Tube Burst in Maize via Opening of the Potassium Channel KZM1

In contrast to animals and lower plant species, sperm cells of flowering plants are non-motile and are transported to the female gametes via the pollen tube, i.e. the male gametophyte. Upon arrival at the female gametophyte two sperm cells are discharged into the receptive synergid cell to execute double fertilization. The first players involved in inter-gametophyte signaling to attract pollen tubes and to arrest their growth have been recently identified. In contrast the physiological mechanisms leading to pollen tube burst and thus sperm discharge remained elusive. Here, we describe the role of polymorphic defensin-like cysteine-rich proteins ZmES1-4 (Zea mays embryo sac) from maize, leading to pollen tube growth arrest, burst, and explosive sperm release. ZmES1-4 genes are exclusively expressed in the cells of the female gametophyte. ZmES4-GFP fusion proteins accumulate in vesicles at the secretory zone of mature synergid cells and are released during the fertilization process. Using RNAi knock-down and synthetic ZmES4 proteins, we found that ZmES4 induces pollen tube burst in a species-preferential manner. Pollen tube plasma membrane depolarization, which occurs immediately after ZmES4 application, as well as channel blocker experiments point to a role of K(+)-influx in the pollen tube rupture mechanism. Finally, we discovered the intrinsic rectifying K(+) channel KZM1 as a direct target of ZmES4. Following ZmES4 application, KZM1 opens at physiological membrane potentials and closes after wash-out. In conclusion, we suggest that vesicles containing ZmES4 are released from the synergid cells upon male-female gametophyte signaling. Subsequent interaction between ZmES4 and KZM1 results in channel opening and K(+) influx. We further suggest that K(+) influx leads to water uptake and culminates in osmotic tube burst. The species-preferential activity of polymorphic ZmES4 indicates that the mechanism described represents a pre-zygotic hybridization barrier and may be a component of reproductive isolation in plants.

Ergebnisbericht der Befragung von Teilnehmenden des Gasthörenden‐ und Seniorenstudiums (GHS) sowie von Regelstudierenden der Leibniz Universität Hannover zum Thema „Bildung im Alter“

Bericht über eine Fragebogenerhebung bei Seniorstudierenden und regulär Studierenden an den Universitäten Magdeburg und Hannover im Sommersemester 2014. Darstellung und Interpretation der Ergebnisse vor dem Hintergrund aktueller Studien und Literatur zum Thema Bildung im Alter.

Soil organic carbon stocks in estuarine and marine mangrove ecosystems are driven by nutrient colimitation of P and N

Mangroves play an important role in carbon sequestration, but soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks differ between marine and estuarine mangroves, suggesting differing processes and drivers of SOC accumulation. Here, we compared undegraded and degraded marine and estuarine mangroves in a regional approach across the Indonesian archipelago for their SOC stocks and evaluated possible drivers imposed by nutrient limitations along the land-to-sea gradients. SOC stocks in natural marine mangroves (271–572 Mg ha-1 m-1 were much higher than under estuarine mangroves (100–315 Mg ha-1 m-1 with a further decrease caused by degradation to 80–132 Mg ha-1 m-1. Soils differed in C/N ratio (marine: 29–64; estuarine: 9–28), δ15N (marine: 0.6 to 0.7‰; estuarine: 2.5 to 7.2‰), and plant-available P (marine: 2.3–6.3 mg kg-1; estuarine: 0.16–1.8 mg kg-1). We found N and P supply of sea-oriented mangroves primarily met by dominating symbiotic N2 fixation from air and P import from sea, while mangroves on the landward gradient increasingly covered their demand in N and P from allochthonous sources and SOM recycling. Pioneer plants favored by degradation further increased nutrient recycling from soil resulting in smaller SOC stocks in the topsoil. These processes explained the differences in SOC stocks along the land-to-sea gradient in each mangrove type as well as the SOC stock differences observed between estuarine and marine mangrove ecosystems. This first large-scale evaluation of drivers of SOC stocks under mangroves thus suggests a continuum in mangrove functioning across scales and ecotypes and additionally provides viable proxies for carbon stock estimations in PES or REDD schemes.

Probleme und Risiken bei der geplanten Einlagerung radioaktiver Abfälle in einen nordwestdeutschen Salzstock

Der Plan, große Mengen radioaktiver Materialien in Salinar- gesteine von Salzstöcken einzulagern, schließt die Rück- holbarkeit praktisch aus. Bei der Abschätzung des Langzeitverhaltens der Gesteine, der Grubenbaue und des gesamten Diapirs sind - wie auch beim Einlagerungsvorgang selbst - Fehler nicht auszuschließen und nicht korrigierbar. Die Antragsteller behandeln die geowissenschaftlichen Aspekte der Einlagerung (Teilprojekt 6) nicht qualifiziert und widmen den damit verbundenen Problemen eine unangemessen geringe Aufmerksamkeit. Sie lassen die einem solchen Projekt adäquate planerische Sorgfalt vermissen, gehen mit den zur Verfügung stehenden Daten in ihrer Argumentation ungenau oder selektiv um und erwecken den Eindruck, unter der Erdoberfläche nach dem 'trial-and-error'-Prinzip Vorgehen zu wollen. Salzstöcke sind tektonisch grundsätzlich instabile Gesteinskörper. Die an ihrem Aufbau überwiegend beteiligten Gesteine sind die wasserlöslichsten der Erdkruste; sie reagieren am empfindlichsten auf mechanische und thermische Beanspruchung und sind am reaktionsfähigsten bei möglichen Interaktionen zwischen Einlagerungsmaterial und Einlagerungsmedium. Salzstöcke sind die auf bergtechnische Eingriffe am sensibelsten reagierenden Gesteinskörper, insbesondere, wenn der am Salzspiegel herrschende Lösungszustand gestört wird, wenn durch künstliche Hohlräume im Innern Kriechbewegung (Konvergenz) des gesamten Salinars ausgelöst wird und wenn mit der Einlagerung thermische Belastungen einhergehen, welche höher sind als die mit der Gesteinsbildung und -Umbildung verbundenen Temperaturen es jemals waren. Daß trotz dieser Empfindlichkeit Gewinnungsbergbau in Diapiren möglich ist, ist kein Beleg für ihre Eignung als Endlager. Die Geowissenschaften verfügen über Modellvorstellungen zur Deutung der Salinargenese, des Salzaufstiegs und des gebirgsmechanischen Verhaltens. Diese Modelle sind teils als 'Lehrbuchwahrheit1 allgemein akzeptiert, werden z.T. aber auch als Hypothesen kontrovers diskutiert. Langzeitprognosen über das Verhalten von Gesteinen sind nicht verläßlich, wenn sie auf widersprochenen Modellvorstellungen über das Wesen von Gesteinen und Gesteinsverhalten beruhen. Die Salzstockauswahl ging der geowissenschaftlichen Erkundung voraus. Die wenigen publizierten Daten zur regionalen Geologie lassen nicht auf einen bergbautechnisch besonders leicht zu beherrschenden Salzstock schließen. Die Lage des Diapirs im Verbreitungsgebiet wasserreicher quartärzeitlicher Rinnensysteme spricht genauso gegen die Standortwahl wie die zu erwartende komplizierte Interntektonik und die politisch bedingte Unerforschbarkeit der Gesamtstruktur Gorleben-Rambow. Als Fehlentscheidung ist die durch Landkäufe am Standort Gorleben vorweggenommene Auswahl des Fabrikgeländes einschließlich Schachtanlage und Tritiumwasser-Verpressung auf dem Salzstock zu werten. Der nicht auszuschließende "Störfall Wassereinbruch" kann sich über Tage auf die Standsicherheit der riesigen Gebäude und Lagerbecken zerstörerisch auswirken und so Kontamination der Umgebung verursachen. Geowissenschaftliche Gründe, Erfahrungen aus der Bergbaukunde und die Erwartung, daß man fehlerhaftes Handeln nicht ausschließen kann, führen den Verfasser zu der Überzeugung, daß die Endlagerung radioaktiver Abfälle im Salz nicht zu empfehlen und nicht zu verantworten ist.

Die Crinoiden der nordwestdeutschen Unterkreide

Diese Veröffentlichung ist der zweite und umfangreichste Ausschnitt meiner Examensarbeit. Ein erster Ausschnitt über die Crinoiden des Grenzgebietes Deutschland-Niederlande wurde bei "grondboor en hamer" eingereicht (in niederländischer Sprache), ein dritter Ausschnitt über die Crinoiden des Osning-Sandsteins ist für eine Zeitschrift des Naturkunde-Museums Bielefeld vorgesehen. Ziel der Examensarbeit ist es, erstens die Mega-, Meso- und Mikroreste der Crinoiden der nordwestdeutschen Unterkreide möglichst vollständig zu erfassen und systematisch zu bearbeiten, zweitens deren stratigraphische sowie paläogeographische bzw. fazielle Verbreitung zu ermitteln. Es wurde versucht, für diese Arbeit den größten Teil der in den verschiedenen Sammlungen vorhandenen Crinoidenreste zu berücksichtigen.

Frühdiagenetische Karbonatzementation in glazigenen und fluviatilen Sedimenten des Wesertales NW Hameln

In the Weser valley NW Hameln early diagenetic carbonate cementation is present in the upper Elsterian to Drenthe sediments. Examination of the calcite cement indicated a multiphase formation. Cementation occured mainly in vadose environment above ground-water table. This process generated predominantly brown calcite cement with a crystal size of <5 to 20pm. Next to meniscus-cement this fine-crystalline calcite forms further cements typical for vadose zone. In one layer of the „Mittelterrasse'-sediments, deposited in the late Elsterian age, a calcite cement is present, which may already have formed in the Holstein Interglacial. Cementation started in the upper-most layers of the „Mittelterrasse'-sediments in a late phase of „Mittelterrasse“-accumulation in this area. The so formed consolidated layers were deformed by the Drentheglacier. After ice melting cementation continued in at least 3 phases, creating nonluminiscent phreatic, orange to red luminiscent vadose and nonluminiscent vadose calcite cement.

Oberjurassische Korallen-Geschiebe (Thamnasteria concinna) aus einer Kies-/Sandgrube bei Freden/Leine (Leinebergland)

Upper-Jurassic geschiebe-corals (Thamnasteria concinna) from a gravel-/sandpit at Freden/Leine are described. They are slightly bored by bivalves (Gastrochaenolites) and worms (Trypanites). Some oysters (Nanogyra Inana) encrusted the surface. The corals growed as massiv head-like (bulbous) colonies with "multicolumnar growth form" and ragged outlines. Similar shaped colonies are reported from Easteuropean Upper Jurassic (Pommerania), but are never reported for NW-Germany. Beds in which the coral-geschiebe were found - Drenthe stage in age - contain a high content of local geschiebe-material. The low degree of abrasion of the coral-geschiebe indicates short glacial transportation. It is possible, that the geschiebe originate from the Heersumer Schichten from Selter to Thüster Berg.

Elfas und Ahlsburg - die Struktur der Schollengrenze zwischen Hils und Solling

The Elfas, Ahlsburg, and Salzderhelden overthrusts have been considered for a long time to be halotectonic structures caused by diapiric rise of Zechstein salt into thrust planes and other zones of weakness in the overlying rocks. Much of the Markoldendorf syncline between the overthrusts is covered by Quaternary deposits. The structure of the syncline and its western and southern boundaries were mapped with the help of many boreholes and micropalaeontological dating during remapping of the 1 : 25 000 geological sheet 4124 (Dassel). The Ahlsburg overthrust has now been shown to continue to the NW and to lead into the Lüthorst graben, which truncates the syncline in the west and passes into the crestal fault of the Elfas anticline. Figure 6 shows the NW-SE trending faults bounding three blocks which, according to seismic interpretation (Geotectonic Atlas 1996), have moved several times, in some areas in opposite senses. The NNE-SSW-trending grabens act as hinges, separating the NW-SE faults into sections that have undergone different movement.

Geschiebekundlich-stratigraphische Untersuchungen in der südlichen Lüneburger Heide

An outline of the Pleistocene history of the southern Lüneburg Heide is given based on the interpretation of exposed sections and indicator-stone analysis. Locally, Elsterian sediments crop out at the surface, mainly near the Holsteinian kieselgur (diatomite), thus indicating the existence of a pre-Saalian relief. Most of the Pleistocene deposits were formed during the three Saali- an ice advances. The ground moraine (basal till) of the first advance (the main Drenthe moraine) and its outwash sands are only locally exposed and only at the margin of the Aller valley do they form a relatively extensive plain. To the north, they are overlain by outwash sands of the late Drenthe advance. Also the Uelzen end moraine consists mainly of these outwash sands. The Uelzen moraine was overridden by the same ice advance. The Warthe ice sheet left only minor traces ridge; its advance came to a final stop at the already dumped morainic material.

Oberjura-Riffe in NW-Deutschland : ein Überblick

For the first time, in this study NW-German coral and reef localities are comprised. Three well exposed and developed reefal units, which have been analyzed by a working group located at the Institut für Geologie und Paläontologie in Hannover, are extensively described and classified orientated with pre-existing reef classifications. The paleoecologic interpretation of these reefs is compared with several similar reefal units from throughout W and SW Europe.