25.01.2010
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? To project page
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Duck Stop: Episode 10, 25/01/2010
All’s Well that Ends Well?
Celebrating the halfway mark on Lake Constance. After several dives, Anja is able to present her first results on dry land. Where did the birds eat what and where do they prefer to moult? The investigations in and around Lake Constance also have another dimension: Using these findings it will also be possible to explain the migration of waterbirds across Europe. The availability of moulting sites is particularly important to birds throughout Europe, but for this Anja still has some data left to evaluate…
18.01.2010
On the Lake Bed
The final dive! What is it like in the cages on the lake bed? And have the birds left anything on the open areas?
11.01.2010
Wind and Waves
Ideal sailing weather! Today, Anja and Gabi plan to collect plants and shells – if the lake will let them.
14.12.2009
The Coot and the Trap
The bird-catching continues – and this time Anja is in luck! After the breeding season many water birds are moulting and are thus unable to fly. Easy prey?
27.10.2009
Going Bird Catching
The researchers need to catch birds to perform an isotope analysis. No easy task! Perhaps a duck trap will help
23.09.2009
On Love Island
It's getting romantic: Research, just before sunset on Love Island—what awaits Anja here?
07.09.2009
Submerged
Bottles, lead, flippers: Today is the day of the dive to place the cages for the experiment on the lake bed – will everything go to plan this time?
06.08.2009
First Form Filling, Then Research
She’s passed the diving exam, now she can really get down to work! First of all, she needs to find the best place to conduct the bird count – no easy task, as she soon discovers…
13.07.2009
Diving on a Lead
Coming up for air in the name of research. Before Anja can take the plunge she has to pass a test: She has to demonstrate that she can hold her breath for long enough – it’s no walk in the park…
30.06.2009
Life in the Lower Lake
At the diving station: above all, the researchers want to learn one thing in particular: how many plants do the water birds eat and how does that affect the symbiotic community of animals in the lower lake. But how do the researchers keep track of the feeding habits?
The Projects
Everything about wave hunters, discrete optimisers and love à la Darwin—here, you'll experience what lies behind the individual projects as you follow the research diaries and get to know the scientists.
Function through Diversity
Pioneering work in China: The largest ever forest experiment on biodiversity
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