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research Magazine of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft german

3/2003 Of Aphids and Ants Caesar’s Waterworks The Capercaillie and the Question of Survival When Gods Become Visible The Whole Extent of the Antarctic The Revival of a Great Library GermResearch_3_2003 16.01.2004 11:44 Uhr Seite 1

german research 3/2003

In this issue Commentary Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker How to Measure Momentum for Research in Europe ...... p. 2 a Continent Engineering Sciences A modern satellite system pro- vides geoscientists with precise René Borch, Michael Mayer, Klaus Lindner, Claudia Depenthal, information about the tectonic Bernhard Heck movements of the Antarctic The Whole Extent of the Antarctic ...... p. 4 continent. The data are collect- ed on the ground, sometimes Henning Fahlbusch, Hubertus Manderscheid, Christoph Ohlig under harrowing weather con- Caesar’s Waterworks ...... p. 8 ditions. Of special interest to sci- entists are changes in the uplift and subsidence of the Antarctic Arts and Humanities peninsula. The results of the re- Ulrich Demmer, Frank Heidemann peatedly undertaken measure- ments are used for studies on When Gods Become Visible ...... p. 12 climatic developments. Page 5 Hans-Jörg Künast, Helmut Zäh Of Pools, Ponds The Revival of a Great German Library ...... p. 16 and Pipes Life Sciences The Roman Emperor Hadrian devoted much of his time to the Klaus H. Hoffmann, Melanie Fischer, Wolfgang Völkl, construction and improvement Matthias W. Lorenz of public works. His own resi- Of Aphids and Ants ...... p. 20 dence – the Villa Adriana – out- side of Rome was also equipped Ilse Storch with sophisticated systems of The Capercaillie and the Question of Survival ...... p. 24 water supply. Archeologists are currently trying to reconstruct the complex arrangement of pipes and canals ensuring the water supply for the lavish baths and fountains which the Ants Have villa was famous for. Page 8 a Sweet Tooth, Too Over millions of years ants have developed a fas- Hunt for a cinating coexistence with various aphid species. Literary Treasure While the ants provide protection from predators and parasites, the aphids produce honeydew, Konrad Peutinger lived in 16th a sugary excretion, on which the ants feed century Augsburg and was a (Page 21). Cover photo: Klaus Hoffmann contemporary of Luther. During his lifetime he set up one of the most important humanist Impressum libraries in Germany, contain- ing unique works of Gutenberg german research is published by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, Ger- and Calvin. Yet, his legacy man Research Foundation); Editorial staff: Dieter Hüsken (editor-in-chief, design), could not be protected. Most of Dr. Rembert Unterstell, Ursula Borcherdt-Allmendinger, Angela Kügler-Seifert; English Consultant: Nicholas Naughton BDÜ, Translation: SciTech Communications the collection was dispersed GmbH, Heidelberg; Publisher: WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim, among booksellers and other P.O. Box 10 11 61, D-69451 Weinheim (Germany); Annual Subscription price 2004: libraries after his death. Now, € 44.00 (Europe), US $ 48.00 (all other countries) including postage and handling an Augsburgbased research charges. Prices are exclusive of VAT and subject to change. Printed by: Bonner Uni- versitäts-Buchdruckerei; Address of editorial staff: Deutsche Forschungsgemein- group is trying to recover this schaft, Press and Public Relations Division, Kennedyallee 40, D-53175 Bonn lost literary treasure. Page 17 (Germany); E-mail: [email protected]; Internet: www.dfg.de; printed on chlorine-free bleached paper with 50% recycling fibres. ISSN 0172-1518

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Commentary

esearch in Europe needs fresh a question of attracting as many under competitive conditions. It is momentum in order to become young scientists and academics as often the major industrial nations Rmore competitive with the rest possible for research and offering that are no longer in a position to re- of the world. Europe competes with them excellent conditions under cruit the demand for researchers the leading scientific nations, the which to pursue it. One central from their own educational and uni- United States and Japan, but also thought, as expressed in the Emmy versity systems. Barely half of the with Asian regions in which the in- Noether Programme of the DFG, young researchers working in the dividual high-population countries but also in comparable programmes United States today were born in like China and India alone have at our partner organisations, is the that country. enormous future potential. possibility of creating an indepen- Up to now, with the exception of A few years ago, EU research dent research unit as they return the human resources programmes commissioner Philippe Busquin in- from a successful stay abroad. For of the EU, the nations of Europe troduced the concept of the Euro- the DFG, the Independent Junior have fought the battle to retain pean Research Area (ERA). This Research Group has become the their pool of young scientists and was a decisive contribution to clari- fying the discussion on research policy in Europe. He made it clear that to establish a strong ERA re- quires an effort to overcome internal weaknesses which arise from the di- versity and fragmentation of the states and systems. To a certain ex- tent, the ERA transcends the state of political unification of Europe in that it increases the existing re- search potential both within Europe and in a global context. I see the concretization and re- finement of the idea of the Euro- pean Research Area as a major chal- lenge for both politicians and re- searchers. Politicians have set ambi- tious objectives with the resolutions of Lisbon (2000) and Barcelona (2002). By 2010, Europe is to be- come the most competitive and dy- namic knowledge-based economy in the world and increase its re- search spending to three percent of GDP. The research system must now respond to this improvement in the general conditions with con- crete proposals and initiatives. One such initiative is the EURYI (European Young Investigator) Awards programme, which emerged from the discussions of the presi- dents and leaders of the national re- core of its funding plan for young re- academics separately. With the search organizations in Europe (the searchers. The opportunity to attain EURYI Awards programme, the EUROHORCs, European Union independence in research early on, major research organisations of Research Organisations Heads of meaning just a few years after earn- most European countries are join- Research Councils) on the question ing one’s doctorate, should increase ing together and entering the glob- of how these organisations can con- the motivation for working in re- al competitive arena on a common tribute their own resources to the re- search and at the same time im- basis. Any young researcher who alisation of the ERA. In recent years, prove one’s prospects for a success- qualifies for the programme can many organisations have developed ful career. submit a proposal for a EURYI funding programmes by which they The effort to lure young re- Award within the ERA, or, more can pursue a strategy of supporting searchers back from abroad makes exactly, in one of the fourteen the next generation of highly quali- the present situation quite clear: countries with at least one organi- fied scientists that goes beyond fel- The competition for the best minds sation taking part in the initial call 2 lowships for young researchers. It is is an international one and is waged for proposals.

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What are the details of the pro- student level, as well as allowances During the review process and in gramme, first announced in mid- for consumables and travel expens- the final selection phase, the partici- September 2003? After a prepara- es. That means a cost of between pating organisations work together tory period of about one year, the 150,000 and 250,000 euro per in a two-stage process with the Eu- representatives of 18 organisations award in all participating countries, ropean Science Foundation (ESF) in from 14 countries signed a Memo- on average about 200,000 euro. Strasbourg. The organisation in the randum of Understanding in May With the annual amount of 5.2 mil- destination country is responsible 2003, in which they agreed to pro- lion euro, one can thus expect ap- and accountable for the review vide 5.2 million euro (the DFG’s proximately 25 awards in the first process in the first stage according share is 1.3 million euro) per year for round. Applicants must have an to its own procedure. Each partici- five years in an initial call for pro- outstanding scientific track record. pating organisation is entitled to a posals for the programme. It is thus They should demonstrate the po- certain number of nominations for a shared fund in which the sole cri- tential to be able to play a leading the second, common round, accord- terion for participation is quality, international role in their particular ing to its financial involvement. The up to 25 winners are selected from the 134 possible nominations by a panel process and with the help of interviews, at least for the top candi- dates. Based on the careful time planning, it is expected that the first call for proposals will be successful- Prof. Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker ly completed with such a result by mid-2004. Then the first EURYI in- dependent junior research groups will start in autumn of next year. This will be an important milestone for promoting young researchers Momentum and excellence in academia and for cooperation within the European Research Area. And it will not stop with the EURYI Awards. Discussions are for Research presently underway for the forma- tion of a European Research Coun- cil. The real problem of the ERA is twofold, the fact that the EU frame- work programme does not provide in Europe for investment in curiosity-driven research and the fragmentation of the ERA into many and diverse sys- On the road to becoming the most tems, leading to a decrease in com- petitiveness. It thus would make lit- dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world – tle sense to add yet another research Increasing competition for the best minds council offering similar funding in- struments as the existing councils. Instead, the available money (an amount of 2 billion euro/year is cur- and in which any type of “juste re- field. There is no age limit. Instead, rently under discussion) should be tour”, or a proportional distribution since the doctoral degree is earned used to invest in instruments which of awards to the individual coun- at different ages in the different overcome the present weaknesses tries, is abandoned. countries, postdoctoral research ex- and lead to added value. The com- A EURYI Award consists of a perience of at least two to ten years ing year (2004) will be decisive in combination of a fellowship and is required. In addition, a qualified this respect. project funding, using the Indepen- invitation connected with the dent Junior Research Group in the agreement of the respective institu- Emmy Noether Programme as a tion to take on the independent ju- model. The funding thus encom- nior research group for a period of passes the payment of the leader- five years holds particular impor- ship position itself and providing tance. EURYI Awards can be given Prof. Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker two to three staff positions at the in any field of study, including the President of the Deutsche doctoral student or postdoctoral humanities. Forschungsgemeinschaft 3

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Measurement campaign in a hostile environment: The ice station is normally cut off from the outside world and getting supplies is difficult. Boxes are used to protect the equipment against the cold and damp.

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Engineering Sciences

The Whole Extent of the Antarctic

A satellite navigation system is giving geoscientists precise information about the uplift and subsidence movements of the Antarctic continent

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ture fluctuations in direct or indirect sunlight or frost. Horizontal dis- placement rates – i.e. the velocity and direction of the movement – can now be derived as standard from GPS observations with a high level of precision and reliability. Howev- er, this is not yet valid for the deter- mination of heights and vertical dis- placement rates, which are much more subject to various external and system-internal factors. This is where the project carried out by the Geodetic Institute of the University of Karlsruhe comes in, which focus- es on the height component and aims at finding a suitable evaluation strategy to obtain height informa- tion as accurately as possible. This will allow to derive uplift and subsi- dence in the Antarctic Peninsula The researchers approach an sites on the Antarctic Peninsula, area from repeated measurements. observation station on the Ukrainian which has active volcanoes and is Statements on height changes in the ice-breaker “Dranitsyn”. Their work is subject to earthquakes, were of par- Antarctic region are of interest with often dangerous and strenuous, at low temperatures, with strong wind, rain or ticular geoscientific interest. This respect to climatic development, es- snow. The electronics in the GPS data enables conclusions to be pecially in the context of the green- receivers are also extremely sensitive to drawn about current tectonic move- house effect and related parame- these hostile conditions. The penguins ments in this area. It was particular- ters, for example the ice mass bal- the scientists encounter everywhere are ly important to carefully mark ob- ance in the Antarctic. well adapted to the weather conditions servation points in the Antarctic The electromagnetic signals in Antarctica. which would remain “stable” rela- transmitted by the GPS satellites tive to the solid bedrock over a peri- pass through the earth’s atmos- od of several decades. In order to phere on their way to the receiver guarantee this, metal bolts were and experience refraction and prop- wenty-four satellites orbiting drilled directly into the solid rock. agation delays as a result of various the earth on six planes at a When very small tectonic shifts of atmospheric factors. Two important T height of about 20,200 kilome- just a few millimetres have to be de- regions of the atmosphere can tres: This image is part of the United tected, it is crucially important that be distinguished: the electrically States satellite navigation system, neither the rock nor the observation charged ionosphere and the neutral which has been fully operational point changes as a result of weath- atmosphere, which incorporates since 1995. It is now difficult to ering caused by extreme tempera- both the troposphere, extending imagine navigating without the Global Positioning System, or GPS for short, a system which is nearly unaffected by the weather and which is available around the globe, around the clock and free of charge. Between 1995 and 1998, several German universities and research institutes joined forces in coopera- tion projects with the aim of using GPS to determine the coordinates and velocities of a network of obser- vation points covering the entire Antarctic periphery. In order to achieve this scientific objective, several GPS measurement cam- paigns were carried out and analysed during the Antarctic sum- mers. The velocities and directions 6 of movements of the observation

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from the earth’s surface up to a height of about ten kilometres, and the stratosphere, which is above it and extends to a height of about fifty kilometres. As nearly all weather phenomena occur in the tropos- phere, it is logical to determine the propagation effects in the neutral atmosphere by means of meteoro- logical parameters such as tempera- ture, air pressure and humidity. The method used involves either regis- tering representative meteorologi- cal parameters on a continuous basis simultaneously with the GPS mea- surements, or attempting to deter- mine the propagation delays from the GPS observations themselves, based on fundamental meteorologi- cal assumptions. If the objective is to derive very accu- rate heights from A container laboratory is home and office for twelve scientists. Here the data GPS data, then it is first screened and evaluated. Some must be attempt- “visits” to a GPS antenna can have serious ed not only to consequences. A gull (“skua”) obstructs eliminate other the signals, briefly interrupting data sources of error, recording. but also to achieve the best possible approximation of the prevailing me- ments were carried out at three sta- teorological con- tions in the northern region of the ditions in the elec- Antarctic Peninsula in January and trically neutral at- February 2002. This involved mosphere during recording the signals from all GPS the GPS measure- satellites above the horizon every ments. However, five seconds over 24 hour cycles for as cost-effective three weeks. With an average of recording of accu- eight satellites, this set-up produced rate, representa- a large amount of data per station tive weather data per day and therefore a uniquely in the vicinity of high resolution of GPS data for this the GPS monitor- part of the globe. Carrying out mea- ing sites is hardly surement campaigns in such a hos- feasible, the usual tile environment requires both so- approach involves phisticated logistics and extremely modelling. detailed planning. After all, Antarc- When GPS tic stations receive their supplies measurements are mainly by boat or by helicopter. The made in polar re- geodetic equipment used at each gions, no signals site included a GPS antenna and re- can be received around the local unavoidably necessary to include ceiver, handheld controllers with zenith of the monitoring site be- signals recorded close to the horizon memory cards for recorded data, as cause of the configuration of the in the evaluation. However, these well as car batteries and chargers GPS satellite orbits. However, weaker signals, which are not used for the power supply. For the mea- zenithal GPS signals would for routine measurements, have sig- surements themselves, the some- be desirable, as these signals have nificantly poorer characteristics, times extreme climatic conditions in the lowest propagation delays and again requiring suitable modelling Antarctica posed the greatest diffi- disturbances because of the shorter strategies when using this critical culties. Particularly the electronics distance travelled through the data basis. In order to study these in the GPS receivers are extremely earth’s atmosphere. It is therefore and other issues, GPS measure- sensitive to these extreme meteoro- 7

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logical conditions. The battery charge time is also significantly re- duced. In order to guarantee an un- interrupted power supply for the en- tire duration of the GPS measure- ments, i.e. 24 hours a day, and to en- sure sufficient planning reliability, various simulations were carried out in a climate chamber prior to the GPS measurement campaign. The data was recorded on special mem- ory cards, with rapid card changes guaranteeing minimal data loss. This was important since the data recording had to be interrupted si- multaneously at all monitoring sites to change the cards. This approach was necessary because the mea- surements recorded simultaneously at station pairs have to be combined in the evaluation process by calcu- lating the differences between the respective observations. The advan- tage of this differencing technique is that it is possible to eliminate or mitigate the effects of some major sources of error in the observations, such as the receiver clock error, i.e. the time delay between the time scale of the GPS satellites and the receiver clock. After the recorded data had been tested for gross errors Caesar’s and outliers during the first step of the evaluation, the respective hori- zontal displacement rates of the ob- served sites were compared with Waterworks the results of former projects. At the moment, various parameters which have a significant influence on the Emperor Hadrian’s spacious residence still makes an GPS evaluation are being examined in detail in order to obtain height es- impression today. How the complex got its water timates with the best possible preci- supply is of interest to more than just archaeologists sion and reliability. It has become evident that the time intervals between the GPS observations analysed play a more significant bout 25 kilometres east of But where the water came from that role than previously anticipated. Rome just outside Tivoli – was needed to operate these instal- After the modelling phase has been Acalled Tibur in ancient times lations, which are still yet to be com- completed, the optimised evalua- – lies the Villa Adriana. This com- pletely excavated, how it was trans- tion procedures will be applied to plex of originally enormous dimen- ported, controlled and used and the data of previous observation sions served as the residence of the then where it went has not yet been campaigns in order to derive new Emperor Hadrian, who ruled from explained. As part of an interdisci- results concerning height changes AD 117 to 138, with spacious living plinary project, researchers from on the Antarctic Peninsula. quarters, ceremonial rooms, porti- different fields and several coun- coes and a theatre, grouped around tries are exploring these questions Dipl.-Ing. René Borch columned courtyards and gardens. for the first time. The examination Dipl.-Ing. Michael Mayer In addition to baths, the villa also conducted in February 2003 at the Dr.-Ing. Klaus Lindner features numerous other feats of hy- ruin site has brought new findings Dipl.-Ing. Claudia Depenthal draulic engineering such as reflect- to light: Approximately parallel to Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernhard Heck ing pools, fountain and garden in- the Villa Adriana, which was built 8 Universität Karlsruhe stallations, fishponds and latrines. on a long elevation, at a distance of

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The Villa Adriana near Tivoli is famous for its baths, reflecting pools, fountains and ponds. The “serapeum” for imperial receptions (at right in the background) awaits with sophisticated hydraulic installations. Many of the buildings of the Villa Adriana – model below – had running water installations.

type of masonry typical of the Roman Empire. This has been al- most entirely demolished. The origi- nal wall thickness was thus 90 cen- timetres altogether (three Roman feet). The same wall thickness has been determined on the slope-side opposite this, whilst the two long walls could not be uncovered far enough to state their original di- mensions with certainty. There is therefore no doubt that this structure was designed and built as a water tank. However, be- cause no traces of calc-sinter, i.e., lime deposits, were found on the un- just 1.2 kilometres, far above the Near the bottom of the head wall on covered interior surfaces, the ques- level of the imperial residence, run the valley side there is also a tion as to whether the structure was four of the major ancient Roman teardrop-shaped wall culvert of actually used as a water tank must aqueducts. Their names are famous: seven centimetres diameter. Chem- remain open for the present. In any Aqua Anio Vetus, Aqua Marcia, ical tests clearly show that lead ions case, it was used for a different func- Aqua Claudia and Aqua Anio have bonded with the mortar. tion in a second phase, as decorated Novus. The idea that the Villa Adri- A lead pipe was apparently fed plaster fragments were found inside ana was supplied with water from through the wall at this point. When and outside the tank during excava- one of these channels has long been uncovered to its foundation, it was tion and likewise on the partially discussed, but never further pur- also revealed that the wall, at 60 uncovered inside wall of the slope- sued. centimetres (two Roman feet) un- side. Two large openings in the wall The remains of a masonry wall, usually thick (house walls were also speak for a subsequent change which were found in the area of generally one and a half Roman feet in function: One opening in the val- these aqueducts and which could thick), had an additional shell in ley-side wall could indicate that have belonged to a forebay of a front of it in the opus reticulatum large lead pipes of a pressure line pressure line running from there to the Villa Adriana, offered an initial approach for study. After partially uncovering them, the remains of the wall, previously only visible above- ground, are revealed to be part of a rectangular structure whose inter- nal length and width were exactly ten by twenty Roman feet (one foot equals 29.6 centimetres). As evi- dence that it must have originally been a water tank, the plaster is of waterproof mortar and the beads are of the same material both in the corners of the building and the tran- sitions from the sides to the bottom. These beads are sealing elements, which were state of the art for engi- neering Roman water structures. 9 GermResearch_3_2003 16.01.2004 13:43 Uhr Seite 10

led from the tank to the Villa Adri- tween the tank and this aqueduct, How were the great baths (above) and ana. On the other side, this 180 cen- with sides that can be discerned to the other fountains and pools supplied timetre wide wall opening has an some extent. This channel bottom with water? The water pipe system of the Villa Adriana was complex and “even” dimension of six Roman feet runs towards the north-east corner raises many questions. Right: A cross (with a total wall length of ten of the tank. Because the tank wall it- section through two diversion Roman feet), which rather speaks self is destroyed from this level, it channels shows the newer, above, against an accidental break caused cannot be clearly determined and, below, the older one with a by the violent removal of lead pipes. whether the channel opened into smaller diameter. Excavations reveal a Another opening in one of the long the tank or whether it was intersect- triangular outlet opening from Aqua walls appears to have been careful- ed by the construction of the wall Marcia with a small tank to slow down the flow of water. ly made with nearly perpendicular and thus made non-functional. faces. Its width of 105 centimetres is a typical dimension for door open- his channel has been com- ings in houses of that period. pletely destroyed, leaving no It therefore appears possible that Tremains, immediately in front Roman aqueduct channels were the structure, originally conceived of the Aqua Marcia. A depression generally passable on foot for main- as a tank, took on a different func- was uncovered here, filled with soil tenance purposes, but the water tion at some now-indeterminate and rubble, which could have be- level was comparatively low. At an point in time, perhaps as living longed to a small pool. A more pre- accessible point of the Aqua Marcia quarters, after it was provided with cise examination revealed that this above the area being examined, it a window on the valley side and, small channel had a predecessor lo- was found that the man-high line is just around the corner, with a door cated below it, with an even smaller completely blocked with lime, pos- in the long wall, as well as decorat- cross section, which is almost com- sibly due to artificial measures. The ed on the inside. pletely blocked with lime deposits, reason for this soon became clear: A short distance from the slope- and forms the foundation of the Very high in the vault of the valley- side wall runs another wall on the higher channel. Because it was cov- side face of the Aqua Marcia there ground above, which proved to be a ered over by the later channel, it is a triangular opening, filled with vault of the Aqua Marcia. In the was not possible to determine where calc-sinter on the inner side, where- course of examining the site, a it led. It became clear, however, that as on the outer side a hole approxi- largely destroyed but still clearly it must have ceased operation by the mately 20 cm in depth remains. The identifiable bottom of a small chan- time either the later channel or the exterior of the masonry is also cov- 10 nel was revealed in the area be- tank was constructed. ered with a layer of lime deposit,

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even above the opening. The water the forebay of a pressure line start- But if the tank is to be viewed as a in the channel was apparently ing from this point, which brings the completely new construction, which under pressure and first flowed at water through one or more lead intersected and destroyed the two high speed through the opening pipes to the slope of the residence earlier diversion channels (third into the pool before running through located opposite it? Would this phase), then there must have been a a channel – in the first phase located amount of water suffice to supply third stage of development moving lower and with a smaller cross-sec- the many hydraulic engineering in- the water from the pool mentioned tion, in the later phase positioned stallations? above at the Aqua Marcia to the higher and with a larger cross-sec- We are unable to answer any of new forebay of the pressure line, of tion. these questions based on our pre- which, however, no trace can be After detailed examination of the sent knowledge. The one thing that found. The conversion of the tank layer of lime on the masonry and in appears certain is that there was a would then have to be defined as the opening, it appeared that a rec- planned, well-executed diversion the start of a fourth phase. Whether tangular 30- to 45-centimetre open- from the Aqua Marcia here. But the visible phases of the structures ing was originally constructed in the these diverting channels them- at the water removal point can be masonry and later took on a triangu- selves complicate the situation: reconciled logically with the struc- lar shape due to lime accumulation. There must have been a rather tural development of the hydraulic The ease with which these dimen- small channel in the first phase, installations of the Villa Adriana is sions can be converted into one or which was directed somewhat far- still open to question. one and a half Roman feet indicates ther to the south-west than the The question of whether the that this is not one of the notorious later channel (second phase) sitting amount of water to be removed here cases of water theft by tapping the atop it, which ran more towards the can have met the needs of the Villa lines – of which the Roman technical west. If the second-phase channel Adriana is also unanswerable at author Frontinus (ca. AD 30 to 100) emptied into the tank, then this present. The estimated flow complained many times. Rather it tank was also part of the second through the villa is about four times is a planned diversion, for which phase. Its different type of use the amount of water which the it was apparently attempted to after the modifications were made 10,000 inhabitants of Pompeii re- ceived through their long-distance aqueduct in imperial times. Further- more, according to the contempo- rary author Frontinus, the water of the Aqua Marcia was of the highest quality. What is more, there is prob- ably no consumer in the immediate vicinity whom the emperor would have granted such a great quantity of it. On the other hand, it is not at all clear how much water was used in the Villa Adriana, whether there was sufficient storage capacity in reservoirs or whether the water in the installation on the slope of the Villa Adriana could be stored tem- porarily and so reused. With the number and size of hydraulic engi- neering facilities, the amount of water from this branch may well seem low, but perhaps it would be sufficient with the water that was possibly brought in from other aqueducts. In summary: The work here is yielding extraordinarily interesting achieve pressure by artificial means would then have to be viewed as a and promising results, but raising a in the interior of the Aqua Marcia. third phase. But then no more new set of questions at the same According to a first estimate, up to water could have been taken from time. about a hundred litres of water per the Aqua Marcia. Contradicting second could have been tapped off this is the fact that the outlet Prof. Henning Fahlbusch discharged here. opening is closed not with brick- Dr. Hubertus Manderscheid Is this diversion the Villa Adriana work but with lime deposits from Dr. Christoph Ohlig branch we are seeking? Is the tank the water. Fachhochschule Lübeck 11

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Arts and Humanities When Gods Become Visible

The Jenu Kurumba are hunters and gatherers. Their tribal rituals reveal surprising aspects of the social system of this Indian community

he Jenu Kurumba, a tribe in- food, are enacted. The performance habiting the northern edge of eventually reaches its climax with Tthe Nilgiri Plateau in southern the construction of a small bower to India, are a community of hunters house the gods and the Dead during and gatherers with their own, un- the course of the ritual. With the written, language and their own so- water pitchers, food, firewood and cial system. In their rituals the Jenu the burning fire, the formerly empty Kurumba convey “visual knowl- and deserted site is transformed edge”, a matter of fundamental sig- into an inhabited camp site. The nificance for their cultural self-per- construction of the bower is fol- ception. Especially in the rituals for lowed by the social animation of the the Dead, the actors perform mean- ritual site. Relatives of the one or ingful figures incorporating funda- more deceased prepare food for all mental statements regarding their the participants, and sacrifices (such own community. Knowledge is pub- as food and incense sticks) are made licised in cultural performances, vis- to the gods and the souls of the ible to all and, moreover, presented Dead. The final act takes place in in an expressly theatrical manner. the evening, when the good com- At the centre of the Jenu Kurum- munity is presented to the gods and ba´s ritual performances lies the vi- the souls of the Dead in the form of a sualisation of two key metaphors communal feast accompanied by conveying the ideal of a moral com- music, singing and dancing. In this munity. One key metaphor defines manner, as the ritual progresses a the good community as a household representation of the community in which the generations cooperate takes form which everyone can both with each other just as people do see and experience. who are related by marriage or de- The Jenu Kurumba visualise fur- scent. A further metaphor presents ther important elements of their so- the concept of a comprehensive cial concept with a second image of community which embraces its a community shared with the gods, deities and its Dead, too. The first and thus all-embracing. This repre- image of community as a family sentation is also mainly to be found household is especially highly de- in the ritual for the Dead. The Jenu veloped in rituals of the Dead. Here Kurumba believe the gods and the a series of symbolic image se- souls of the Dead incorporate them- quences depicts the moral commu- selves in the shamans of the tribe nity as a place of lively, practical fel- and speak with the Living. Thus lowship. In the opening scene, leafy embodied, they demonstrate their green saplings cut from a special affinity with the Living and their tree are borne with theatrical cere- membership of the moral commu- monial in a sort of procession to the nity. They distribute the green site where the ritual is to be enact- saplings used for the bower, they ed. After this, everyone brings fetch the water from the river, they water from a river, and fetching hand round the filled water pitchers 12 wood for the fire, as well as bringing to the waiting women, and they

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promise the Living their support in times of crisis. On the other hand, for their part they demand solidarity and support. Thus, the gods make gestures to demand a beaker of drinking water, or even a cigarette. The shamans embody the Dead, so they are able to show their suffering and need for help. They run crouched, and hold their sides in pain, they lean on their relatives or on a stick, lament, weep or embrace the Living. In this manner, the Jenu Kurumba believe the Dead can also play an active role in the staging of the communal concept. The deities and/or the Dead also underscore their visible presence in a series of characteristic ways. The act of embodiment alone often takes the form of a dramatic display in which the shaman quakes wildly, stumbles around, throws his arms about, and is quite often on the verge of falling to the ground. Their characteristic motions also make the shamans the centre of attraction. They stride rapidly up and down,

An ancestral deity of the Jenu Kurumba. Like all deities, it displays itself to its living relatives in the form of a mask. It is honoured by rituals involving gifts and incense sticks. In the presence of the deity, the members of the tribe also relate their problems and desires.

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they are also, however, restless when they pause, and their speech is clipped and breathless. In con- trast to this, the Living remain more or less tied to one spot, their places having been allocated to them by the gods. Sometimes the gods carry staves which, like their gestures and mimicry, emphasise their authority. Thus they raise their hand or their forefinger in warning or, whilst turning in a circle, they point to the four cardinal points of the compass. At other moments they point alter- natively to the ground and the sky, thus emphasising their responsibili- ty for all aspects of the community, the underworld and the upper world of human beings. In other scenes, the gods are represented as guardians of the moral code. For this purpose the shaman fetches the Liv- ing from the periphery of the ritual site to its centre and lines them up in a row in front of him. In a sort of court hearing the embodied deities, (or the Dead,) call the Living to ac- Death ritual of the Jenu Kurumba – a particular people in order to de- count over their failings. They re- dead person, enacted by a shaman (naked nounce them as being particularly mind their relatives of their obliga- from the waist up) is led to the ritual site. imperfect. Nevertheless, the Living tions, and recall to mind the moral The saplings will be used to construct a are not entirely powerless against values of the community. They fre- bower for the deceased (below right). the gods: they defend themselves, Below left: Rice is presented as a symbol quently dramatise their anger over of solicitude; enforcing reconciliation contradict and remind the deities of moral shortcomings by stamping between the Living and the Dead, the their obligations, too. As a rule, their feet, breaking their staves, shaman embraces the bereaved. In this these conflicts end in mutual recon- raising their voices, or by use their manner the ideal of an all-embracing ciliation and acknowledgement of staves to describe a circle round moral community is visualised. the moral community, which all the

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participants witness through clearly metaphors have their origin in the rect relation to the relevant social visible symbolical gestures. egalitarian social order of this structures. Finally, it comes into its By visualising such debates in a hunter-and-gatherer culture. The own in times of crisis when the bind- public place and enacting them as image of the household signifies ing power exercised by the codes of rituals, the participants present the that the community can only thrive values and the systems of orienta- moral community to all the onlook- through the cooperation and in- tion are under threat. Rituals are de- ers and to themselves as an all-em- volvement of all its members. pendent upon active participation bracing community for argumen- This picture of the community, and can only be passed on and pre- tation and debate. This picture which also embraces its deities and served through participation. The makes it clear Dead, makes it actors are aware of the role of visual that the moral clear that in this knowledge, and ascribe great im- community not In tribal rituals egalitarian com- portance to their own performances. only demands munity nobody, Absence of ritual not only under- cooperation and the Jenu Kurumba in the end, holds mines the moral code and the social solidarity, but convey visible knowledge the power to sub- relationships, but at the same time also needs its of central elements of jugate any other signifies the loss of the deities. deities, its Dead members of the When Malinowski spoke of the na- and continuous their culture tribe. Instead of tives’ point of view he meant more debate over what this, the moral their concepts rather than their visu- is “good” and values of the al culture. Two generations later, what is “bad”, as the Jenu Kurumba community are negotiated in its ritu- Margaret Mead was to lament the say. In both these pictures of com- als. Back at the beginning of the last neglect of the Visual in ethnology, munal life, the Jenu Kurumba con- century, Bronislaw Malinowski, one and demanded its documentation. vey the visible knowledge of central of the founding fathers of modern This change in emphasis entailed a elements of their social order. In anthropology, demanded that re- major challenge to modern visual many cultures, political and reli- search into an alien culture should anthropologists: the interpretation gious power lies solely in the hands be conducted from the “natives’ of the Visible in an alien culture. of the menfolk. Participation in ritu- point of view”. Investigation of visu- When meanings are also to be con- als is strictly limited to men, to the al culture presents a new approach. veyed via images, language analy- exclusion of all women and girls. The “visible knowledge” in rituals is sis alone is not enough. To this must With the Jenu Kurumba it is differ- performed as a series of poetic im- be added investigation of the Visual. ent, and in essence every member ages, thus enabling the social and of the tribe can, and should, cultural concepts of the community PD Dr. Ulrich Demmer participate – either actively or as a to be visualised, too. At the same Prof. Frank Heidemann spectator. Moreover, both the key time, this knowledge stands in di- Universität München 15

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Arts and Humanities The Revival of a Great German Library

Detailed detective work reconstructs the book and manuscript collection of town clerk Konrad Peutinger from Augsburg. A contemporary of Luther, he set up one of the most important humanist libraries of his time

e was the creator of one of the assigned him important tasks in the most important scholarly li- realisation of his artistic-literary Hbraries of his time in the Ger- projects. Although his relationship man-speaking lands – the humanist with Maximilian’s successor Charles Konrad Peutinger from Augsburg. V was not as close, Peutinger man- The lawyer and politician was thus aged to maintain his position in one of a small elite of highly quali- Augsburg as well as in the Empire fied experts who significantly con- for some time. Only in 1534, after his tributed to shaping political and cul- efforts to reconcile the quarrelling tural life in the free imperial towns religious parties had failed and the of southern Germany around 1500 reformation had started in Augs- and during the first decades of the burg, did he resign from his post as 16th century. Due to his close rela- town clerk. Peutinger’s scholarly tionship with Emperor Maximilian I work consisted primarily of publish- he also played an important role in ing historical works. He also initiat- the German Empire. ed or promoted many editions by Konrad Peutinger (1465 to 1547), lending out manuscripts. His collec- born in Augsburg as the son of a tion of Roman inscriptions from prosperous businessman, laid the Augsburg and the surrounding foundations of his successful career area, published in 1505, was a pio- by studying in Italy from 1482 to neering achievement. Peutinger’s In a scholarly library, Konrad Peutinger, 1488. In Padua and in Bologna, in 1465 to 1547, collected the entire body own literary work was not as signifi- Florence and in Rome, he not only of knowledge of his time. He adorned cant. His main work, a methodologi- acquired outstanding legal exper- particularly valuable books with his ex-libris cally advanced history of the em- tise, he also familiarised himself (above). The portrait of the humanist is by perors from Roman times to Maxim- with the entire educational canon of Christoph Amberger. ilian I on which he spent around two the time. In 1490, after returning to decades, remained incomplete. It his native city of Augsburg, he exists today only as a collection of found employment in the municipal after and well-paid legal expert for manuscripts. administration. His permanent ap- other free imperial towns, as well as The most indispensable tool for pointment as town clerk in 1497 for private individuals and commer- all of his many activities was his li- then put him in charge. In this ca- cial firms. In 1498, he married Mar- brary, which he continually expand- pacity, he had great influence on garete Welser (1481 to 1552), whose ed over the course of over 60 years. the politics of the city which, with its father was the head of the second With more than 6,000 titles in leading banking and business hous- most successful business in Augs- approximately 2,200 volumes, it es, was at that time the most impor- burg (after the House of Fugger). spanned the entire first century tant economic center in the Empire. Thus he finally became established of printing, from Gutenberg’s “Tur- As town clerk he represented the as part of the town’s upper class. kish Calendar” (1454) to John city in the Swabian League, at Im- As early as 1491, Peutinger was Calvin’s “Catechism” (1547). There perial Diets and with the Emperor. part of an inner circle of advisers to is nothing else of its kind in Ger- In the city itself, Peutinger reformed Emperor Maximilian who entrusted many, or perhaps even north of the the administration, the town court him with numerous political and Alps. and the welfare system, among diplomatic matters until the end of In the middle of the 16th century, other things. He was also a sought- his reign in 1519. The Emperor also there existed a number of collec- 17

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tions owned by bibliophile princes the Order of the Jesuits in 1773. existing old catalogues form the and rich businessmen, such as the When Augsburg fell to Bavaria in basis of this enterprise. The first two Fuggers, which mainly served as 1806 the most precious volumes were Peutinger’s own, which how- prestige objects rather than as went to the Munich Court library. ever only include about half of the reading material. Peutinger’s li- Amongst them was the “Turkish volumes. Additionally, there is a brary, however, was predominant- Calendar” mentioned above, the complete inventory of the library ly a working library. Its diverse only existing copy. The remaining and of the rest of the estate that was range of subject areas correspond- books of the former Jesuit library, compiled 50 years after his death. ed to Peutinger’s universal inter- which still contained at least half of Finally, comprehensive source ma- ests. The library’s strongest areas the original Peutinger collection, terial exists from the middle of the were in grammar, poetry, geogra- were then handed over to the pre- 18th century when the books were phy, philosophy and theology and decessor of today’s Augsburg State already in the possession of the particularly history, rhetoric and and City Library. Augsburg Jesuits. medicine. Ancient and medieval The fragmentation of Peutinger’s Gradually, the number of books literature was represented as library continued despite the acade- originating from the Peutinger li- strongly as the works of contempo- mic interest in Peutinger’s life and brary has increased to around 40 rary authors. Peutinger especially work, which began in the 18th cen- percent of the original total, about valued the Roman writers Cicero, tury. Unapprised librarians in the three quarters of which are now in Plinius the Elder and Plinius the 19th and even the 20th century often the Augsburg State and City Li- Younger, Church Father Hierony- removed the prints that had been brary. In addition, a considerable mus and the humanist Desiderius bound together from their original number are owned by the Bavarian Erasmus. A separate room was de- bindings in order to be able to put State Library in Munich, the Acade- voted to his equally well-stocked them in alphabetical order. Thus, mic Library in Dillingen and the legal library. what was probably the most com- British Library in London. Other prehensive scholarly library of the volumes are scattered fter Peutinger’s death, across the world the library, as from New York Adecreed in his to St. Petersburg. will, remained with The sheer size of the family for more Peutinger’s collec- than one and a half tion can be surmised centuries. During from the remaining the lifetime of his parts in Augsburg, last male descen- which are equal in dant, the library size to that of other began to be frag- complete humanist li- mented, starting braries such as that of with the sale of its Beatus Rhenanus in most famous work, Schlettstadt. the “Tabula Peutin- The project mem- geriana”, a medieval bers are breaking copy of a map of the world new ground by at- from Late Antiquity which is now in Since books tempting to deter- the Austrian National Library in were produced without mine as closely as Vienna. When in 1718 the last either a publisher’s cover or a spine label, possible even titles that no longer Peutinger died and bequeathed his important information was written on exist in the original. They are basing the fore or tail edge of the book: label by famous ancestor’s library to the Peutinger on a work by Desiderius Erasmus, their investigations on relatively pre- Augsburg Jesuits, the collection printed in 1541. cise information in Peutinger’s his- suffered further losses. Immediate- torical catalogues, as well as on the ly after the collection had changed electronic cataloguing of old stock hands, several volumes, including a and the increasing accessibility of number of treasures, ended up in German-speaking world fell into 15th and 16th century prints (projcets the English antiquarian book trade. oblivion. Despite these rather un- specifically funded by the DFG). As a In the subsequent years, many favourable conditions, an interdisci- result, we have relatively reliable more books were sold. Later, the plinary research group has decided data on about a further 40 percent of Jesuits arranged the remaining vol- to study this unique collection. It is the original collection, leaving only umes among their own books, so their aim to investigate and describe 20 percent about which we have no that the former Peutinger library no the verifiable manuscripts and or only very vague information. longer existed as a unit. prints, to reconstruct the missing In addition to the search for titles More substantial losses were in- volumes and to make the contents and the description of the existing 18 curred as a result of the abolition of of the manuscripts accessible. The volumes, historical catalogues will

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be published in order to allow verifi- The Triumph of Death: colour illustration many of those manuscripts originat- cation of the information. Further- from Konrad Peutinger’s prayer book and ed from the Peutinger library was more, the two Peutinger catalogues book of hours. Miniature on parchment, previously unknown. around 1500. Top right: a page inscribed by have a value in their own right Peutinger, underneath a pen and ink With this reconstruction, which as historical library documents. drawing of a cornflower with a banderole. will consist of three text volumes Peutinger’s cataloguing is an almost and one index volume, Peutinger’s perfect example of an attempt to vanished library will re-emerge. order and make easily accessible Academics from many fields will the explosion of information that fol- One of the most significant results thus gain access to rewarding mate- lowed the invention of the printing is the re-evaluation of Peutinger’s rial for follow-up research, particu- press. Through a combination of manuscript collection, which had larly since an evaluation of the li- various, relatively modern methods previously been entirely underrat- brary within the context of the cur- of cataloguing (such as subject-, ed. The approximately 200 volumes rent project must remain limited. keyword-, location-, and alphabeti- of his collection consisted mainly of cal catalogues), Peutinger achieved medieval codices, copies of such Dr. Hans-Jörg Künast a standard that only much later codices, and a set of reference texts Dr. Helmut Zäh came into general use. from legal practice. The fact that Universität of Augsburg 19

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Life Sciences

his has surely happened to you: you park your car under a Tlime tree in the middle of sum- mer and after a short time the roof and doors are sticky, as though sugar water had been poured over them. The culprits can be found in Of Aphids a the tree right above the parked ve- hicle: aphids commonly sucking on the liquid in the sieve tubes (phloem) of plants and releasing a sugar-rich substance that settles like dew. This has given the phe- nomenon its name: honeydew. In Biblical times, it was probably the sugary excretion product of a scale bug that was the manna which saved the Israelites from starvation while crossing the Sinai desert. From a chemical perspective, honeydew is a mixture of various carbohydrates, amino acids and other plant substances. Sugar usu- ally constitutes about 98 percent of its dry weight. While plant ingredi- ents and amino acids all come from the phloem sap, the carbohydrate composition of honeydew clearly differs from that found in the liquid in the sieve tubes of the colonised plants. The phloem sap of the plants almost exclusively contains the dis- accharide sucrose, whereas aphids are able to produce a number of car- bohydrates not found in the phloem sap–for example, the trisaccharide melezitose. Honeydew is important in partic- ular for ants. Many species satisfy the carbohydrate needs of their en- tire colony from this secretion alone, which they usually take straight from the feeding aphid. Finding highly productive sources of honey- dew and defending them against competitors is therefore important to these species. As a result, those aphid species that produce particu- larly large quantities or a high quali- ty of honeydew should be preferred. The aphids also benefit from this co- existence. The ant-attendance pre- vents their pollution by the honey- dew and protects the aphids from predators and parasites. A suitable plant for studying the complex set of relationships be- tween aphids and ants is the com- mon tansy, a perennial herb of the daisy family, which is often encoun- 20 tered on roadsides, rubbish damps

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and riverbanks. Eight species of aphids live on different parts of this plant. Metopeurum fuscoviride, Macrosiphoniella tanacetaria, Aphis fabae (the black bean aphid) and Brachycaudus cardui (the thistle s and Ants aphid) all feed on the stem while forming large, dense colonies there. Aphids produce honeydew from Coloradoa tanacetina and Uroleu- con tanaceti live in small, loose the liquids of their host plant. colonies on leaves. Aphis vander- Ants love this sugary substance gooti and Trama troglodytes exclu- sively feed – largely hidden from the human eye – in dense colonies at the neck of the roots and on the roots themselves. Four of these species are exclusive to tansies, while the others can also live on other plants. In the context of a pro- ject at the University of Bayreuth, the composition of honeydew pro- duced by tansy aphids has been analysed in recent years, their hon- eydew production measured and their relationship with the black or garden ant, Lasius niger, the most common ant species in Central Eu- rope, studied.

he first astonishing result was that even though they feed on Tthe same plant, the honeydew sugar composition of different aphid species clearly differs. In five species the trisaccharide melezitose formed by the aphids was the domi- nant sugar ranging from 45 to 70 percent, but it made up only a small portion (less than 10 percent) for the three other species, Macrosi- phoniella tanacetaria, Coloradoa tanacetina, and Uroleucon tanaceti. Instead, these species produced a larger portion of erlose, another trisaccharide, with an average of 10 to 20 percent. In all species, the

The black ant, Lasius niger (large picture) is attracted by the particularly high-quality honeydew of Metopeurum fuscoviride. Many ants cover the carbohydrate needs of their entire colony from this secretion. The aphids also benefit from this coexistence. From left to right: Macrosiphoniella tanacetaria, Metopeurum fuscoviride, Aphis fabae and Coloradoa tanacetina. 21

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Ants only visit Aphis fabae when no found. Trehalose, the blood sugar of millilitre. In the other three species better alternative is available. Tansy insects, was also found in the hon- the total sugar concentration was blooms bright yellow from June to eydew of all species and constituted below 30 milligrammes per milli- September, usually on roadsides and riverbanks. It is an attractive source of from 5 to 30 percent. Surprisingly, litre. A high total sugar content was nutrients for many blossom visitors. As xylose, a phloem sap sugar with also always associated with a high many as eight aphid species feed on its five carbon atoms that is difficult melezitose portion. leaves, stems and roots. to metabolise by insects, also oc- Surprisingly, a link between the curred. age of the animals, nutrient avail- The average sugar concentra- ability to the host plant and sugar tions in honeydew also differ be- composition or sugar concentration tween aphid species. The total in the honeydew could not be found monosaccharides glucose and fruc- sugar content for the Aphis fabae for any of the aphid species studied. tose, the disaccharides sucrose, and the Brachycaudus cardui is This is all the more astonishing be- maltose and turanose, and the between 40 and 60 milligrammes cause the development and repro- trisaccharide raffinose were rou- per millilitre of honeydew, and the duction of aphids strongly depends tinely found. Although the relative highest values are found with on these factors. Possibly, the carbo- proportions also differ between Metopeurum fuscoviride, Aphis hydrates, which are abundantly species, no clear pattern compara- vandergooti and Trama troglodytes available in their food, have no ef- 22 ble to melezitose and erlose was with 80 to 100 milligrammes per fect on the development and repro-

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A special life support: Without the The ants maintained this pattern support of ants, Macrosiphoniella in so-called choice trials: colonies of tanacetaria cannot rid itself of its a less preferred aphid species were excess honeydew. The large honey- dew drops gather at the aphid’s anus simply abandoned when a more at- causing a life-threatening pollution. tractive species was offered. There is, therefore, genuine competition among aphid species. If the ants give up a colony of a less preferred species when a more “appetising” duction of aphids, but changes in species has established itself near- the availability of amino acids do. by, dramatic repercussions soon re- This is indicated by the age depen- sult. The absence of the ants allows dency of the amino acid concentra- predators to successfully feed in the tion in the honeydew of Metopeu- “defeated” colonies, and the sur- rum fuscoviride. vival rate declines. A link between melezitose con- tent and total sugar concentration is o some aphids produce a also suggested for honeydew pro- melezitose-rich honeydew to duction. The higher the values, the Dattract ants and to use the as- more honeydew was secreted by sociated advantages? After all, the the aphids. The absolute leader is production of melezitose and the re- Metopeurum fuscoviride, with a sin- lated association with ants offers gle aphid secreting up to an average many benefits. Nevertheless, it ap- of 1,000 microgrammes of honey- pears more probable that physiolog- dew per hour. Aphis vandergooti ical reasons are the determining also secreted a respectable amount factor. Earlier research assumed of honeydew with 500 micro- that melezitose plays an important grammes per hour. By contrast, the role in the regulation of the water production of Aphis fabae and balance in the aphid’s intestine. The Brachycaudus cardui (between 150 results of the Bayreuth study, which and 200 microgrammes per hour) show a clear correlation between and especially of Macrosiphoniella total sugar concentration and the tanacetaria, Coloradoa tanacetina melezitose portion, also support this and Uroleucon tanaceti (each below hypothesis. The advantage for the 50 microgrammes per hour) was aphid would then result from physi- strongly reduced. ological necessity. The differences in honeydew Why does the black ant prefer quality and quantity have a marked melezitose? Studies in Denmark effect on the mutual dependence of have shown that the nutritional aphids and ants. As could be value of melezitose is far lower for demonstrated, black ant prefers the ant brood than that of “ordi- honeydew sources with a high nary” sucrose, so we can rule out a melezitose concentration. Howev- preference for a high-quality diet. er, this alone does not make a par- Alternatively, melizitose may have ticular aphid species attractive. A a signal function since a high melez- sufficient amount of honeydew itose content in the honeydew is as- must be produced to make the ants’ sociated with both high sugar con- effort to collect it worthwhile. centration and strong honeydew Therefore, the black ant does not production. In that case, the prefer- visit the three aphid species with ence for melezitose is not a prefer- the lowest honeydew production ence for this particular sugar but a and at the same time a low melezi- reaction to an important indicator tose concentration. There is a de- agent. Is melezitose perhaps of no cided hierarchy among the other biological value to the ant? Is it only species as well: the ant exhibits a a drug for ants? definite preference for Metopeu- rum fuscoviride, from which it Prof. Klaus H. Hoffmann collects most intensively, while at Dr. Melanie Fischer the other end of the scale Aphis PD Dr. Wolfgang Völkl fabae is only visited when there are PD Dr. Matthias W. Lorenz no alternatives. Universität Bayreuth 23

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ince man began farming, the formerly uninterrupted wood- Slands of Central Europe have become arable farmland, pastures and settlements. In Germany only a third of the country is still covered by woods, now dispersed in numer- ous smaller and a few larger frag- ments. This benefits some animal species. But exclusive forest ani- mals have a problem: suitable habi- tat no longer exists in continuous areas but merely as “islands” sur- rounded by a “sea” of open land. This situation is found in many parts of the world. The reduction of species-specific habitat to islands is one of the most important causes of the decline and extinction of populations and species of larger vertebrates global- ly. To be able to survive in the long run in fragmented habitat, there are two options: either the species re- treats into the few areas which are large enough, or it migrates be- tween the various fragments. Con- servation biologists need to assess under which conditions which of the options appears viable. The capercaillie is a good exam- ple. As a typical Taiga dweller it de- Life Sciences The Capercaillie and the Questio

Where once continuous woodlands existed, only “islands” now remain in a “sea” of open countryside. What impact does this have on species such as the capercaillie? pends on open, coniferous forests. In Scandinavia and Siberia the ca- percaillie lives in extensive wooded areas. However, in Central Europe its distribution is restricted to the Alps and the lower mountain ranges: Only here are forests similar 24 to the Taiga to be found. Studies in GermResearch_3_2003 16.01.2004 12:19 Uhr Seite 25

Norway and Germany in the 1980s and 1990s on birds fitted with small transmitters demonstrated a use of much larger areas than formerly as- sumed. Both the cock and the hen used several hundred hectares of forest in the course of the year and their traditional mating grounds at- tract birds from distances of several kilometres. Since then there has been speculation that it is not only

The capercaillie is the symbol of a healthy mountain environment. In Central Europe it only occurs in the Alps and a few lower mountain ranges. This threatened species demonstrates in an exemplary manner, how important regional approaches are in conservation. A genetic fingerprint can be obtained illie from dead material such as moult feathers – a new method for performing stion of Survival research on threatened species. the quality, but also the area of a habitat, which is significant for the d, survival of capercaillie populations. pen Central European capercaillie habitats are fragmented on two lev- n els. The larger areas of forest in which they occur – such as the Vos- ges, the Black Forest and the Alps – are fifty to a hundred kilometres apart from each other. However, the forest is also broken up internally and permeated by farmland, settle- ments and roads in these regions. For example, in the Bavarian Alps the capercaillie inhabits the higher reaches of forested mountains. 25 GermResearch_3_2003 16.01.2004 13:48 Uhr Seite 26

Despite a large proportion of forested land, as in southern Bavaria, larger forest-dwelling species are absent from agricultural landscapes. There is not enough space in small forest fragments. Destruction of habitat, as in clear-cutting in the virgin forests of the Urals (right), not only means loss, but also fragmentation of the remaining patches.

A pattern of separate, more-or- less isolated habitat islands results because of the open valleys in be- tween them. Most islands are be- tween ten and a hundred square kilometres in size and form a habitat for ten to at most a hundred caper- caillies. Can this type of localised population survive even if it is iso- survival of a population with 95 % Model calculations of the mini- lated from its neighbours? certainty for the next hundred years mum size of a population capable of There are demographic and ge- – providing the habitat does not survival must not be overinterpret- netic approaches for assessing the change. Furthermore, a population ed. The relationships of population chances of a population surviving. of this size is not genetically limited dynamics are far too complex to pro- The former focus on random fluctu- in its ability to survive over the vide precise predictions of the dura- ations in population and the envi- medium term. Nevertheless, it is ob- tion of survival. Normally, it is suffi- ronment, the latter on the mainte- vious that it cannot fully represent cient to compare orders of magni- nance of genetic diversity. Using the diversity formerly found in Cen- tude. If long-term survival seems to model calculations based on demo- tral Europe. In the long run, it may require several hundred capercail- graphic variables from the Bavarian therefore lack the adaptability to lies, but a habitat island only has Alps, a population size of 500 indi- cope with future environmental room for a population of fifty birds, 26 viduals is suggested to ensure the changes. there is no doubt that its chances of

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survival must be considered low. dead material such as hair, faeces or to produce a sufficient number of The chances increase sharply, how- feathers suffice for a genetic finger- long-distance migrants. The causes ever, if several of these islands are print. The samples needed by this lie with habitat deterioration on a interlinked. This finding suggests sophisticated laboratory technique large scale as a result of changing that capercaillie populations in the are supplied by time-consuming land use by humans. In the Alps Alps and similarly fragmented areas collection in the field. Thousands of regular migrations from one moun- will only survive in the long term if moult feathers were collected for tain to another can still be demon- they have contact with their neigh- the work on capercaillies and black strated. Nevertheless, capercaillie bours – that is if they live within the grouse. In the laboratory, species- populations on neighbouring moun- association of a metapopulation. specific microsatellites were multi- tains are clearly genetically differ- A metapopulation is character- plied and analysed from the nuclei entiated even if they are only five to ised by a spatially dispersed distrib- of cells attached to the feather’s pin. ten kilometres apart. This confirms ution, local populations with a Microsatellites are markers suitable that only few juveniles emigrate. largely independent dynamic, the for identifying individuals, deter- Since most migrants fly no further exchange of migrating individuals mining kin relationships, quantify- than the neighbouring mountain, and a not insignificant risk of extinc- ing genetic differences and recog- their genes only have a chance of tion for at least some local popula- nising population collapses. The reaching the next population in the tions. The chances of a metapopula- great variability of microsatellites following generation. Therefore, tion’s survival rise with the number makes it possible to assign individu- there is a close relationship between of interconnected subpopulations, als to their populations of origin geographic and genetic distance. their sizes and the frequency of indi- viduals migrating between them. Migrants can balance out local fluctuations in population size, re- colonise abandoned areas and maintain high genetic diversity. Among vertebrates, juveniles settle elsewhere after becoming indepen- dent. The extent to which juveniles tend to migrate depends on the species as well as on the benefits and risks of migration. In habitats that continuously change naturally, species often exhibit a very pro- nounced ability to migrate, while this behaviour is less developed in species in a more constant environ- ment – such as the capercaillie. Mi- gration distances also vary within a population: short distances are com- mon, but long distances are scarce. At two to two-and-a-half kilograms the Where barriers such as the high In contrast to the closely related capercaillie hen weighs half as much as the mountain ranges of the Central Alps black grouse, the capercaillie is not cock. Both cock and hen roam over several restrict migration routes, on the hundred hectares of forest in the course of very likely to migrate. Only a few ju- the year. Only a few juveniles migrate into other hand, even an exchange over veniles – usually the females are neighbouring populations. short distances may be next to non- more mobile – migrate into neigh- existent. bouring habitat islands, while most For conservation efforts, which remain where they were raised. have a traditionally local outlook, Until recently, only a qualitative as- perhaps the most important lesson sessment of the extent to which ca- with a high probability. It is now to be learnt from research on percaillie and black grouse popula- clear from the analysis of mi- metapopulations may be that the tions exchanged individuals was crosatellites from feathers that the observed localised population dy- possible by observation of migrat- Central European populations of namics may have regional causes. A ing individuals. Even a decade ago, the capercaillie are isolated. Caper- population may appear stable be- genetic analysis was only possible caillies no longer migrate even be- cause of similar annual counts – but with fresh blood or tissue, and was tween the Black Forest and the Vos- it may in fact solely survive because therefore not justifiable for threat- ges, which are only 50 km apart as of immigration from neighbouring ened species. Since then, conserva- the crow flies. The contact probably areas. The population’s extinction tion biology has begun to use meth- broke down a few decades ago may not be caused by a decline of ods familiar in criminology. Minute when populations declined and the local habitat but a failure of im- amounts of DNA obtained from fewer chicks were raised – too few migration. 27

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In the Alps, the capercaillie inhabits mountain forests separated by open countryside in the valleys. Each mountain constitutes a habitat island with a local population. Without contact with each other through migrating individuals, they would barely survive. Juvenile migration is critical for the dynamics of overall populations. The more juveniles that mature, the more migrants can be anticipated.

This situation is evident on the northern margin of the Alps. The foothills – the northernmost edge of capercaillie distribution in the Alps – are often not good capercaillie habitats because of intensive forestry and high precipitation. However, they are still inhabited by capercaillies. The various users of this habitat, above all forestry, take this as proof of their capercaillie- ened species misses the target. To subpopulations of a metapopulation compatible forest management, but preserve metapopulations, ex- as possible. This cannot be achieved genetic data reveals a different pic- change must be ensured. For some by scattered local efforts. In conser- ture: many capercaillie stocks in the species it may be helpful to preserve vation biology the metapopulation marginal areas are solely kept alive migration corridors or to create step- concept and its application to by immigrants from more produc- ping stone areas, but for Central Eu- species in fragmented habitats has tive parts of the metapopulation. If rope’s capercaillies the problem is initiated a rethink: perspectives are immigration stops because source less in reaching neighbouring areas shifting away from the local level to- populations decline, extinction is than the decline in the number of wards regional and interregional just a matter of time. young birds and potential migrants. perspectives. The metapopulation As long as the regional relation- An active exchange is best ensured concept has not only become an im- ships are neglected, conservation of with large populations and good portant explanatory framework in the capercaillie and other threat- chick-raising conditions in as many research, but it also successfully demonstrates the necessity of inter- linking on a wider scale as a prereq- uisite for species protection in ecosystems with a strong human in- fluence. An obstacle to the con- cepts’ s acceptance in practical con- servation is that to date many theo- retical, but few empirical studies are available. They are often methodi- cally difficult, especially with large animals, suffer from small sample sizes and are considered scientifi- cally unproductive. To convince practitioners of the importance of regional approaches, case studies such as those on the capercaillie and black grouse are important learning exercises. They demonstrate the metapopulation character of a pop- ulation system and consequences for its dynamic and conservation.

PD Dr. Ilse Storch 28 Technische Universität München GermResearch_3_2003 16.01.2004 12:20 Uhr Seite 29

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Authors’ Contact Addresses The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is the Dipl.-Ing. René Borch central self-governing organisation responsible for promoting research in Germany. According to its statutes, the DFG serves all branches of science and the humanities. Dipl.-Ing. Michael Mayer The DFG supports and coordinates research projects in all scientific disciplines, in par- Dr.-Ing. Klaus Lindner ticular in the area of basic research through to applied research. Particular attention is Dipl-Ing. Claudia Depenthal paid to promoting young researchers. Every German scientist and academic is eligible Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernhard Heck to apply for DFG funding. Proposals are submitted to peer reviewers, who are elected Geodätisches Institut, by researchers in Germany in their individual subject areas every four years. Universität Karlsruhe, The DFG distinguishes between the following programmes for research funding: In the Englerstraße 7, Individual Grants Programme, any researcher can apply for financial assistance for an D-76128 Karlsruhe individual research project. Priority Programmes allow researchers from various re- PD Dr. Ulrich Demmer search institutions and laboratories to cooperate within the framework of a set topic or Prof. Dr. Frank Heidemann project for a defined period of time, each working at his/her respective research institu- Institut für Ethnologie und tion. A Research Unit is a longer-term collaboration between several researchers who Afrikanistik, generally work together on a research topic at a single location. In Central Research Fa- cilities there is a particular concentration of personnel and equipment that is required to Universität München, provide scientific and technical services. Oettingenstraße 67, D-80538 München Collaborative Research Centres are long-term university research centres in which sci- entists and academics pursue ambitious joint interdisciplinary research undertakings. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Henning Fahlbusch They are generally established for a period of 12 years. In addition to the classic Collab- Dr. Hubertus Manderscheid orative Research Centres, which are concentrated at one location and open to all subject Dr. Christoph Ohlig areas, the DFG also offers several programme variations. Transregional Collaborative Fachbereich Bauwesen/Wasserbau, Research Centres allow various locations to cooperate on one topical focus. Cultural Fachhochschule Lübeck, Studies Research Centres are designed to support the transition in the humanities to an Stephensonstraße 3, integrated cultural studies paradigm. Transfer Units serve to transfer the findings of D-23562 Lübeck basic research produced by Collaborative Research Centres into the realm of practical application by promoting cooperation between research institutes and users. Prof. Dr. Klaus Hoffmann DFG Research Centres are an important strategic funding instrument. They concentrate Dr. Melanie Fischer scientific research competence in particularly innovative fields and create temporary, PD Dr. Wolfgang Völkl internationally visible research priorities at research universities. PD Dr. Matthias W. Lorenz Research Training Groups are university training programmes established for a specific Lehrstuhl Tierökologie I, time period to support young researchers by actively involving them in research work. Universität Bayreuth, This focuses on a coherent, topically defined, research and study programme. Research D-95440 Bayreuth Training Groups are designed to promote the early independence of doctoral students Dr. Hans-Jörg Künast and intensify international exchange. They are open to international participants. In In- Dr. Helmut Zäh ternational Research Training Groups, a jointly structured doctoral programme is of- Staats- und Stadtbibliothek, fered by German and foreign universities. Stadt Augsburg, Other funding opportunities for qualified young researchers are offered by the Heisen- Schaezlerstraße 25, berg Programme and the Emmy Noether Programme. D-86152 Augsburg Humanities Research Centres were created in the new federal states to improve the ex- isting research infrastructure. These centres have been established for a specific time PD Dr. Ilse Storch period and serve to promote interdisciplinary research. Forstwissenschaftliche Fakultät The DFG also funds and initiates measures to promote scientific libraries, equips com- Außenstelle Linderhof, puter centres with computing hardware, provides instrumentation for research purpos- TU München, es and conducts peer reviews on proposals submitted within the framework of the D-82488 Ettal Hochschulbauförderungsgesetz, a legal act which provides for major equipment and Prof. Dr. Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker the construction of institutions of higher education in Germany. On an international Präsident der Deutschen level, the DFG has assumed the role of Scientific Representative to international organ- Forschungsgemeinschaft, isations, coordinates and funds the German contribution towards large-scale interna- tional research programmes, and supports international scientific relations. Kennedyallee 40, D-53175 Bonn Another important role of the DFG is to provide policy advice to parliaments and public authorities on scientific issues. A large number of expert commissions and committees provide the scientific background for the passing of new legislation, primarily in the areas of environmental protection and health care. Illustrations The legal status of the DFG is that of a private association. Its member organisations in- Hoffmann (cover, pp. 20, 21, 22, 23), clude research universities, the Academies of Sciences and Humanities, the Max Querbach (p. 2, back), Depenthal (pp. Planck Society, the Fraunhofer Society, the Leibniz Association, the Helmholtz Associa- 4/5, 5 a., 6, 7), Steinmetz (p. 5 b., 7), tion of National Research Centres, research organisations of general importance, and a number of scientific associations. In order to meet its responsibilities, the DFG receives Ohlig (pp. 8/9, 9, 10, 11), Demmer funding from the German federal government and the federal states, as well as an an- (pp. 12/13, 14, 14/15), Stadt Augsburg nual contribution from the Donors’ Association for the Promotion of Sciences and Hu- (pp. 16, 17, 19 l.), Künast (pp. 18, 19), manities in Germany. Storch (pp. 24, 24/25, 25, 26, 27, 28) a. = above, b. = below, l. = left 29

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room with a view: From Athe top floor of the DFG head office in Bonn one enjoys a scenic view of the Rhenish low mountain range, the Sieben- gebirge, and the adjacent Science Centre.