Importance of olfactory and visuel cues of Echium for host-plant finding of the oligolectic bee Osmia adunca (Megachilidae)

Solitary bees are important pollinators of flowers. Besides nectar they collect pollen at flowers mainly to provide their larvae with food. Many bee species collect pollen only on a few closely related plant species (oligolecty) (Müller & al. 1997). Little is known about the visual and olfactorial signals they use for host-plant finding (Wcislo & Cane 1996). However, bees can olfactorily distinguish between different pollen species (von Frisch 1923), and a species-specific chemistry of pollen odour is known for some plant species (Bergström & al. 1995, Dobson & al. 1999). Further, it was shown that naïve oligolectic bees recognize their host-plant on the basis pollen volatiles (Dobson & Bergström 2000) and that flower-experienced bees could use pollen odours to assess pollen availability (Dobson & al. 1999). Besides scent, also visual cues are of relevance for host-plant finding, and bees orientate especially spectral contrasts. Biotests with dummy flowers revealed that colour contrast and not intensity and dominant wavelengths are influencing innate behavioural responses (Lunau 1990). Further it was shown that naïve bumblebees were most motivated to land on a flower when visual stimuli from the antheres are combined with olfactorial stimuli from the pollen (1992). We choose Osmia adunca P., which is highly specialized on Echium L., as a model to investigate the importance of floral cues for an oligolectic bee. Because bees learn to associate odours with reward more rapidly than visual cues (Menzel 1985), we hypothesize that scent plays a major role in attraction flower-experienced O. adunca females. We used gas chromatography to compare the scent of three Echium species with the scent of a closely related Anchusa species, and a spectrometer to compare the colour of the three Echium species. Additionally we conducted a biotest to determine the importance of visual and olfactorial signals of Echium for host-plant finding of experienced O. adunca females.Bienen besuchen Blüten, um u. a. Pollen zu sammeln, der hauptsächlich der Versorgung der Larven dient. Einige Bienenarten sammeln Pollen von nur einer oder wenigen Pflanzengattungen und werden als Oligolekten bezeichnet. Der Anlockung von Bienen dienen olfaktorische und visuelle Blütensignale. Wir postulierten, dass die eng auf Echium (Boraginaceae) spezialisierte Mauerbiene Osmia adunca (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) gattungsspezifische visuelle und olfaktorische Blütensignale benutzt, um ihre Wirtspflanzen zu finden erkennen. Mittels chemischer Analysen (GC) konnten wir einen Echium-spezifischen Duft nachweisen, der sich deutlich von einer nah verwandten Anchusa Art unterscheidet. Biotests in einem Flugkäfig mit blütenerfahrenen, nestbauenden Weibchen ergaben weiterhin, dass Echium-Blütenduft bei der Erkennung der Pflanzen im Nahbereich eine große Rolle spielt, während visuelle Signale wahrscheinlich bei der Fernanlockung von Bedeutung sind. Die einem Reflexionsspektrometer analysierten visuellen Signale dreier Echium Arten ähnelten sehr und könnten daher vermutlich eine Funktion zur Anlockung von O. adunca haben. Weitere Tests müssen nun zeigen, welche Blütensignale naive Tiere für die Wirtspflanzenerkennung nutzen

Einleitung des Sonderheftes: Die GLES Open Science Challenge 2021: Ein Pilotprojekt zur Anwendbarkeit von Registered Reports in der quantitativen Politikwissenschaft

The GLES Open Science Challenge 2021 was a pioneering initiative in quantitative political science. Aimed at increasing the adoption of replicable and transparent research practices, it led to this special issue. The project combined the rigor of registered reports—a new publication format in which studies are evaluated prior to data collection/access and analysis—with quantitative political science research in the context of the 2021 German federal election. This special issue, which features the registered reports that resulted from the project, shows that transparent research following open science principles benefits our discipline and substantially contributes to quantitative political science. In this introduction to the special issue, we first elaborate on why more transparent research practices are necessary to guarantee the cumulative progress of scientific knowledge. We then show how registered reports can contribute to increasing the transparency of scientific practices. Next, we discuss the application of open science practices in quantitative political science to date. And finally, we present the process and schedule of the GLES Open Science Challenge and give an overview of the contributions included in this special issue.Die GLES Open Science Challenge 2021 war ein Pilotprojekt in der quantitativen Politikwissenschaft, die darauf abzielte, die Akzeptanz von replizierbaren und transparenten Forschungspraktiken zu erhöhen. Dieses Sonderheft enthält die im Rahmen dieses Projektes entstandenen Artikel. Die GLES Open Science Challenge verband die strengen Regeln von Registered Reports – einem neuen Publikationsformat, bei dem Studien vor der Datenanalyse begutachtet werden – mit quantitativer Politikwissenschaft im Kontext der Bundestagswahl 2021. Die Beiträge dieses Sonderheftes zeigen, dass transparente Forschung, die den Prinzipien von Open Science folgt, unserer Disziplin zugutekommt und einen wesentlichen Beitrag zur quantitativen Politikwissenschaft leistet. In dieser Einleitung zum Sonderheft erläutern wir zunächst, warum transparentere Forschungspraktiken notwendig sind, um den kumulativen Fortschritt der wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse zu gewährleisten. Dann zeigen wir auf, wie Registered Reports dazu beitragen können, die Transparenz wissenschaftlicher Praktiken zu erhöhen. Anschließend diskutieren wir die bisherige Anwendung von Open-Science-Praktiken in der quantitativen Politikwissenschaft. Nachfolgend stellen wir den Prozess und den Zeitplan der GLES Open Science Challenge vor und geben abschließend einen Überblick über die in diesem Sonderheft enthaltenen Beiträge

The GLES Open Science Challenge 2021: A Pilot Project on the Applicability of Registered Reports in Quantitative Political Science (Special Issue Introduction)

The GLES Open Science Challenge 2021 was a pioneering initiative in quantitative political science. Aimed at increasing the adoption of replicable and transparent research practices, it led to this special issue. The project combined the rigor of registered reports - a new publication format in which studies are evaluated prior to data collection/access and analysis - with quantitative political science research in the context of the 2021 German federal election. This special issue, which features the registered reports that resulted from the project, shows that transparent research following open science principles benefits our discipline and substantially contributes to quantitative political science. In this introduction to the special issue, we first elaborate on why more transparent research practices are necessary to guarantee the cumulative progress of scientific knowledge. We then show how registered reports can contribute to increasing the transparency of scientific practices. Next, we discuss the application of open science practices in quantitative political science to date. And finally, we present the process and schedule of the GLES Open Science Challenge and give an overview of the contributions included in this special issue.Die GLES Open Science Challenge 2021 war ein Pilotprojekt in der quantitativen Politikwissenschaft, die darauf abzielte, die Akzeptanz von replizierbaren und transparenten Forschungspraktiken zu erhöhen. Dieses Sonderheft enthält die im Rahmen dieses Projektes entstandenen Artikel. Die GLES Open Science Challenge verband die strengen Regeln von Registered Reports - einem neuen Publikationsformat, bei dem Studien vor der Datenanalyse begutachtet werden - mit quantitativer Politikwissenschaft im Kontext der Bundestagswahl 2021. Die Beiträge dieses Sonderheftes zeigen, dass transparente Forschung, die den Prinzipien von Open Science folgt, unserer Disziplin zugutekommt und einen wesentlichen Beitrag zur quantitativen Politikwissenschaft leistet. In dieser Einleitung zum Sonderheft erläutern wir zunächst, warum transparentere Forschungspraktiken notwendig sind, um den kumulativen Fortschritt der wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse zu gewährleisten. Dann zeigen wir auf, wie Registered Reports dazu beitragen können, die Transparenz wissenschaftlicher Praktiken zu erhöhen. Anschließend diskutieren wir die bisherige Anwendung von Open-Science-Praktiken in der quantitativen Politikwissenschaft. Nachfolgend stellen wir den Prozess und den Zeitplan der GLES Open Science Challenge vor und geben abschließend einen Überblick über die in diesem Sonderheft enthaltenen Beiträge

GLES Open Science Strategie

Das hier vorliegende Dokument beschreibt die strategische Ausrichtung der German Longitudinal Election Study (GLES) zur Förderung von Open Science (Offene Wissenschaft). Hierbei wird anhand von vier Grundpfeilern des Konzepts von Open Science - Open Methodology, Open Data, Open Source und Open Access - dargestellt, in welchen Bereichen die GLES derzeit gut abschneidet, in welchen Bereichen noch Verbesserungspotentiale vorhanden sind und welche Maßnahmen eingeleitet werden sollen, um die GLES nach Open Science Grundsätzen auszurichten. Die Umsetzung dieser Maßnahmen ist als langfristiger Prozess gedacht, bei dem existierende und neue Arbeitsprozesse sich am Ideal einer offenen Wissenschaftspraxis orientieren sollen. Ziel der hier vorgestellten Strategie soll es sein, sowohl Prozesse der Datenerhebung und Datenaufbereitung offen und transparent zu gestalten, als auch Forschende aktiv beim Praktizieren einer offenen Wissenschaft zu unterstützen. Das Dokument wurde von den Autor*innen in enger Rücksprache mit dem gesamten GLES Team bei GESIS und der Koordinierungsgruppe (KG) der GLES verfasst

Fazit des Sonderheftes: Die GLES Open Science Challenge 2021 im Rückblick: Erfahrungen und Lessons Learned

The GLES Open Science Challenge 2021 was a pilot project aimed at demonstrating that registered reports are an appropriate and beneficial publication format in quantitative political science that helps to increase transparency and replicability in the research process and thus yields substantial and relevant contributions to our discipline. The project resulted in the publication of this special issue, which includes seven registered reports based on data from the German Longitudinal Election Study (GLES) collected in the context of the 2021 German federal election. This concluding article of the special issue brings together the perspectives of the participating authors, reviewers, organizers, and editors in order to take stock of the different experiences gained and lessons learned in the course of the project. We are confident that future projects of a similar nature in political science, as well as authors, reviewers, and editors of registered reports, will benefit from these reflections.Die GLES Open Science Challenge 2021 ist ein Pilotprojekt, das zeigt, dass Registered Reports ein geeignetes und gewinnbringendes Publikationsformat in der quantitativen Politikwissenschaft sind, die dazu beitragen können, die Transparenz und Replizierbarkeit im Forschungsprozess zu erhöhen und somit substanzielle und relevante Beiträge für unsere Disziplin zu liefern. Das Ergebnis ist die Veröffentlichung dieses Sonderheftes mit sieben Registered Reports, die auf Daten der German Longitudinal Election Study (GLES) basieren, die im Rahmen der Bundestagswahl 2021 erhoben wurden. Dieser abschließende Artikel des Sonderheftes bringt die Perspektiven von Autor*innen, Gutachter*innen, Organisator*innen und Herausgeber*innen zusammen, um eine Bilanz der verschiedenen Erfahrungen und Lehren zu ziehen, die im Laufe dieses Projektes gewonnen wurden

Out of sight but not out of harm’s way: human disturbance reduces reproductive success of a cavity-nesting seabird

While negative effects of human disturbance on animals living above the ground have been widely reported, few studies have considered effects on animals occupying cavities or burrows underground. It is generally assumed that, in the absence of direct visual contact, such species are less vulnerable to disturbance. Seabird colonies can support large populations of burrow- and cavity-nesting species and attract increasing numbers of tourists. We investigated the potential effects of recreational disturbance on the reproductive behaviour of the European storm petrel <i>Hydrobates pelagicus</i>, a nocturnally-active cavity-nesting seabird. Reproductive phenology and outcome of nests subject to high and low levels of visitor pressure were recorded in two consecutive years. Hatching success did not differ between disturbance levels, but overall nestling mortality was significantly higher in areas exposed to high visitor pressure. Although visitor numbers were consistent throughout the season, the magnitude and rate of a seasonal decline in productivity were significantly greater in nests subject to high disturbance. This study presents good evidence that, even when humans do not pose a direct mortality risk, animals may perceive them as a predation risk. This has implications for the conservation and management of a diverse range of burrow- and cavity-dwelling animals. Despite this reduction in individual fitness, overall colony productivity was reduced by ≤1.6% compared with that expected in the absence of visitors. While the colony-level consequences at the site in question may be considered minor, conservation managers must evaluate the trade-off between potential costs and benefits of public access on a site- and species-specific basis

Double-blind validation of alternative wild bee identification techniques: DNA metabarcoding and in vivo determination in the field

Over the past few decades, several investigations around the globe have reported alarming declines in the abundance and diversity of bee species. The success of effective conservation strategies targeting these important pollinators relies heavily on accurate biodiversity assessments. The shortage of taxonomic experts and the escalation of the ongoing biodiversity crisis call for the development of alternative identification tools to implement efficient monitoring programs. The validation of such techniques is crucial to ensure that they provide results comparable to those of traditional morphotaxonomy. Here we performed two double-blind experiments to evaluate the accuracy of a pair of new techniques used for wild bee identification: DNA metabarcoding and in vivo identification in the field. The methods were tested on sets of wild bees from Germany and their results compared against evaluations done by panels of bee experts using traditional morphotaxonomy. On average the congruency of species identification between metabarcoding and morphotaxonomy was 88.98% across samples (N = 10), while in vivo identification and morphotaxonomy were 91.81% congruent (N = 7) for bees considered feasible for in vivo identification in the field. Traditional morphotaxonomy showed similar congruencies when compared to itself: 93.65% in the metabarcoding study and 92.96% in the in vivo study. Overall, these results support both new methods as viable alternatives to traditional microscopy-based assessment, with neither method being error-free. Metabarcoding provides a suitable option to analyze large numbers of specimens in the absence of highly trained taxonomic experts, while in vivo identification is recommended for repeated long-term monitoring, and when working in areas where the sampling of individuals could threaten local populations of endangered wild bee species. Further research is still needed to explore the potential of both techniques for conservation management and wildlife monitoring, as well as to overcome their current limitations as taxonomic tools

Next-generation plasmids for transgenesis in zebrafish and beyond

Transgenesis is an essential technique for any genetic model. Tol2-based transgenesis paired with Gateway-compatible vector collections has transformed zebrafish transgenesis with an accessible, modular system. Here, we established several next-generation transgenesis tools for zebrafish and other species to expand and enhance transgenic applications. To facilitate gene-regulatory element testing, we generated Gateway middle entry vectors harboring the small mouse beta-globin minimal promoter coupled to several fluorophores, CreERT2, and Gal4. To extend the color spectrum for transgenic applications, we established middle entry vectors encoding the bright, blue-fluorescent protein mCerulean and mApple as an alternative red fluorophore. We present a series of p2A peptide-based 3' vectors with different fluorophores and subcellular localizations to co-label cells expressing proteins of interest. Lastly, we established Tol2 destination vectors carrying the zebrafish exorh promoter driving different fluorophores as a pineal gland-specific transgenesis marker active prior to hatching and through adulthood. exorh-based reporters and transgenesis markers also drive specific pineal gland expression in the eye-less cavefish (Astyanax). Together, our vectors provide versatile reagents for transgenesis applications in zebrafish, cavefish, and other models