Krise oder Unterstützung der (repräsentativen) Demokratie in Deutschland? Die Entwicklung der letzten zwei Jahrzehnte 1991-2018

Mehr als 3 Jahrzehnte sind seit Beginn der wirtschaftlichen und politischen Umbrüche in Osteuropa und der Wiedervereinigung Deutschlands vergangen. Doch auch heute noch sind Fragen über die Verfassungswirklichkeiten der "neuen" Demokratien sowie über die Werte, Normen und Einstellungen der Menschen von Relevanz. In Deutschland zeigen sich weiterhin Unterschiede zwischen Ost- und West, zum Beispiel im Anteil sogenannter "unzufriedener DemokratInnen": Während diese die Demokratie stützen, haben sie häufig nur wenig Vertrauen in politische Institutionen wie in das Parlament oder die Regierung (vgl. Klingemann 2014). Der vorliegende Beitrag setzt den Fokus auf die Frage, wie sich allgemeine Bewertungen von PolitikerInnen in Bezug zur Erfüllung wichtiger demokratischer Prinzipien auf die Zufriedenheit mit der Demokratie auswirken. Dazu werden Befragungsdaten aus der Allgemeinen Bevölkerungsstudie (Allbus) genutzt, die zwischen 1988 und 2018 erhoben wurden. Es zeigt sich, dass Bewertungen "der Politiker" in Bezug zu ihrem Eingehen auf die Menschen (Responsivität) sowie in Bezug zur Vertretung des Volkes (Repräsentativität) die Demokratiezufriedenheit maßgeblich mit beeinflussen. Für AnhängerInnen der Partei "Die Linke" und der AfD sind die Bewertungen von Responsivität und Repräsentativität auf die Demokratiezufriedenheit teilweise von noch stärkerer Bedeutung. Mit der Untersuchung von Einstellungen zu politischen Prozessen legt der Beitrag den Schwerpunkt auf einen Teil der politischen Kultur, der bisher in der Forschung weniger Beachtung gefunden hat

Nonlinear response speedup in bimodal visual-olfactory object identification

Multisensory processes are vital in the perception of our environment. In the evaluation of foodstuff, redundant sensory inputs not only assist the identification of edible and nutritious substances, but also help avoiding the ingestion of possibly hazardous substances. While it is known that the non- chemical senses interact already at early processing levels, it remains unclear whether the visual and olfactory senses exhibit comparable interaction effects. To address this question, we tested whether the perception of congruent bimodal visual-olfactory objects is facilitated compared to unimodal stimulation. We measured response times (RT) and accuracy during speeded object identification. The onset of the visual and olfactory constituents in bimodal trials was physically aligned in the first and perceptually aligned in the second experiment. We tested whether the data favored coactivation or parallel processing consistent with race models. A redundant-signals effect was observed for perceptually aligned redundant stimuli only, i.e., bimodal stimuli were identified faster than either of the unimodal components. Analysis of the RT distributions and accuracy data revealed that these observations could be explained by a race model. More specifically, visual and olfactory channels appeared to be operating in a parallel, positively dependent manner. While these results suggest the absence of early sensory interactions, future studies are needed to substantiate this interpretation

Taste Quality Decoding Parallels Taste Sensations

SummaryIn most species, the sense of taste is key in the distinction of potentially nutritious and harmful food constituents and thereby in the acceptance (or rejection) of food. Taste quality is encoded by specialized receptors on the tongue, which detect chemicals corresponding to each of the basic tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and savory [1]), before taste quality information is transmitted via segregated neuronal fibers [2], distributed coding across neuronal fibers [3], or dynamic firing patterns [4] to the gustatory cortex in the insula. In rodents, both hardwired coding by labeled lines [2] and flexible, learning-dependent representations [5] and broadly tuned neurons [6] seem to coexist. It is currently unknown how, when, and where taste quality representations are established in the cortex and whether these representations are used for perceptual decisions. Here, we show that neuronal response patterns allow to decode which of four tastants (salty, sweet, sour, and bitter) participants tasted in a given trial by using time-resolved multivariate pattern analyses of large-scale electrophysiological brain responses. The onset of this prediction coincided with the earliest taste-evoked responses originating from the insula and opercular cortices, indicating that quality is among the first attributes of a taste represented in the central gustatory system. These response patterns correlated with perceptual decisions of taste quality: tastes that participants discriminated less accurately also evoked less discriminated brain response patterns. The results therefore provide the first evidence for a link between taste-related decision-making and the predictive value of these brain response patterns

DNA-stable isotope probing (DNA-SIP) identifies marine sponge-associated bacteria actively utilizing dissolved organic matter (DOM)

Sponges possess exceptionally diverse associated microbial communities and play a major role in (re)cycling of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in marine ecosystems. Linking sponge‐associated community structure with DOM utilization is essential to understand host–microbe interactions in the uptake, processing, and exchange of resources. We coupled, for the first time, DNA‐stable isotope probing (DNA‐SIP) with 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing in a sponge holobiont to identify which symbiotic bacterial taxa are metabolically active in DOM uptake. Parallel incubation experiments with the sponge Plakortis angulospiculatus were amended with equimolar quantities of unlabelled ((12)C) and labelled ((13)C) DOM. Seven bacterial amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), belonging to the phyla PAUC34f, Proteobacteria, Poribacteria, Nitrospirae, and Chloroflexi, were identified as the first active consumers of DOM. Our results support the predictions that PAUC34f, Poribacteria, and Chloroflexi are capable of organic matter degradation through heterotrophic carbon metabolism, while Nitrospirae may have a potential mixotrophic metabolism. We present a new analytical application of DNA‐SIP to detect substrate incorporation into a marine holobiont with a complex associated bacterial community and provide new experimental evidence that links the identity of diverse sponge‐associated bacteria to the consumption of DOM

On the way to specificity ‐ Microbiome reflects sponge genetic cluster primarily in highly structured populations

Most animals, including sponges (Porifera), have species-specific microbiomes. Which genetic or environmental factors play major roles structuring the microbial community at the intraspecific level in sponges is, however, largely unknown. In this study, we tested whether geographic location or genetic structure of conspecific sponges influences their microbial assembly. For that, we used three sponge species with different rates of gene flow, and collected samples along their entire distribution range (two from the Mediterranean and one from the Southern Ocean) yielding a total of 393 samples. These three sponge species have been previously analysed by microsatellites or single nucleotide polymorphisms, and here we investigate their microbiomes by amplicon sequencing of the microbial 16S rRNA gene. The sponge Petrosia ficiformis, with highly isolated populations (low gene flow), showed a stronger influence of the host genetic distance on the microbial composition than the spatial distance. Host-specificity was therefore detected at the genotypic level, with individuals belonging to the same host genetic cluster harbouring more similar microbiomes than distant ones. On the contrary, the microbiome of Ircinia fasciculata and Dendrilla antarctica - both with weak population structure (high gene flow) - seemed influenced by location rather than by host genetic distance. Our results suggest that in sponge species with high population structure, the host genetic cluster influence the microbial community more than the geographic location

Microbial diversity of the glass sponge Vazella pourtalesii in response to anthropogenic activities

Establishment of adequate conservation areas represents a challenging but crucial task in the conservation of genetic diversity and biological variability. Anthropogenic pressures on marine ecosystems and organisms are steadily increasing. Whether and to what extent these pressures influence marine genetic biodiversity is only starting to be revealed. Using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, we analysed the microbial community structure of 33 individuals of the habitat-forming glass sponge Vazella pourtalesii, as well as reference seawater, sediment, and biofilm samples. We assessed how two anthropogenic impacts, i.e. habitat destruction by trawling and artificial substrate provision (moorings made of composite plastic), correspond with in situ V. pourtalesii microbiome variability. In addition, we evaluated the role of two bottom fishery closures in preserving sponge-associated microbial diversity on the Scotian Shelf, Canada. Our results illustrate that V. pourtalesii sponges collected from pristine sites within fishery closures contained distinct and taxonomically largely novel microbial communities. At the trawled site we recorded significant quantitative differences in distinct microbial phyla, such as a reduction in Nitrospinae in sponges and environmental references. Individuals of V. pourtalesii growing on the mooring were significantly enriched in Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia and Cyanobacteria in comparison to sponge individuals growing on the natural seabed. Due to a concomitant enrichment of these taxa in the mooring biofilm, we propose that biofilms on artificial substrates may ‘prime’ sponge-associated microbial communities when small sponges settle on such substrates. These observations likely have relevant management implications when considering the increase of artificial substrates in the marine environment, e.g., marine litter, off-shore wind parks, and petroleum platforms