Bachelor's programme Biology/German Studies: 44 p. (second reviewer)

The Wadden Sea of the southern North Sea is a very diverse habitat containing different biotopes. These biotopes each have typical communities of plants and animals. These habitats are linked by organisms such as birds, which use different areas at different times. It becomes clear that the Wadden Sea offers a wide range of observation possibilities. With regard to the treatment of the topic in a school setting, it is necessary to select between the contents and in this way reduce the teaching material to exemplary phenomena. With regard to the preparation for the Rosenhaus media lab, this should not be a comprehensive detailed knowledge of the Wadden Sea, but rather a clear prior knowledge in a wide range. In the media lab, these topics are dealt with in detail, further information is provided and a more in-depth treatment of the individual habitats is required. The aim of the teaching ideas developed is therefore not to go into detail on all topics relating to the Wadden Sea.

With this in mind, methods such as the group puzzle were selected that seemed suitable for achieving this goal. The methods and arrangements should be seen as suggestions. Not all elements necessarily have to be implemented as described; the ideas can also serve as a starting point for your own considerations. The different teaching arrangements cover the four competence areas of the educational standards. Some areas are covered in more detail than others, but this is probably also in the nature of things. If the learners have a basic knowledge of the subject area covered before participating in the media lab, this is an advantage for further work. The more knowledge the film group has about the topic, the more detailed, in-depth, comprehensive and lively the films can become. This makes the work more interesting and promotes understanding of the living environments of the southern North Sea. In this way, an awareness of nature can be developed, which in turn shapes one's own behaviour and engagement with one's own environment. This will go hand in hand with an awareness and appreciation of natural areas, even on one's own doorstep.

The Wadden Sea can be used to describe many factors of ecological systems. Connections between structure and function as well as the influence of humans on large-scale systems and the resulting consequences are obvious and can therefore be clearly illustrated. If this work succeeds in stimulating classroom preparation of the media laboratory, the quality of the entire project can be improved and made more interesting for the respective school class. This is possible in a clear way with the help of the arrangements shown.

Diploma Programme Geography of the Philipps-University Marburg: 147 p. (second reviewer)

The most important results and conclusions of this study are presented below:

• Below -11 m NN, Holocene strata with redeposited Pleistocene deposits were drilled. These contain reworked Pleistocene material that suggests a transgressive facies. However, as these lie at such a great depth and a channel body was identified in the hanging wall, the layers found were probably formed during reworking by a channel.

• Sediments of shallow marine to sublittoral origin can be found at the base of the slope. This contains a lateral accretionary body, recognisable in the georadar profiles between -5.25 m and -1 m NN. It has dip angles of up to 9.4° to the SE and wedges out to the SE. The lateral growth body was probably formed parallel to the growth of the island and its displacement to the SE by the lateral filling of a trench.

• Between -1 m and 0 m NN (in the E of the study area -2 m to -1 m NN), typical tidal flat sediments follow, which have a high silt and organic content. No reflections are recognisable in the georadar profiles in this area, which is presumably due to a rapid change in layers, resulting in interference in the georadar recordings. The alternation of hydrobial-rich layers and silt layers in LANG4 confirms this assumption.

• Beach sediments were identified between -1m and 0 m NN (in the boreholes) and -1m and 0.70 m NN (in the georadar profiles). These continue in LANG 5 on the recent beach up to the ground surface. On the present-day groden (LANG 1), the beach sediments are overlain by the recent groden sediments.

• Above 0 m/0.70 m above sea level, dune sediments follow in boreholes LANG 2 to 4, which are divided into two generations. The older generation is unconformably overlain. This is either due to soil formation phases or to erosive capping during storm surges.

Conclusion:
The combination of boreholes and georadar has proven to be suitable for documenting and understanding the structure of the island of Langeoog beyond what was previously known. As a result, the stages of development listed above could be confirmed using both methods.

However, the question of the origin of the island could not be answered, as the study area is apparently located in a former trench. None of the hypotheses on island development presented could therefore be confirmed. Nevertheless, the results prove a lateral filling of the channel, which was accompanied by the growth of the island to the SE. This initially created a mudflat area on which a beach then formed. In the further development, dunes grew up in the protection of which a groden could form on the southern edge of the island.

It is possible to record the transition between marine and aeolian sediments in the dune areas using combined methods. It is therefore recommended that a further study be carried out in the western part of the island, covering a larger study area, in order to answer the question of the formation of the island. Another geophysical investigation method, such as seismics, could possibly be used on the beach and on the Groden, where georadar investigations are not possible due to the high conductivity of the salt water. Different antennas should be used in the dune areas in order to achieve different depths and resolutions. In order to determine the facies areas more precisely, geochemical analyses could allow further conclusions to be drawn.

If a layer sequence is found that has not been destroyed by the erosive activity of gullies, as is assumed on geological cores, for example, it would make sense to date the boundary between marine and aeolian sediments in order to be able to date the time of desiccation and thus the beginning of the existence of today's island. Recommended dating methods include the radiocarbon method (¹⁴C), which is, however, dependent on molluscs or plants deposited in situ, and luminescence analysis, which allows the undisturbed sands to be dated.

Diploma programme Landscape Ecology: 110 p. (second reviewer)

In this thesis, the influences of endogenous and exogenous factors on seven different blood parameters of breeding common terns were analysed and the question of whether and to what extent these reflect the quality of the breeding birds and the reproductive effort was also investigated.

During the 2006 breeding season, from mid-May to mid-July, blood was taken from 270 predominantly age- and sex-matched breeding common terns (Sterna hirundo) from the colony in Wilhelmshaven using predatory bugs of the genus Dipetalogaster in the middle of their incubation period. These included 17 pairs, which were also sampled at the beginning and end of the incubation period after the first chick hatched. In around 84 % of the cases, the bug was able to successfully feed and thus obtain a sufficient amount of blood to determine the concentration of fats (cholesterol and triglycerides), proteins (total protein) and metabolic end products (urea, uric acid and creatinine). In addition, the haematocrit was determined by centrifugation.

The influence of endogenous factors was particularly evident in the cholesterol content of the female birds and the creatinine parameter: cholesterol was the only parameter to show a difference between the sexes. Correlations with age and a presumed influence of clutch size could be demonstrated for the parameters total protein, creatinine and cholesterol of the females. The cholesterol content of the females and the creatinine level of the males proved to be indicators of condition.

The influence of exogenous factors could be determined using a variety of parameters: The weather factors air and water temperature had a clear effect on the haematocrit and the concentrations of cholesterol, total protein and creatinine. The effects of precipitation and wind speed were recorded for the parameters haematocrit, triglycerides, total protein, female cholesterol and all degradation products. Haematocrit, total protein, urea and uric acid were also dependent on the tides. Seasonal effects were primarily evident for the levels of cholesterol, total protein and creatinine as well as for the haematocrit. The time of day played a role in the concentrations of triglycerides, urea and uric acid and in the haematocrit values.

The results show that the 7 blood parameters are, for the most part, well suited as indicators of the stress experienced by common terns during breeding. In addition to the possibility of using them to make statements about the influences of exogenous and endogenous factors, they also provide an insight into the different phases of the entire incubation period and the respective stresses that the animals have to cope with for successful reproduction. Conclusions on the quality of the birds could only be drawn to a limited extent, as only the cholesterol of the females and creatinine served as reliable indicators of age influences and individual condition.