Siegfried Klaus

• NABU Thüringen, 07749 Jena, Lindenhöhe 5

Genetic load and inbreeding are recognized as important factors to be considered in conservation programs. Elevated levels of both can increase the risk of population extinction by negatively impacting fitness-related characters in many species of plants and animals, including humans (inbreeding depression). Genomic techniques are increasingly used...

Global climate change has a significant effect on species, as environment conditions change, causing many species’ distributions to shift. During the last three million years, the earth has experienced glacial oscillations, forcing some species to survive in ice-free refugia during glacial periods and then disperse postglacially. In this study, by...

Background The boreal forest is one of the largest biomes on earth, supporting thousands of species. The global climate fluctuations in the Quaternary, especially the ice ages, had a significant influence on the distribution of boreal forest, as well as the divergence and evolution of species inhabiting this biome. To understand the possible effect...

The population dynamics of Hazel Grouse were studied by presence/absence recording at stationary sites along fixed routes (110 km) in the central part of Šumava (Bohemian Forest, Czech Republic) from 1972 to 2019. The 100 km2 study area covered altitudes between 600 m (Rejštejn) and 1253 m above sea level (Mt. Sokol). Our database contained indices...

The population dynamics of Hazel Grouse was studied by presence/ absence recording at stationary sites along fixed routes (110 km) during 1972-2019 in the central part of the Bohemian Forest (Šumava, Czech Republic). The 100-km² study area covered altitudes between 600 m (Rejstejn) and 1,253 m a.s.l., (mount Sokol). Our data base contained ind...

Vocalization and instrumental sound production of male Caucasian Black Grouse Tetrao mlokosiewiczi on the lek

Wild cat Felis silvestris in Thuringia: distribution, telemetry, protection

Threat of Wildcat (Felis silvestris) by traffic in Thuringia SIEGFRIED KLAUS , MANUELA PASTOHR and SIGMUND GÄRTNER Abstract: Between 1982-2004 102 killed wildcats were recorded in the data collection of the “Thuringian agency of environment and Geology Jena” and the kill sites mapped. 89 kill sites located in Südharz, Alter Stolberg, Kyffhäuser,...

Abstract Background Incubating birds must balance the conflict between thermal needs of the developing embryos and their self-maintenance needs for energy. The Chinese Grouse (Tetrastes sewerzowi) lives in high mountain conifer forests and faces energy stress, cold environment, and predation pressure. Females might adjust incubation rhythm to adapt...

Siberian grouse Falcipennis falcipennis Distribution, biology, Ecology

Pollution by iron Industry damaging capercaillie Tetrao urogallus Habitat

Zusammenfassung: Von 1982 bis 2004 wurden 102 Wildkatzentotfunde an der Thüringer Landesanstalt für Umwelt und Geologie Jena erfasst und kartiert. Davon wurden 89 Fundorte im Südharz, Alten Stolberg, Kyffhäusergebirge, Schmücke, in der Hohen Schrecke, der Finne, Windleite, Hainleite, im Dün, den Bleicheröder Bergen, Ohmgebirge, im Oberen Eichsfeld,...

Global Distribution and ecology of hazel grouse Tetrastes bonasia.

The Chinese Grouse (Tetrastes sewerzowi) is a rare, endemic bird in China, inhabiting conifer-dominated mountain forests. Both the natural fragmentation and heavy cutting of mature forests have resulted in patchy grouse habitats. We used SPOT (XS-sensor) satellite imagery to discriminate between open land and conifer or broadleaf forests. The area...

Human influences on Forests act on Tetrao urogallus, T. tetrix and Tetrastes bonasia in different ways. Examples from Thuringia and the Bohemian Forests (CZ) were described.

Distribution of the endemic Chinese grouse Bonasa sewerzowi

Klaus, s., a. V. andreeV, M. lieser & r. suchant (2018): Siberian Grouse, Hazel Grouse and Black-billed Capercaillie-taiga inhabitants in the Russian Far East. Ornithol. Beob. 115: 291-304. Ecological studies of the three tetraonid species were performed at two sites, 60 and 80 km NW of Komsomolsk/Amur. Tree and ground vegetation of the virgin fore...

Hazel grouse song variation

Chinese grouse Tetrastes sewerzowi

Between 2001 and 2015 territories of the Middle Spotted Woodpecker were mapped using play-back of the territorial song on 15 deciduous forest plots around Jena (Ilm-Saale-Ohrdruf plateau). Moreover, timber volume and dead wood abundance were estimated in the Middle Spotted Woodpecker habitats. Almost all plots are situated in NATURE 2000-reserves o...

Zusammenfassung 1972-2015 wurden auf einer 100 km 2 großen Kontrollfläche des Böhmerwaldes (Šumava, Tschechische Republik) Verteilung, Siedlungsdichte und Habitatnutzung des Haselhuhns untersucht. Entlang fester Rou-ten (80 km) werden jährlich einmal alle Reaktionen auf eine Klangattrappe (Imitation des Reviergesangs mittels Lockpfeife) sowie indir...

Genetic characterization of Beaver Castor Fiber L. returning to river Saale /Thuringia

The previous discoveries of the rock bunting Emberiza cia in Jena, beginning with the by now con rmed observations by J. M. Bechstein (1795), are described. On July 13th 1996 hahn und Rein- haRdt (1997) were able to record the rst breeding observation in Thuringia on a limestone slope in the Saale valley near Jena, the second evidence of nesting wa...

The Hazel Grouse (Tetrastes bonasia) is a cryptic forest-obligate bird species with special habitat requirements, including structured mixed forests at the local scale and good connectivity at the landscape level. These conditions are rarely met in Central European forests, with the exception of those in mountainous areas, such as the Bohemian Fore...

1972 – 2014 wurden auf einer 100 km2 groß-en Kontrollfläche des Böhmerwaldes (Šumava, Tschechische Republik) Verteilung, Siedlungsdich-te und Habitatnutzung des Haselhuhns Tetrastes bonasia untersucht. Entlang fester Routen (80 km) werden jährlich einmal alle Reaktionen auf eine Klangattrappe (Imitation des Reviergesangs mittels Lockpfeife) sowie i...

Abstract In autumn of 1869, Father A. David collected several owls in western Sichuan/China. Sharpe (1875) recognized a new species in one of these birds and named it Syrnium davidi. Since this time, onl very few records and observations had been made, so that even recent publications had to har back to original descriptions of the type from the Pa...

During winter (October-April) of 2002 to 2005 roosting trees of Capercaillie (n=91 males, n=29 females) in the Thuringian slate mountains were analysed. In the study area, pine Pinus silvestris was the dominating tree species (67 %,) followed by spruce Picea abies (27 %), larch Larix sudetica (3 %) and fir Abies alba (2 %). Pine was the preferred s...

Since 1950, more than 4,800 Capercaillies have been released in the course of 11 release projects in different parts of Germany. Eight projects have been finished, only three are still in progress (Thuringia, Higher Sauerland and Lower Lusatia). In 2012 a new pilot study (translocation of wild birds) was started in Lower Lusatia, which is continued...

Both the quality of food and the rate of food intake may influence an animal’s food choice. We investigated the feeding choices of Chinese Grouse (Bonasa sewerzowi) among a group of trees/shrubs with similar morphologies but heterogeneous chemical compositions in a coniferous forest of the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau during two winters. The...

Introduction A common inhabitant of East Siberian larch forests, the Siberian or black-billed capercaillie (Tetrao urogalloides) ranges south to the limits of the boreal forests in the northern Mongolian mountains and east to the very coast of the Asian continent (KLAUS et al. 1989). Tetrao urogalloides MIDDENDORF (1851) has priority over T. parvir...

Understanding the factors that influence territorial behaviour is essential for determining whether fragmented habitats are able to support the spatial ecological conditions that maintain cooperative breeding systems of threatened bird species. Here, we examine territorial behaviour of the cooperative breed- ing Buff-throated Partridge Tetraophasis...

During 1995-2004, we studied the nest site selection of the Chinese grouse Bonasa sewerzowi at Lianhuashan, Gansu, China. Of the 103 nests that we found, 56% were at the base of deciduous trees, mainly willow Salix spp. and birch Betula utilis, and 40% were at the base of coniferous trees. The Chinese grouse favoured northern and eastern slopes wit...

The only long-term census of hazel grouse Bonasa bonasia in Central Europe was conducted during 1972-2004 on a 100-km2 area of the Bohemian Forest, Šumava, Czech Republic. To obtain a density index in October, I recorded indirect signs of hazel grouse, such as dust bathing sites, feathers, droppings or tracks, and reactions to a whistle that imitat...

The connections between climate, soil, vegetation, biodiversity and their functions have meanwhile been widely understood from a scientific point of view. Both in the forest and in the open countryside biodiversity largely depends on the cultivation methods, the latter nowadays mainly being determined by socio-economic circumstances and political s...

Phage SLE111 infecting Streptomyces levoris 1331 was morphological different from most actinophages described and yielded very high titres (10(11) p.f.u/ml) after lytic growth. Typical morphological changes of infected hyphae were observed by phase contrast and electron microscopy of ultrathin sections. The double-stranded, linear DNA (44.2 +/- 1.3...

The virulent actinophage S2 isolated from soil infects Streptomyces hygroscopicus 6599, S. lividans 66, and S. levoris 1331. Morphology of S2 was studied by electron microscopy. Influence of growth medium and temperature on multiplication of S2 has been studied qualitatively. S2 is more sensitive to UV irradiation on strain 66 than on 1331. In cont...

The temperature sensitive mutant strain E. coli C600 T44 and its parental strain E. coli C600 were lysogenized with λ+ and different λCI phage mutants and induced for vegetative phage development by different inducing agents such as heat, UV irradiation, nutritional shift up, and supplementation of the culture medium with adenine. The effectivity o...

The inducibility of the prophages λ+ and λ ind8 within the lysogenic, temperature sensitive strain E. coli C600 T44 can be influenced by precursors of nucleic acid metabolism or by substances chemically related to those. With an agar diffusion test 63 substances of this kind were tested both qualitatively and quantitatively. It was shown that there...

The Lianhuashan Nature Reserve in China is home to many plant and animal species. But, as the example of the Chinese grouse shows, this habitat is under threat. Only the determined protection of the mountain forests of Central Asia can ensure the future of this unique biocoenosis

Im chinesischen Lianhuashan-Reservat sind viele Tier- und Pflanzenarten zu Hause. Doch wie das Beispiel des Chinahaselhuhns zeigt, ist dieser Lebensraum bedroht. Nur der konsequente Schutz der Bergwälder Zentralasiens kann die Zukunft einzigartiger Lebensgemeinschaften sichern.

We report on the body size and mass and egg size and mass of the Chinese grouse (Bonasa sewerzowi), one of the least known grouse in the world. Although reported to be the smallest grouse in the world, not enough data have been available to substantiate this claim. We document that the Chinese grouse is, in fact, the smallest grouse in the world. I...

We report the first population ecology study of the endangered Chinese grouse (Bonasa sewerzowi). The study population was stable during 1995–2000. Annual rates of survival were 0.64 for adults and only 0.17 for chicks to 13 weeks of age. Reproductive parameters were 6.1 eggs/clutch, 63% nest success, and overall 3.6 chicks hatched/female/year. The...

SummaryA radio-tracked female had home range sizes in spring and summer of 43 ha and 59 ha, respectively. On 26 August 2002, at 3,450 m a. s. l. a female with 2 – 3 fully grown juveniles was observed. The chestnut colour of the throat in contrast to the throat ring allows morphological differentiation from T. szechenyii.ZusammenfassungEs wird über...

A total of 62 mitochondrial haplotypes were detected from 174 samples of hazel grouse Bonasa bonasia from Hokkaido, Primorskii, Sakhalin, Magadan, Siberia and Bohemia using 428 bp of the mitochondrial DNA control region. Haplotype diversity for four populations in Hokkaido was more than 0.8, suggesting that a reasonable population size had been mai...

The Siberian Spruce Grouse (Falcipennis falcipennis) is a species endemic to far-eastern Russia and a close relative toF. canadensis andF. franklinii of North-America. Prior to this study, little was known about the display behaviour, social organisation and seasonal movements of this grouse. We investigated these topics in 1990–1997, in 2 areas, 1...

We sequenced 2690 nucleotides of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) including the entire control region (CR), partial 12S and 16S ribosomal RNAs, NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2, and cytochrome b genes from representatives of all the 17 living species of grouse and ptarmigan (Aves; Galliformes; subfamily Tetraoninae). Substitution rates and phylogenetic signal...

Remote sensing is a powerful and accurate tool for collecting data to protect endangered species, particularly in large areas with difficult access. The endemic Chinese Grouse belongs to category I of endangered species listed in the Red Data Book of China. The habitats (altitude 2500-3500 m a.s.l.) are characterised by a mixture of conifers provid...

Zusammenfassung Zwischen 2. und 10. Mai 1997, dem Höhepunkt territorialer Aktivität, wurden im Lianhuashan-Reservat (Gansu, China) Territorial- und Werbeverhalten anhand von 18 farbberingten und besenderten Chinahaselhühnern mittels Ton- und Videotechnik verfolgt. Die Hähne markieren ihre Reviere durch instrumentale Flügelgeräusche, die durch Flatt...

Field observations, sound and video recordings of the rare endemic Chinese Grouse were carried out during May 2 and 10, 1997, the optimal time to study display, in the Lianhuashan reserve (Gansu province) at altitudes between 2800 and 3200 m a.s.l. We found the density in spring extraordinarily high: 15 occupied territories/km2 in the best studied...

Long-term emissions of calcium-containing dusts from an iron factory influenced soil pH, vegetation and perhaps contributed to the capercaillie Tetrao urogallus decline in the study area in eastern Germany. Dramatic changes of the ground vegetation were observed in time (vegetation analyses in 1956, 1965, 1983 and 1990-1993) and along the pH-gradie...

Das Territorialverhalten des Sichelhuhns wurde erstmals eingehend beobachtet und mit Hilfe von Video-Aufzeichnungen analysiert. Alle Verhaltenselemente erwiesen sich als sehr zeitkonstant. Zu dem sehr komplexen Ritual gehren verschiedene Formen des Schwanzspreitens mit begleitenden Raschel- oder Wetzlauten und der Imponierlauf mit hnlichen Instrume...

Population size has been considered to be the primary determinant of the likelihood of extinction in many studies, providing empirical support for the minimum viable population size (MVP) theory (Shaffer 1981; Ryan and Siegfried, Chap. 2, this Vol). In many cases, however, loss of genetic heterogeneity, inbreeding depression, chance demographic eve...

The iron and steel factory “Max-Hütte Unterwellenborn” was established about 100 years ago southwest of a secondary pine forest (80–100 years old) on the Thuringian Saale Sandstone Plateau near Saaifeld, East Germany.

Zusammenfassung Anstelle eines vokalen Gesangs bringen Kaukasusbirkhähne auf dem Balzplatz fast nur Instrumentallaute hervor, die nicht sehr weit tragen. Während des Fluges wechseln sich metallisch klingende Gleitphasen unterschiedlicher Dauer mit zwitschernden Schlagphasen ab. Die niedrigen, in Serien auftretenden Flattersprünge sind ebenfalls mit...

Human influences on forests have positive and negative effects on forest grouse. Today, the negative effects may dominate. But in previous times, clearing activities causing openings in the closed forest canopy, combined with primitive forms of agriculture and removal of litter resulted in poor soils favouring pine and Ericaceae. These activities c...

The analysis of heteroduplexes between EcoRI digested DNA derived from IncM plasmids in the transfer-off and in the transfer-on state revealed an internal loop of about 1 kbp on a distinct large EcoRI fragment. The presence of an invertible element (Min) is suggested which enables the formation of conjugative piliat 30 °C, but switches off the pilu...

A stable temperature sensitive mutant of Streptomyces hygroscopicus JA6599 defective in both DNA and RNA syntheses is described. The mutant ts35 is characterized by an immediate stop of DNA synthesis and continued protein synthesis after transfer to restrictive temperature. The reinitiation of DNA synthesis begins immediately after a return to the...

The specific binding of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase molecules to the DNA of plasmid pNH602, a deletion derivative of R6K having an increased copy number, was detected by electron microscopy. Seven strong RNApol binding sites were found on pNH602 DNA linearized with BamHI or EcoRI restriction endonuclease. All of these specific sites occur in ge...

Two cryptic plasmids pMG110 (10.5 kb) and pMG120 (14.5 kb) isolated from Streptomyces luteolutescens were cleaved by restriction endonucleases Bg/II, KpnI, and SalGI. A physical map was constructed for pMG110. After denaturation and intrastrand reannealing, two types of snap-back structures were identified by electron microscopy, differing in the s...

The binding sites for the Streptomyces hygroscopicus RNA polymerase on the DNA of actinophage SH10 were mapped by electron microscopy. Four major binding sites were located at map positions 52.2, 84.5, 97.9 and 99.1 very close or identical to sequences to which the Escherichia coli RNA polymerase was observed to bind.In vitro transcription activiti...

Escherichia coli RNA polymerase bound to Streptomyces phage SH10 DNA was visualized by electron microscopy. Six specific binding sites were observed at map units 53, 85, 93, 97, 98, and 99 on the physical map of the 48 kb long genome. Electron microscopy of partially denatured SH10 DNA revealed a characteristic melting pattern of A + T-rich regions...

In vitro rearrangement of plasmid pDB102 together with comparative studies of other streptococcal plasmids allowed the localization of replication and copy control functions on sequences which were present on pDB102 and its naturally occurring ancestor pSM19035 as duplicates in inverted orientation. Evidence is presented that neither the presence o...

The DNA of the temperate Streptomyces phage SH3 contains 100 base-pair long inverted repeats separated by a 940 base-pair long segment of DNA as revealed by electronmicroscopic analysis of snapback structures formed after rapid intrastrand reannealing of denatured DNA. The inverted repeat structure was found preferentially at map unit 22 of the cir...

The temperate actinophage SH10 has a wide host-range. In size and morphology it is similar to phage λ. It has a latent period of 40 to 50 min. The average burst size depends on the host strain and varies between 60 and 100 at 28 °C. At 37 °C the burst size is diminished by a factor of ten. The adsorption constant varies between 1.55 × 10-9 and 8.8...

Using 26 restriction endonucleases, a cleavage site survey was undertaken for DNAs of several unrelated Streptomyces phages SH3, SH5, SH10 and SH13. Only EcoRI was found to produce single cleavage in SH3 and SH10 DNA. The complete maps were prepared for the 2, 9 and 11 fragments of SH10 DNA, as generated by EcoRI, KpnI and BglII, respectively. The...

The temperate actinophage SH10 mediates generalized transduction in Streptomyces hygroscopicus at low frequency. The efficiency of transduction depends on the average phage input, age of outgrowing spores of the recipient and on the selective marker. The highest EOT was found for the auxotrophic mutants 21(phe-) and 5(try-) (4.2 x 10(-6) and 2.7 x...

DNA of the temperate Streptomyces phage SH5 (DNA molecular weight 27x106) is subject to restriction-modification mediated by S. hygroscopicus 0477, S. levoris 1331 and 2340. The restriction endonuclease ShyI (isoschizomeric with SacII) isolated from S. hygroscopicus 0477 is involved in restriction of SH51331 and SH52340 DNAs in S. hygroscopicus 047...

Some physico-chemical properties of the DNAs released from the actinophages SH3, SH10, SH11, and SH12 are described. The four phage DNAs have a linear double-stranded secondary structure and are unique with respect to their high G.C contents which, from melting studies and buoyant density experiments, were found to be in the range of 68-73 mol-%. T...

1. In April 1974 the population density of the hazel hen was estimated in the woodland area near Białowieża (Eastern Poland) by controlling the habitats during the early nesting period. From the results the ecological preferences of the hazel hen, its relationship to natural woodland associations and the latter's essential structural elements could...

[1) Die intraindividuelle und interindividuelle Variation der Gesangsstrophen einer Population des Haselhuhns (Bonasa bonasia bonasia, Tetraoninae, Phasianidae) wird mittels sonagraphischer Methode anhand von etwa 250 Strophen 15 verschiedener freilebender Individuen untersucht. 2) Ein Teil der Vögel singt stereotyp die gleiche individuelle Strophe...

A mathematical model is proposed for the relationship between the bacterial cell processes resulting in the initiation of DNA replication that are responsible for DNA and protein synthesis. It is assumed that one or several precursors of DNA synthesis act as a trigger for the replication system of both the bacterial and episomal DNA present. By mat...