Research

The REGRASS 3 project builds on the findings of the previous REGRASS 1 and 2 projects. It serves to maintain 10 m wide meadows established in 2016 in the years 2024-26. This is essential in order to carry out the comparative survey of plants and animals in the meadows newly established in 2016 and ÖPUL-funded biodiversity areas in 2026. These surveys are necessary to see how the contribution to the promotion of insect biodiversity of the established meadows is developing 10 years after sowing. The continuous intensive observation of a biodiversity-promoting landscape element over 10 years is unique and allows conclusions to be drawn about its long-term success. REGRASS 3 serves to provide management and action recommendations in order to test the flowering mixtures developed in REGRASS for ÖPUL suitability. Ultimately, the added value of maintaining a biodiversity-promoting landscape element over 10 years is to be demonstrated. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Climatic changes can pose challenges for wildlife. In the Alpine region, for example, the Alpine chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra rupicapra), a flagship species of the alpine and montane regions of Europe, reacts sensitively to changes in its habitat. This research project therefore aims to investigate climatic influences on the Alpine chamois in order to assess how this wild ungulate species reacts to changing environmental conditions. Specifically, camera traps will be used in combination with climate data loggers to investigate the activity of the animals and their spatio-temporal behavior in relation to climatic factors (e.g. temperature extremes in summer and winter). In this context, camera traps provide a non-invasive survey method that is ideal for documenting the natural behavior of animals in their habitat. In total, these cameras (as well as the climate data loggers) will collect data over a year and a half, which will be scientifically evaluated on an ongoing basis. The long project duration ensures that both the activity of the Alpine chamois and their spatio-temporal behavior in relation to climatic effects can be analyzed over the entire annual cycle. Results from this project will contribute to a better understanding of the habitat selection of Alpine chamois. Consequently, findings from this project will provide basic knowledge for management measures to conserve this ungulate species in the Alpine region.

The von Bertalanffy equation was developed in the 1940s and has since been the almost universal biologically motivated model to describe the ontogenetic growth of different species; it is characterized by the metabolic exponents a = 2/3, b = 1. West et al. (1997, 2001) suggested another pair of metabolic exponents (a = 2/3, b = 1) and provided biological reasoning for this choice. This project proposes biological reasoning for yet two other exponent pairs based on the ideas of Bertalanffy and West about metabolism and on a model of Parks (1982) about the dependency of growth on food intake.