Biological station

As Biological Station facilities are outside university towns which have in the broader sense, the biological research are used. The focus is on field research , i.e. research into living beings in their natural habitat , as well as research into these habitats, ecology .

There are also biological stations whose work focuses on practical nature conservation . These biological stations are a variant of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Their organizational form and their integration into administrative structures distinguish them from the non-university research centers mentioned above.

Biological stations in Germany

Especially in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia today (beginning of the 21st century) there are biological stations that work for nature conservation , landscape conservation and / or species protection . In other German federal states, e.g. B. Lower Saxony, there are isolated facilities with the name Biological Station, such as the Biological Station Osterholz . These stations mostly work as a regional nature conservation association.

One of the first biological stations was the Plön Biological Station, which later became the Max Planck Institute for Limnology . This station was also the model for the Lunz Biological Station in Lower Austria.

The Hiddensee Biological Station of the Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, like the Hiddensee ornithological station, emerged from the Hiddensee Biological Research Institute, which was founded in 1930 as one of the first ecological research institutions in Germany.

North Rhine-Westphalia

Biological stations are of particular importance in North Rhine-Westphalia . There are around 40 biological stations that have one thing in common: they are organized as registered associations and serve charitable purposes. The biological stations in North Rhine-Westphalia mostly look after the area of one or more rural districts or urban districts . These include:

The range of tasks of the biological stations ranges from scientific field work to the development and implementation of measures for the protection of certain areas to advice, public relations and environmental education .

The biological stations have their roots in voluntary working groups. The first station was founded in 1968 in the Rieselfeldern of the city of Münster . Conservationists and biologists saw the need to make a targeted and comprehensive observation of nature and to secure the data basis in order to participate in planning and decision-making in politics in terms of professionally founded nature conservation.

The idea of politics in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) in the 1980s was to promote biological stations as mediators between authorities and voluntary interest groups in nature conservation. At the same time, however, their independence from state or local authority decreased. In the 1990s , biological stations in North Rhine-Westphalia received increased state funding. In addition, funding from local authorities - districts or urban districts - was established. For some biological stations there was always the need to use additional funds, e.g. B. to secure EU project funds, sponsoring or donations.

Financing through third-party funds is becoming increasingly important for the biological stations. As non-profit associations, the biological stations help them to anchor themselves in the region.

The legal basis in North Rhine-Westphalia, the funding guidelines for Biological Stations North Rhine-Westphalia of the Ministry for the Environment and Nature Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, were updated in 2007.

Work of a biological station

(This part was initially written for the biological stations in North Rhine-Westphalia. At other biological stations - operated by universities and research institutes - the field of work is the field training of students and research projects within the framework of examination and doctoral theses.)

For biologists, data acquisition in the field is a very practice-oriented work, but results are often difficult to convey to the public, as complex relationships and interpretations are also at stake. Faced with this difficulty, the biological stations have made work with and for the public an important focus of their work. Excursions with the biologists, competitions and playful activities aim to appeal to visitors to experience nature, a sense of home and an understanding of nature in equal measure.

The field work of biologists requires specific knowledge of species . The wealth of experience of the mapping specialists allows them to become specialists for one or more species groups in many cases. In exchange with specialist colleagues at scientific institutions, this creates a link between research and teaching. Excursions or internships at the biological stations for students are opportunities for prospective field biologists to build up and expand on-site knowledge of species and experience with observation, trapping and evaluation methods.

Management tasks are performed by the biological stations in the area of the work, which is more oriented towards landscape conservation measures. This ranges from meetings and negotiations with land users, authorities and property owners to the implementation of maintenance measures. In addition to specialist and local knowledge, the ability to present nature conservation goals, negotiating skills and organizational talent are essential for working in a biological station.

A large part of the work of a biological station is now data processing. With the help of geographic information systems , the biologists relate their data to space and landscape and are able to e.g. B. to show biological or cultural landscape developments or development goals in the form of maps . Exchanging information with other colleagues using standardized data formats is a challenge because of the heterogeneity of the data recorded, which can vary greatly depending on the species and the issue at hand.