@article{GenderjahnAlawiMangelsdorfetal.2018,
  author    = {Genderjahn, Steffi and Alawi, Mashal and Mangelsdorf, Kai and Horn, Fabian and Wagner, Dirk},
  title     = {Desiccation- and saline-solerant bacteria and archaea in kalahari an sediments},
  series = {Frontiers in microbiology},
  volume    = {9},
  journal   = {Frontiers in microbiology},
  publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation},
  address   = {Lausanne},
  issn      = {1664-302X},
  doi       = {10.3389/fmicb.2018.02082},
  pages     = {15},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {More than 41\% of the Earth's land area is covered by permanent or seasonally arid dryland ecosystems. Global development and human activity have led to an increase in aridity, resulting in ecosystem degradation and desertification around the world. The objective of the present work was to investigate and compare the microbial community structure and geochemical characteristics of two geographically distinct saline pan sediments in the Kalahari Desert of southern Africa. Our data suggest that these microbial communities have been shaped by geochemical drivers, including water content, salinity, and the supply of organic matter. Using Illumina 16S rRNA gene sequencing, this study provides new insights into the diversity of bacteria and archaea in semi-arid, saline, and low-carbon environments. Many of the observed taxa are halophilic and adapted to water-limiting conditions. The analysis reveals a high relative abundance of halophilic archaea (primarily Halobacteria), and the bacterial diversity is marked by an abundance of Gemmatimonadetes and spore-forming Firmicutes. In the deeper, anoxic layers, candidate division MSBL1, and acetogenic bacteria (Acetothermia) are abundant. Together, the taxonomic information and geochemical data suggest that acetogenesis could be a prevalent form of metabolism in the deep layers of a saline pan.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{BlumroederEccardBlaum2012,
  author    = {Blumroeder, J. and Eccard, Jana and Blaum, Niels},
  title     = {Behavioural flexibility in foraging mode of the spotted sand lizard (Pedioplanis l. lineoocellata) seems to buffer negative impacts of savanna degradation},
  series = {Journal of arid environments},
  volume    = {77},
  journal   = {Journal of arid environments},
  number    = {2},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {London},
  issn      = {0140-1963},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.10.005},
  pages     = {149 -- 152},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {In this field experiment we investigate the impact of land use induced savanna degradation on movement behaviour of the spotted sand lizard (Pedioplanis l. lineoocellata) in the southern Kalahari. Foraging behaviour of lizards was tested in a factorial design (low vs. high prey availability) in degraded and non-degraded habitats. An interaction between habitat structure and prey availability affected movement behaviour. In degraded habitats with low prey availability and in non-degraded habitats with high prey availability the spotted sand lizard moved more like an active forager. In contrast, in degraded habitats with high prey availability and in non-degraded habitats with low prey availability lizards moved like sit-and-wait foragers. Interestingly, the behavioural flexibility of the spotted sand lizard seems to buffer extreme conditions and negative effects of land use impacts.},
  language  = {en}
}