Browsing by master's degree program "Ekologian ja evoluutiobiologian maisteriohjelma"

Eläinten tunnemaailma on meille melko vieras. Sen takia on tärkeää tutkia, millaiset asiat vaikuttavat siihen, miten tulkitsemme niiden tunteita. Tunteiden tulkintaan voivat vaikuttaa tulkitsijan omat kokemukset. Tämän tutkielman tarkoituksena on tutkia sitä, mitkä asiat vaikuttavat siihen, kuinka hyvin eläintarhakävijät tunnistavat villieläinten tunteita. Erityisesti keskityn siihen, miten vastaajan sukupuoli, ikä, kasvuympäristö ja lapsuuden ja aikuisuuden aikaiset eläinkokemukset vaikuttavat eläintarhakävijöiden kykyyn tunnistaa eläinten tunteita. Tutkimus tehtiin kyselytutkimuksena Korkeasaaren eläintarhassa kesällä 2021. Osallistujille näytettiin videolta eläin ja heidän tuli kertoa, onko eläimen tunnetila neutraali, myönteinen vai kielteinen ja onko se rauhallinen vai kiihtynyt. Tutkimuksessa tutkittiin tiikereiden, berberiapinoiden ja markhorvuohien tunnetilan tunnistamista. Osallistujista kerättiin taustatietoja, kuten ikä ja sukupuoli. Tulosteni perusteella eläinlajilla on vaikutusta tunnetilan tunnistamiseen. Tiikerin myönteisyys tai kielteisyys osattiin arvioida huonommin kuin berberiapinan. Myös vastaajan ikä vaikuttaa tunteiden tunnistukseen. Vanhemmat tunnistivat myönteisyyden tai kielteisyyden nuorempia ihmisiä heikommin. Sukupuoli vaikuttaa yhdessä iän kanssa kiihtyneisyyden tunnistamiseen. Kiihtyneisyyden tunnistivat paremmin 18–30-vuotiaat naiset kuin 61–75-vuotiaat naiset, mutta muiden ryhmien välillä ei havaittu merkitseviä eroja. Kiihtyneisyys tunnistettiin myös paremmin, jos eläimet ovat olleet osana vastaajan elämää vain lapsuudessa sen sijaan, että ne olisivat olleet aina osana elämää. Tulosten perusteella voidaan päätellä, että ihmiset tunnistavat eri eläinten tunteet eri tavalla ja ihmismäisempien eläinten tunteet ovat muita helpommin tunnistettavissa. Iällä ja sukupuolella voi olla vaikutusta ihmisten kykyyn tunnistaa eläinten tunteita. Myös eläinkokemus vaikuttaa ihmisten kykyyn tunnistaa tunteita ja kokemus ei ole sama kuin tiedon omaksuminen. Tuloksiani voidaan hyödyntää esimerkiksi ympäristökasvatuksessa.

Supplementary bird feeding is a popular pastime, as well as one of the most important types of human–wildlife interaction, in Western countries. Bird-feeder sites are visited by birds, mammals, as well as other animals; some of these species are wanted visitors, some unwanted. Supplementary food at feeding sites offers visitors benefits, at least during winter. However, effects at the species, population and community level can be complex, and none of these levels necessarily benefit automatically from supplementary feeding. On the other hand, bird feeding generally increases human wellbeing. Animal attitudes affect the way we think about non-human animals. It has been discovered that how we view animals visiting feeding sites affects the ways in which people feasibly change the supplementary feeding they provide. Research on the subject has mostly been Anglo-American in context to date. Animal attitudes also affect official rules and regulations that govern the supplementary feeding or control measures of wildlife, for example. In this thesis, I have investigated the responses from a 2021 survey by the Finnish Museum of Natural History (Luomus) and BirdLife Finland. The survey was concerned with supplementary bird feeding and recent changes thereof. The survey got over 14,000 responses, over 9,000 of which included answers to open-ended questions. I sifted through the open-ended responses to find out which animal species and other organisms affect supplementary bird feeding provided by the respondents, and why. I utilised both quantitative and qualitative research methods to uncover such organisms and their effects. I used qualitative content analysis as my main method. I discovered that there are many types of primarily animal-/organism-related reasons behind changes in bird-feeding behaviour. I categorised these 28 reasons under seven subcategories within three main categories. Many of the reasons can have both negative (stop/decrease/shorten) and positive (start/increase/extend) effects on supplementary feeding. A discernible portion of the reasons are propped by one animal attitude or another. The category-based assortment of reasons acts as the main finding of this study, and it reflects the complexity of animal attitudes. I have additionally listed all taxons (species/groups of organisms) found in the survey responses along with their effects on supplementary feeding. I have produced novel information on which animal-related factors affect supplementary bird feeding in Finland, and why. Were we to better understand the inherent complexity of animal attitudes, authorities’ facts-based decision-making and a favourable general attitude towards endangered-species conservation could be enhanced. Zoonosis control could also gain new perspectives from novel information.

Animal welfare is a multifaceted concept that encompasses the overall well-being of animals, considering their physical and psychological health, behaviour, social interactions, and ability to engage in species-specific behaviours. Though there isn't a single universally accepted definition, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) provides a widely recognized definition. According to the OIE, animal welfare refers to how well an animal copes with its living conditions. An animal is considered to have good welfare if it is healthy, comfortable, well-nourished, safe, able to express innate behaviour, and not suffering from pain, fear, or distress. In my thesis, the main objective is to identify knowledge gaps in recognizing factors that influence welfare among animal caretakers and to gather essential information that can serve as a foundation for future efforts to improve animal welfare in Korkeasaari Zoo. The project was conducted in collaboration with the zoo and involved studying and assessing the welfare of four different species. The assessments were based on scientific knowledge obtained through extensive literature research. The findings were then compared and analyzed by using a general linear model (GLM) with the zookeepers' own assessments. The results revealed that, overall, zookeepers tended to assess animal welfare more positively than the knowledge-based evaluation, although the extent of this difference varied among species. Notably, the results brought to light that certain species, especially the Asiatic lion, have specific welfare requirements that might not be fully recognized by the keepers. This implies there are opportunities for enhancing animal welfare in these cases. Furthermore, assessments varied depending on the type of question posed, with a significant observation being that nutritional requirements consistently received the highest evaluation across all species, regardless of the evaluator. This underscores the heightened attention that zookeepers pay to the nutritional well-being of the animals. This likely stems from the availability of well-documented nutritional information, in contrast to other facets of welfare in the studied species that might still be less comprehensively understood. My research is practical in nature, focusing on four specific species within one zoo. It may not primarily contribute to theoretical advancements but rather offer practical insights and applications. This marks just the starting point and indicates the need for further exploration and advancement. Shedding light on the various factors that shape animal welfare is pivotal for refining the operational protocols within the zoo setting. Such insights can pave the way for constructive measures that contribute to the betterment of the animals' well-being within the zoo environment. For instance, the notable difference in the evaluation of Asiatic lions, where the zookeepers scored them higher than the literature-based assessment, emphasizes the importance of incorporating scientific knowledge into zoo management practices. By bridging this gap and aligning assessments with well-established scientific data, we can make substantial strides in improving animal welfare in Zoos.

Ants are among the most successful organisms in the world. They can be found almost anywhere on the planet and due to their high degree of sociality and complex societies they have become some of the most abundant creatures in most terrestrial ecosystems. Although sociality has benefits in the form of more efficient foraging, brood care, reproduction and protection from predators, it has costs too. Ants live in high densities in their nests and have frequent contact between them which can facilitate an efficient transmission of pathogens within the nest. Ants have become highly successful in spite of their potentially high susceptibility to pathogens. They share the same innate immune responses of other arthropods and have unique adaptations for coping with pathogens. In extension to physiological strategies for coping with pathogens, ants engage in behavioural strategies as well. Ants and other eusocial insects can also harness the structure and behaviour of the colony to prevent and cope with pathogen infections through social immunity. Ants can also engage in self-medication behaviour to combat disease. Self-medication is a behavioural strategy where individuals respond to pathogen infections by seeking out and using biologically active compounds to alleviate the effects of pathogens in a way that would be detrimental for uninfected individuals. The behaviour can be either therapeutic of prophylactic depending on when the compounds are used in relation to encountering the pathogen, and it can be extended beyond the self to other kin. While ants have been proven to medicate themselves with reactive oxygen species (ROS) in laboratory conditions, it remains unknown how they do it in the wild. In my thesis, I studied how the ant Lasius platythorax self-medicate in a natural setting by developing a multi-trophic system of ant – pathogen – aphid – plant interactions. In this system, the ants infected with a fungal pathogen (Beauveria bassiana) had the opportunity to forage on the nectar produced by the extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) of a broad bean plant (Vicia faba) infested by vetch aphids (Megoura viciae). Plants that are stressed by aphids react with a systemic production of ROS, which ants are known to use for self-medication, and ROS could therefore be present in the EFN nectar as well, along with other potentially medicinal compounds. The aphids themselves could present the ants with both ROS, if it accumulates in the aphids due to the immune responses of the plant, and protein if eaten. In my thesis I found out that infected ants increase their foraging on EFN nectar during the first three days after infection compared to healthy ants. This immediate response to a pathogen infection shown by the infected ants fits in a self-medication context as well as the infection cycle of the pathogen, making this a strong case for self-medication. The change in foraging by the infected ants did not reflect on the changes in ROS content in the ants, possibly due to a lack of ROS in the nectar, but instead were likely to be caused by self-generation of ROS in the infected ants. The aphids feeding on the plant contained a higher ROS content compared to the ants, but I found no evidence of ants preying on the aphids, possibly due to the M. viciae being unpalatable for the ants or the ants finding medicinal compounds in the EFN nectar. The result of my thesis is a first step in to identifying natural ways for ants to obtain and use medicinal compounds from their environments and opens up new avenues of research in the topic of self-medication. The result also highlights the importance of biodiversity for the conservation efforts for ants and other insects. Insects are facing a drastic decline in both abundance and diversity due to human impact on their environments, including the prevalence in pathogens. By understanding the full extent of the immune strategies that insects use, including self-medication, we can develop more efficient methods of conservation to help them.

Forests cover around a third of the world's terrestrial surface. In addition to providing habitat for many of the world's animals and plants, they are also significant carbon sinks making them instrumental in curbing climate change. Protected areas (PA) are a common tool for conserving natural habitats and are a cornerstone in many conservation strategies because they establish zones free from human interventions and allow natural processes to thrive. Global conservation targets of land covered by PA have been reached with varying degrees of success, often limited by lack of political will, monetary funding, or over-ambitious targets. Additionally, the conservation effectiveness of established PA is also less than expected. Two large contributors to such failures are conservation funding and governance within each country, although such relationships have not been duly studied. In this study I assess how funding and governance relate to the effectiveness of PAs as measured through the magnitude of deforestation between 2001 and 2010. I question whether there are trade-offs between investing in expanding the protected area network and securing the protection of already established reserves through a geospatial analysis of open-source datasets of 34 countries. By comparing relative deforestation inside and outside protected areas I defined a conservation effectiveness response variable and built a model comparing the response variable with conservation funding (expressed as annual average funding for biodiversity) and governance (corruption), while controlling for overall amounts of deforestation and forest cover on a national scale. Furthermore, I explored the relationship between the expansion of PAs in each country during the same period and the observed deforestation. The results show a relationship between conservation effectiveness, governance (p=0.0706) and funding (p=0.0608), were increases in the funding and/or governance variables resulted in better conservation effectiveness. Additionally, conservation effectiveness was found to be higher in countries with better governance but the same level of funding. Furthermore, while governance was found to positively correlated with conservation effectiveness across all levels of governance, funding had a positive impact on conservation effectiveness only after a certain amount of funding was reached. No association between protected area expansion and conservation effectiveness was found indicating the absence of a trade-off. This study highlights the importance of allocating appropriate levels of financing needed for successful conservation efforts and how good governance is a prerequisite for achieving conservation outcomes. This is especially important in light of the new 2030 biodiversity targets that commit large parts of the global south to expand their PA networks with limited amounts of funding.

Eläinten hyvinvoinnin parantamiseen tarvitaan paljon tieteellistä tutkimusta tunteista, älykkyydestä ja lajikohtaisista tarpeista. Tiedon pohjalta pystytään vertaamaan ja kehittämään eläinten tarpeisiin soveltuvia olosuhteita, kuten esimerkiksi virikkeitä ja hoitomuotoja eläintarhoissa. Eläintarhaolosuhteissa eläimen hyvinvoinnin saavuttaminen vaatii kompromisseja tilan ja resurssien rajallisuuden vuoksi. Parhaimman kompromissin löytämiseen vaaditaan tieteellistä tietoa lajikohtaisesta hyvinvoinnista. Maisterintutkielman tarkoituksena oli tuottaa tieteelliseen tietoon perustuva arvio Korkeasaaren eläintarhassa valittujen lajien hyvinvoinnista, jotka olivat huulipekari (Tayassu pecari), pikkumarmosetti (Cebuella pygmaea), punaniskakenguru (Macropus rufogriseus) ja sinikurkkuara (Ara glaucogularis). Tavoitteena oli tunnistaa tekijät, jotka vaikuttavat kyseisten eläinten hyvinvointiin luonnossa, ja verrata niitä eläintarhassa olevien yksilöiden olosuhteisiin. Tämän avulla pystyttiin arvioimaan lajikohtaiset tarpeet, joita tarvitaan eläinten hyvinvoinnin saavuttamiseksi. Vertasin hyvinvointiarvioitani tutkittavien lajien hoitajien tekemiin arvioihin, minkä tarkoituksena oli ymmärtää, riippuuko hyvinvoinnin arvio arvioijan näkökulmasta, ja onko lajien välillä eroja siinä, mihin seikkoihin arvioitsijat kiinnittävät huomiota. Arviointeja vertailemalla oli myös tarkoitus löytää tekijöitä, joilla on vaikutusta lajikohtaiseen hyvinvointiin Korkeasaaressa, minkä pohjalta voidaan ymmärtää ja kehittää mahdollisia hyvinvointia edistäviä toimenpiteitä. Toteutin tutkielman eri osioissa. Ensin suoritin kirjallisuuskatsauksen, jonka tarkoituksena oli määrittää tutkittavien lajien käyttäytyminen ja hyvinvoinnin tarpeet tieteellisten tutkimuksien avulla. Seuraavaksi selvitin eläinten olosuhteet Korkeasaaressa aitauksien kuvaamisen, tarkastelun ja hoitajien haastattelujen avulla. Tämän jälkeen tein hyvinvointikartoitukset, joita verrattiin tutkittavien eläinten hoitajien vastaaviin tilastollisesti. Hoitajat arvioivat lajien hyvinvoinnin aina paremmaksi kuin minä, ja erot arvioinneissa olivat suuria. Johtopäätöksenä voidaan pitää, että suora vertailu luonnonympäristöön voi johtaa huomattavasti alhaisempiin hyvinvointiarvioihin. Tällainen on esimerkiksi trooppisen ilmaston vertailu Suomen vuodenaikaisvaihteluun, vaikka eläimillä olisi aina mahdollisuus suotuisiin lämpö- ja valaistusolosuhteisiin. Hyvinvoinnin osa-alueiden välillä ei ollut merkittäviä eroja. Huomattavaa on, että hoitajat arvioivat samalla myös paitsi eläimen olosuhteita, myös omaa onnistumistaan niiden hoidossa. Tämä voi vaikuttaa siihen, että yksikään laji ei saanut hoitajilta yhtään 1-arviota, kun taas minulla oli objektiivisempi ote arviointiin, sillä kritiikki ei kohdistunut minuun edes välillisesti.

The intensification of agriculture is one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss worldwide. One of the intensification shifts has occurred from cattle grazing on biodiversity-rich semi-natural grasslands to ceased grazing or grazing on cultivated species-poor grasslands. While the effect of different grazing pressure on biodiversity in semi-natural grasslands has been studied extensively, little is known of how current grazing regimes on cultivated grasslands affect biodiversity and ecosystem services in different farming systems. Here, we investigated how arthropod abundance and potential ecosystem services are related to varying grazing pressure on cultivated grasslands at conventional and organic farms with meat or dairy production. We sampled aerial arthropods with sticky tape traps in four land-use types within the farms. Relative arthropod abundance was derived from the tapes using an imagery analysis, and the numbers of pollinators and predators from 4 taxonomic groups were counted. The results showed no difference in the relative arthropod abundance in relation to grazing pressure, but there was weak evidence for higher predator abundance at low and high grazing pressure. The relative arthropod abundance showed a positive trend in organic farms. However, pollinator abundance was higher in conventional farms, and predator abundance did not differ between farming systems. Land-use type was related to the occurrence of predators and pollinators: both groups had the lowest abundance in farmyards compared to cultivated pastures, silage fields, and cereal crop fields. Predator numbers were also higher in silage fields than in the other land-use types. However, there was no significant interaction between land-use types and farming systems in their effect on the arthropod groups. The results suggest that grazing pressure on cultivated grasslands has a minor or negligible impact on arthropod abundance in the two commonest farming systems. However, the effect of farming systems on relative arthropod abundance might be obscured by low sample sizes, high abundance of only a few species, and other variables not included here, such as the use of manure or pesticides. In addition, pollinators included only two taxonomic groups, potentially leading to results not applicable to all pollinators. Consequently, more large-scale studies with higher sample sizes and the inclusion of arthropod diversity and data on the key on-farm practices and landscape structure are needed to disentangle the relationship between biodiversity and grazing on cultivated grasslands in Finland.

Boreal mires are natural sources of methane and contribute considerably to the global methane budget. Therefore, in order to comprehend the overall impact that these ecosystems have on climate change, it is essential to understand the factors that influence processes involved in methane production and consumption. Factors affecting methane flux vary between different mires, but there is also great spatial and temporal variation in flux within mires. In previous studies, temperature and water table position have been shown to influence methane flux, but vegetation could aid in explaining the small-scale variation. Vegetation can indicate spatial variation in water table position, but also affect methane flux directly by the transportation of methane through plant tissues, and by providing substrate for microorganisms through primary production. Furthermore, redox potential is a poorly studied factor that can reflect if chemical conditions in peat are suitable for methane production or consumption, making it a useful tool in predicting methane flux. In this thesis, I seek to identify if small-scale spatial variation in the methane flux occurs within the studied mire area. In addition, I strive to identify important controllers of the observed spatiotemporal variation in methane flux, with a specific focus on the effect of vegetation properties and redox potential. Methane and carbon dioxide fluxes were measured with the closed chamber technique at a boreal fen in Sodankylä (67°22'06.6"N 26°39'16.0"E) during the growing season in 2019. Flux measurements were carried out at nine measurement plots belonging to three different vegetation types: flark, lawn and string. Coverage and height of plant functional groups were followed during the summer and continuous redox potential was measured for each plot. CH4 fluxes of different plots and vegetation types were compared to study the spatial variation in methane flux. Generalized additive models (GAM) were used to determine which variables are best to explain spatiotemporal variation in methane flux over the growing season. Mean methane flux during the summer was 0.94 ug CH4 m-2 s-1 which is in the same magnitude as observed in a previous study at the fen. Some small-scale spatial variation in the methane fluxes was observed at the study site, with strings having lower flux than flaks and lawns. However, overall the spatial variation was small, while temporal variation in methane flux over the growing season was considerable. The best model, that was a combination of vegetation, redox potential and environmental variables, and it explained 72 % of the observed variation in methane flux. Vascular plant variables were the most important variables in the model, whereas moss functional groups were of lesser importance. Redox potential in deeper peat layers was also important in the model, but redox potential closer to the surface was not found to be significant. Vegetation is an important controller of methane flux, and this information could potentially be used when predicting methane flux over larger areas by using remote sensing to map vegetation characteristics. Redox potential, on the other hand, is relatively easy to measure, and the result suggests that it could provide a useful tool for improving the predictions of methane flux.

Life-history decisions, and trade-offs, are affected by resource acquisition, which can vary among individuals, and during the life cycle of an individual. In Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) many life-history decisions, such as age-of-maturity, are strongly associated with two genomic regions, vgll3 and six6. Previously, these genomic regions have been associated with food acquisition in adult sea-run Atlantic salmon; however, this has not yet been studied in juvenile salmon. Furthermore, population density strongly affects the food availability of juvenile salmon through resource competition. Here, using controlled crosses reared in semi-natural stream conditions, I investigated the effect and relationship of life-history genetics and population density on juvenile Atlantic salmon food acquisition. Stomach contents from 148 juvenile Atlantic salmon were quantified for their prey item composition, total number of prey items and dry weight, and environmental and genetic basis of food acquisition were analysed using mixed effects models. Late maturing six6 genotype fish had higher stomach-content dry weights and fuller stomachs than early maturing individuals, in low densities. Furthermore, low density fish were of better condition and had higher growth rates than high density fish. There was no association between six6 and vgll3 genotypes and food acquisition in high densities. The results support the existing knowledge of the negative effect of increasing population density on juvenile Atlantic salmon growth and condition. Furthermore, the density dependent association of six6 and food acquisition suggest a trade-off between early maturation and maximised food acquisition.

Even though bats have no specialized predators in the temperate zone, they are still predated on. In fact, 11% of their annual mortality is caused by avian predators, especially owls. Bats are particularly vulnerable at emergence from their roost because this behaviour is very predictable. Because a successful predation event is mortal, it would be expected that bats need antipredatory responses to avoid it. The time and focus for these responses need to be shared with foraging in a way that maximizes survival. I studied antipredatory responses of bats in two settings: 1. during roost emergence and 2. during foraging at tawny owl territories and at places where there have been no tawny owl sightings. I collected acoustic data from 24 roosts and 11 foraging grounds for 10-13 nights. The roost emergence data was collected with the help of citizen science. Two controlled predation threats, recorded tawny owl calls and nestling sounds, were used. Nestling sounds were only played during roost emergence. In both tests music and silence were used as controls. Owl calls, music or tawny owl territory have no effect on bat presence when they are foraging. However, bats alter their emergence time and leave over 20 minutes later when tawny owl calls are played outside the roost. There is no difference in exit time when music or nestling sounds are played. These results show that bats have antipredatory responses. They also suggest that bats may be able to recognize high-risk situations and allocate their behaviour accordingly or that they place higher importance on foraging than avoiding predation.