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Perinteisesti ympäristönsuojelussa on kiinnitetty huomiota lähinnä myrkyllisiin yhdisteisiin. Suuret sinällään vaarattomien aineiden materiaalivirrat ovat jääneet huomiotta. Schmidt-Bleek (2002) korostaa näiden materiaalivirtojen merkitystä ja nostaa tavoitteeksi tuotteiden ja palveluiden dematerialisoinnin. Tuotteiden ja palveluiden materiaalienkulutusta mittaamaan on kehitetty Wuppertal-instituutissa MIPS-mittari. MIPS tulee sanoista material input per service-unit eli materiaalipanos palvelusuoritetta kohti. Kuljetuksien materiaalienkulutusta on tutkittu Suomen oloissa vähän ja maailmallakin vain rajoitetusti. Tämän vuoksi kuljetuksien materiaalien kulutusta tutkimaan perustettiin FIN-MIPS-Liikenne -hanke, jonka tarkoituksena on verrata keskenään eri kuljetusmuotoja. Tämän osatutkimuksen tarkoituksena on selvittää raideliikenteen materiaalienkulutus MIPS-laskentamenetelmän avulla. Tarkastelun kohteina olivat Kouvola–Pieksämäki-rata ja rakenteilla oleva Kerava–Lahti-oikorata. Kouvola–Pieksämäki-rata on vanha yksiraiteinen rataosuus, joita on runsaasti Suomen rataverkolla. Kerava–Lahti-oikorata taas edustaa modernia ratarakentamista. Rataosuuksilta poimittiin erilaisia ratatyyppejä: normaalirakenne, kallioleikkaus, silta ja tunneli. Näiden materiaalinkulutus tutkittiin, jotta saataisiin kuva siitä, mitkä rakenteet ovat olennaisia ratainfrastruktuurin materiaalipanoksessa. Myös kaluston materiaalipanos tutkittiin. Tämän lisäksi rataosuuksia tarkasteltiin tapaustutkimuksina. Tällöin tutkittiin myös ratapihojen, varikoiden, konepajojen, asemien, tehtaiden ja radanpidon vaikutus raideliikenteen materiaalipanokseen. Palvelusuoritteena oli henkilö- ja tonnikilometrit, joita tarkasteltiin kolmella erilaisella liikennetasolla. MIPS-luvut laskettiin neljässä eri kategoriassa: abioottiset luonnonvarat, bioottiset luonnonvarat, vesi ja ilma. Bioottiset materiaalipanokset olivat kuitenkin hyvin pieniä ja liittyivät ainoastaan muutamaan kulutettuun aineeseen. Abioottisen materiaalipanoksen muodostumisen kannalta olennaisimpia olivat maarakennustoimenpiteet. Veden kulutus taas koostui suurimmaksi osaksi pois paikoiltaan siirretystä sadevedestä. Ilman kulutuksen muodostumisessa keskeinen merkitys oli sähkönkulutuksella ja rakenteilla, joissa käytettiin runsaasti betonia. Kouvola-Pieksämäki radan materiaalipanos oli kaikissa kategorioissa Kerava-Lahti oikoradan materiaalipanosta alhaisempi, koska Kouvola-Pieksämäki rata on yksiraiteinen ja maarakennustoimenpiteiltään yksinkertaisempi. Kaluston osuus MIPS-luvusta oli alhaisin abioottisessa kategoriassa. Vesi-MIPS-lukuun ja erityisesti ilma-MIPS-lukuun kalusto vaikutti huomattavasti. Kaluston merkitys kasvoi liikenteen vilkastuessa.

Sustainability is a normative concept embedding ethical commitments. A central ethical issue in the sustainability debate and sustainability science regards moral standing. Moral standing is a philosophical concept that means that a being matters morally for their own sake and that there are direct duties owed to the being. It is widely accepted in contemporary ethics that, in addition to humans, at least some sentient nonhuman animals have moral standing. However, the dominant academic and political discourse of sustainability has hitherto focused only on the moral claims of humans without a critical examination of this anthropocentrism. In anthropocentrism, a view of moral standing, only humans have moral standing or they have a much higher moral standing than any nonhumans. Animal and environmental ethicists have questioned anthropocentrism through philosophical arguments. Nevertheless, the academic discourse of sustainability has been disconnected from the philosophical research on moral standing. There is, thus, a research gap in examining moral standing within sustainability science by drawing also on ethical research. This master’s thesis integrates the two distinct fields of knowledge, that is, sustainability science and ethical research on moral standing. The aim is to answer the following research questions: (1) What kind of anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric conceptions of sustainability are there in sustainability literature? (2) What kind of conceptions of sustainability ensue from the main philosophical views of moral standing? (3) How plausible are the different anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric conceptions of sustainability? The thesis applies the philosophical method for investigating the plausibility of alternative views. With animal ethical arguments, I defend the plausibility of a sentiocentric and unitarian conception of sustainability that considers the interests of all sentient beings equally. Also, I present a typology of the main anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric conceptions of sustainability based on philosophical literature on moral standing. My typology characterises the key features of what I call the strong variety of anthropocentric sustainability, the weak variety of anthropocentric sustainability, sentiocentric sustainability, biocentric sustainability and ecocentric sustainability. In addition, this research employs interdisciplinary literature related to the topic and reviews the anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric conceptions of sustainability in sustainability literature. Based on my analysis, I contend that the dominant conceptions of sustainability maintain anthropocentric speciesism, that is, discrimination according to species classification within an anthropocentric worldview. This bias is present, for example, in the conceptions of sustainability of the Brundtland Report, the United Nations’ Agenda 2030, the planetary boundaries framework as well as IPCC reports examined in this thesis. Some non-anthropocentric conceptions of sustainability are starting to emerge in academic discourses: interspecies sustainability, posthuman sustainability, ecocentric sustainability, multispecies sustainability, what I call multicriterial sustainability and defences of the animal ethical dimensions of sustainability. Hitherto, the discourse of sustainability has, still, rarely questioned anthropocentric speciesism. I argue that the anthropocentric conceptions of sustainability lack plausibility for five reasons. Firstly, it is morally wrong to engage in speciesist discrimination. It is wrong to disregard sentient nonhuman animals’ interests and equal duties owed to these creatures in the context of sustainability. Secondly, anthropocentric speciesism is connected to discrimination against certain animalised and marginalised humans, such as indigenous peoples. Thirdly, normative claims require ethical justification, which makes it unacceptable to assume anthropocentrism without critical examination. Sustainability science should consider ethical research on moral standing and aim at overcoming the speciesist bias through critical reflection. Fourthly, from a psychological perspective, it is valuable to oppose oppressive systems that, according to research by Melanie Joy, distance humans from reality and their authentic experience. Fifthly, the sentiocentric equality of all sentient beings protects environment and wellbeing by opposing the animal industry. Also the biocentric and ecocentric conceptions of sustainability lack plausibility, despite their non-anthropocentrism, as only sentient beings have interests. I conclude that there is a duty to embrace the sentiocentric and unitarian conception of sustainability that commits to the equality of all sentient beings, which eliminates discrimination. This conclusion entails a duty to transform the paradigm of sustainability science and the discourse of sustainability. In future research, it is essential to further develop this sentiocentric conception of sustainability, examine its possible challenges and how societies and the academic world could implement it.

In a national assessment of threatened habitat types published in December 2018, the state of brooks in Finland was evaluated poor throughout the country. The situation is the worst in the channels of clay rich areas that have a long history of agriculture and are suffering from excessive nutrient loads. The developmental direction of all flowing water habitat types is negative compared to the assessment given in 2008. Currently there are tens of thousands of kilometers of brooks in the need of restoration.The problem with the already accomplished restorations is that they are limited only to specific and short parts of the channels. Because the restorations usually do not include monitoring, the data available of the effects of the restorations is limited. The problem is global, which has led to only small development in the restoration methods in the past decades. In order to improve the condition of brooks in Finland, there is a need for new planning methods focusing on the drainage basins and the importance of monitoring. Methods developed in Central Europe and North America focus in considering the restoration area and its drainage basin as one unit, mapping of the original characteristics of the ecosystem and specifying the goals of restoration. In the presence of specific goals, the monitoring will become an integral part of the restoration plan. This study investigated the effect of setting specific goals for the restoration, and whether it could offer solutions in improving the situation of brooks in Finland. This study applies to brooks in general, but through the restoration example used, focuses especially in the restoration of channels in agricultural areas. This study describes the first extensive restoration of agricultural brook completed in Finland. Kumianoja, located in Hämeenkoski, was restored to flow in its original meandering shape of the channel in the length of approximately one kilometer. With the documentation of this restoration, this study creates an overview of brook restoration planning and the different stages of its execution. The study was part of the “Sustainable management and restoration of dredged agricultural streams (KURVI)”-project (2016-2018) of the Finnish Environment Institute that was funded by the Ministry of the Environment. The goal of the project was to develop methods for improving the state of the flowing waters damaged by the agricultural land drainage according to the Strategy for Protection and Restoration of Small Water Bodies published in 2015 and the goals of the Water act renewed in 2011.

The insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling pathway plays an important role in the regulation of growth and development, metabolism, lifespan, reproduction and stress response of an organism. As the pathway is evolutionarily conserved, Drosophila melanogaster serves as a powerful model for characterizing the underlying molecular mechanisms and genetic components, which may further appear as potential therapeutic targets for metabolic disorders. Drosophila has eight genes encoding insulin-like peptides (DILPs), which display stage- and tissue-specific expression patterns. Furthermore, the expression of DILPs is regulated by nutritional status. To date, only few transcription factors have been shown to regulate the expression of the dilp genes: for instance Dachshund and Eyeless are known transcriptional activators of dilp5 and dFOXO is a known transcriptional activator of dilp6. Since transcription factors directly regulating the expression of dilps are not yet well known, there is a need to study them further. The aim of this master’s thesis was to screen for novel transcriptional regulators of the dilp genes and study their phenotypic effects in vivo. For this purpose Drosophila S2 cells were transfected with vectors containing the promoter regions of all the dilp genes and with a library of 822 transcription factors. Promoter activity of the dilp genes was further measured by using the Dual-Luciferase® Reporter Assay System. Some of the revealed potential regulators were further studied in vivo to confirm their regulatory functions by using RNA interference to silence these factors or overexpressing them and by performing quantitative real-time PCR to measure dilp expression levels. Subsequently, organismal growth and development were assessed and effects on larval metabolic profiles were monitored. The screen revealed a few potential transcriptional regulators, among which Spalt-related (Salr) was selected for further study. It was shown to act as an activator of dilp6 expression. dilp6 is an interesting target among the dilp network due to its central role as a communicator between two of the important organs involved in insulin signaling: the brain and the fat body. Subsequently, both Salr and DILP6 were shown to have a role in controlling growth and development of larvae. Based on the experiments in this thesis Spalt-related seems to have a broader role as a metabolic regulator, which is not limited to its function as a regulator of dilp6. Thus, it might act as an important link between the insulin signaling pathway and other pathways regulating growth and metabolism in Drosophila.

Today it is desirable to utilise and reproductive sidestream materials from the industry. The food industry generates lot of sidestream waste which could be utilised in various products. Grain hulls are one example. The aim of this work was to study the structure and chemical features of sidestream oat and barley hulls from the industry. Furthermore, the potential to use hull fractions with pulp to produce kraft paper was examined. The grain structure and chemical features of oat and barley have been studied extensively in the food industry but hulls barely at all. The intention was to study lipids, hemicellulose sugars and lignins. From the perspective of paper production, it was important to examine hulls fibres (anatomy), fibre separation and fibre wall fibrillation. Kraft paper must possess specific mechanical properties. Sufficient fibrillation and fibre network of the plant fibres renders paper durable. The hull fibres were examined with a light microscope. The hulls were macerated before microscopy. Compounds, lipids, organic acids and sugars were extracted with hexane and acetone in the Accelerated Solvent Extraction. The samples were analysed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The hemicellulose sugars of the hulls were isolated with methanolysis and analysed with a gas chromatography-flame ionization detector. The hull lignins were defined with pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The other compounds of the samples were extracted with acetone by Accelerated Solvent Extraction before pyrolysis determination. The oat and barley hulls were milled with a disc refiner and added to the softwood (pine) pulp in a Valley hollander beater. The pulp was milled for 90 min and the pulp filtration was measured with a Schopper-Riegler freenes tester. Also, water retention value was calculated. Sheets of paper were made with a conventional sheet mould. The aim grammage of the paper sheets was 60 g/m². The mechanical, physical and optical properties of the paper sheets were measured. The properties measured were thickness, density, surface smoothness/roughness, air permeability, opacity, light scattering, light absorption, brightness, tensile strength, breaking strength, elongation, bursting strength and tearing strength. Half of the paper sheets were calandered. The chemical properties of oat and barley hulls did not differ significantly from each other. The same hemicellulose sugars were found in the hulls of both grains, however more mannose and arabinose were found in oat hulls. The hulls of both grains had almost the same total hemicellulose quantity. The quantity and quality of lignins were also similar in both grain hulls. Guaiacyl lignin was dominant in both hulls. Minor differences in hemicellulose sugars does not have an impact on paper production. The hull fibres were very similar in microscopic examination, but oat hulls were somewhat longer than barley hulls. These differences did not impact the separation of fibres, the fibrillation of fibre wall or paper making. Oat hulls were harder, which became most apparent in the calandering and appearance of the sheets. Barley hulls were darker but the mechanical and physical properties of the grain hull paper sheets were quite similar. The hull fractions amount in the pulp (10% or 20%) did not significantly impact the results. The milled hull fractions were not distributed evenly in the sheets, the fibres did not separate properly and no internal or external fibrillation occurred. As mentioned before, the sheets were not homogeneous and the standard deviation of the sheet properties were partly significant. Adding the hull fractions to the pulp was successful and the milled hull fractions did not fall off the sheets. Calandered sheets were smooth and glossy. Moreover, the sheets were visually pleasing. This study indicated that it is possible to use hull fractions for paper and kraft paper production. The paper mostly met the same quality requirements as commercial paper. More research is needed for further optimisation. More research into the chemical properties of oat and barley hulls is also needed, because of the hulls of both grains contain antioxidant components and could provide more information about advanced fibre separation and fibre wall fibrillation.

Elinympäristön vaikutusta eliölajien esiintymiseen voidaan tutkia habitaattimallinnuksen keinoin. Havainnot lajin esiintymisestä ja puuttumisesta eri kohdissa maisemaa suhteutetaan tilastollisen mallin avulla ympäristötekijöihin, jolloin saadaan kuva lajin elinympäristövaatimuksista. Tällöin oletetaan, että laji esiintyy kaikkialla siellä, missä sen elinympäristövaatimukset täyttyvät. Metapopulaatioteorian valossa näin ei kuitenkaan aina ole: maisemassa voi olla runsaasti lajille soveltuvia mutta asuttamattomia kasvupaikkoja, koska uusien yksilöiden leviäminen ja vanhojen häviäminen eivät välttämättä ole yksittäisten kasvupaikkojen tasolla tasapainossa. Siten myös lajin leviämiskyky vaikuttaa siihen, millaiseksi sen levinneisyyskuvio maisematasolla muodostuu. Tässä työssä keskityn tammen (Quercus robur) alueellisen levinneisyyden mallintamiseen. Tammen suhteellinen harvinaisuus Suomessa sekä sen rooli luonnon monimuotoisuuden merkittävänä tukipilarina tekevät siitä mielenkiintoisen kohdelajin ekologiselle tutkimukselle. Tutkimuskohteekseni valitsin Wattkastin saaren, n. 5 km2:n alueen Länsi-Turunmaalta. Wattkastissa on tutkittu kahdeksan vuoden ajan tammella elävien hyönteisyhteisöjen rakennetta ja kannanvaihteluita, ja saaressa kasvaa yli 1800 luonnonvaraista tammea, joiden tarkat sijainnit tiedetään. Tässä ympäristössä tutkin, rajoittaako tammen alueellista levinneisyyttä ensisijaisesti sopivien elinympäristöjen tilajakauma vai pikemminkin sen leviämiskyky. Yhdistin tammen esiintymiskuviota kuvaavaan habitaattimalliin kokeellisen aineiston, jonka avulla arvioin tammen paikallisen esiintymiskuvion ja tammelle soveltuvien elinympäristöjen tilajakauman vastaavuutta. Kokeellisen aineiston muodostivat 104 Wattkastiin vuonna 2004 istutettua pikkutammea, joiden selviytymisen ja kasvupaikkaolot kartoitin syksyllä 2009. Tutkin yleistetyillä lineaarisilla malleilla puiden menestymiseen - siis selviytymiseen ja kuntoon - vaikuttavia tekijöitä. Etsin potentiaalisia selittäjiä tammen menestymiselle kasvupaikan ympäristötekijöistä sekä istutetun puun sijainnista suhteessa luontaisiin tammikasvustoihin. Lisäksi tutkin habitaattimallin avulla, selittävätkö ympäristötekijät tammen nykyisen esiintymiskuvion Wattkastissa. Havaitsin, että istutetut puut olivat selviytyneet keskimäärin hyvin ja ettei niiden menestyminen riippunut sijainnista suhteessa luontaisiin tammikasvustoihin. Habitaattimallin selitysaste oli vain 19 %, eli kasvupaikkatekijät selittivät heikosti tammen nykyisen esiintymiskuvion Wattkastissa. Tulosten perusteella tammen paikallinen esiintymiskuvio ei vastaa sille soveltuvien elinympäristöjen jakaumaa maisemassa, joten tammen levinneisyyttä Wattkastissa rajoittaa ilmeisesti sen leviämiskyky. Tulokseni viittaavat siihen, ettei tammen elinympäristön laadussa ole suuria vaihteluita Wattkastin sisällä, koska sopivia kasvupaikkoja on tarjolla tammen nykyesiintymiseen nähden runsaasti. Tämä on tammihyönteistutkimusten kannalta kiinnostava tulos, koska se tarkoittaa, että aiemmat havainnot isäntäpuun sijainnin ja hyönteisten kannanvaihteluiden välisestä yhteydestä edustavat todellisia, tilaan sidottuja populaatioprosesseja eivätkä isäntäpuun välittämiä eroja elinympäristön laadussa. Lisäksi tutkimukseni osoittaa, että yhdistämällä habitaattimallinnukseen kokeellinen lähestymistapa saadaan realistisempi kuva lajin levinneisyyttä rajoittavista tekijöistä kuin tutkimalla pelkästään ympäristötekijöiden vaikutusta lajin esiintymiseen. Jos lajin rajoittunut leviämiskyky on vaikuttanut sen esiintymiskuvion syntyyn, pelkästään ympäristötekijöihin perustuva levinneisyysmalli liioittelee levinneisyyttä. Kokeellisen tutkimuksen avulla on tällaisessa tapauksessa mahdollista paljastaa myös leviämiskyvyn rooli esiintymiskuvion taustalla.

Lung cancer, the current leading cause of death by cancer, can be categorized into small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), lung adenocarcinoma of NSCLC being the most common. Advances have been made in lung adenocarcinoma treatment based on the tumor genetic profile, especially with epidermal growth receptor (EGFR) gene mutated lung cancers. The initial responses of targeted therapy have promising outcomes, but the patients acquire drug resistance against the selective EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), such as osimertinib. To find a way to prevent, revert, or bypass various EGFR TKI resistance mechanisms, they are studied in hopes of discovering new ways to inhibit or degrade EGFR, to target the bypass mechanisms, or tumor heterogeneity. This study aims to target intratumor heterogeneity of EGFR expression to prevent Osimertinib resistance/enhance Osimertinib efficacy in PC9 cells. It was detected that PC9 cells were a heterogeneous population, that could be separated into EGFR-low expressing and EGFR-high expressing cells. Based on clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) screening, EGFR-low cells had enriched expression of Ariadne RBR E3 Ubiquitin Protein Ligase 2 (ARIH2) and RING finger protein 7 (RNF7) genes compared to EGFR-high cells. These genes encode proteins that are part of a ubiquitylation complex E3-E3 ligase, possibly mediating proteasomal degradation of EGFR. To verify this, the genes are first knocked out (KO) in PC9 EGFR-low cells with CRISPR-Cas9 method. Second, parental cells are treated with pevonedistat, which is an E3-E3 ligase activator inhibitor. The effects of ARIH2/RNF7 KO cells, and pevonedistat-treated cells are analyzed with flow cytometry. Lastly, an in vitro drug experiment to see, if the combination of osimertinib and pevonedistat would have a synergistic effect in killing PC9 EGFR-low cells. RNF7 KO cells and pevonedistat-treated cells appeared to have elevated levels of EGFR, insinuating EGFR is proteasomally degraded by E3-E3 ligase. The results of in vitro drug experiment looked promising as the combination drug treatment seemed to be the most effective. The E3-E3 ligase is an appealing target for cancer therapy but it has not been researched much in lung cancer context. Also, pevonedistat is still on clinical trials and has cytotoxic effects, therefore, the proteasomal degradation pathway of EGFR requires to be more studied.

Talousmetsissä on huomattavasti vähemmän lahopuuta kuin luonnontilaisissa metsissä. Noin 25 % metsälajeista on riippuvaisia lahopuusta, ja lahopuun väheneminen on syynä monen lajin uhanalaisuuteen. Talousmetsiin on luotu lisää lahopuuta tekopökkelöiden avulla. Tekopökkelöitä tehdään harvennus- tai päätehakkuissa katkaisemalla puu noin 1–5 m korkeudelta. Tekopökkelöiden teko on yleistynyt 1990-luvulta lähtien, mutta niitä hyödyntävää lajistoa, etenkin lintuja, on tutkittu Suomessa vasta vähän. Tutkin, mitkä lintulajit käyttävät teko- ja luonnonpökkelöitä ja eroavatko niiden lajistot toisistaan. Lisäksi tutkin, millaisia pökkelöitä linnut käyttävät. Keräsin tutkimusaineistoni Viitasaarelta Keski-Suomesta tuoreilta päätehakkuilta, vanhoilta päätehakkuilta ja harvennushakkuilta. Laskin yhteensä 78 tekopökkelöstä ja 69 luonnonpökkelöstä (puulajeina kuusi ja koivu) lintujen syönnösjälkien ja pesäkolojen määrän sekä määritin ne tehneet lajit. Mittasin myös pökkelöistä ja tutkimuskuvioista ympäristömuuttujia selvittääkseni, millaisia pökkelöitä linnut käyttävät. Tutkimuskuvioilla ja niiden lähistöllä suoritettiin lisäksi lintujen linjalaskennat, jotta pystyin vertaamaan, eroavatko tutkimuskuvioiden lintulajiston laji- tai parimäärät lähialueen lintulajistosta. Vertasin tutkimusalueen linjalaskenta-aineistoa myös pohjoisen Keski-Suomen lintujen vakiolinjalaskenta-aineistoon saadakseni tietää, eroaako tutkimusalue yleisesti pohjoisen Keski-Suomen lintulajistosta laji- tai parimäärän suhteen. Käytin tilastollisissa analyyseissä lineaarisia sekamalleja ja yleistettyjä lineaarisia sekamalleja. Tutkimukseni perusteella linnut käyttävät tekopökkelöitä pesintään ja ruokailuun. Suurin osa syönnösjäljistä ja koloista oli tikkojen tekemiä, todennäköisesti käpytikan. Pökkelötyypillä (teko- tai luonnonpökkelö) ei ollut tilastollisesti merkitsevää yhteyttä pökkelön syönnösjälkien tai pesäkolojen määrään. Pökkelöllä oli tilastollisesti merkitsevästi enemmän syönnösjälkiä, kun pökkelö oli korkeampi, paksumpi, pidemmälle lahonnut, kaarnan peittävyys oli alhaisempi tai pökkelö sijaitsi lähellä metsän reunaa. Kolojen määrä oli tilastollisesti merkitsevästi suurempi, kun pökkelö oli korkeampi, paksumpi tai kun metsäkuviolla oli vähemmän maalahopuuta. Kolojen tai syönnösjälkien määrään ei vaikuttanut tilastollisesti merkitsevästi se, sijaitsiko pökkelö harvennushakkuulla vai päätehakkuulla säästöpuuryhmässä, keskellä päätehakkuuta tai päätehakkuun reunassa. Linjalaskennoissa tutkimuskuvioiden lintulajisto ei eronnut laji- tai parimäärältään lähialueen linnustosta. Tutkimusalueen lintulajisto ei myöskään poikennut pohjoisen Keski-Suomen linnustosta lajimäärältään, joten tuloksiani voi pitää yleistettävissä laajemminkin. Parimäärät olivat tutkimusalueen laskentalinjoilla alhaisempia, koska linjat olivat lyhyempiä kuin vakiolinjat. Tulosteni perusteella linnut hyötyvät eniten korkeammista ja paksummista tekopökkelöistä, jotka sijaitsevat lähellä metsän reunaa. Ajan myötä pökkelön lahotessa siitä tulee paremmin lintujen käyttöön soveltuva.

Stories matter for climate change, as they help us make sense of the complexity, uncertainty and abstract nature of the phenomenon as well as imagine alternative, potentially better futures and process our emotions. In this thesis I look at how the most culturally relevant stories about climate change relate to those of climate activists. To study the culturally relevant climate change stories, a literary review is conducted. Based on the review, an analytical framework is created. In the framework, the different cultural perspectives on climate change are grouped under six categories called climate change tropes. The tropes are i) Climate Change Apocalypse, ii) Techno-optimism, iii) Business-as-usual, iv) Romantic Ecotopia v) Sustainable Growth and vi) Systemic Change. The stories in each trope share a similar plot and/or setting, a guiding emotion and an approach to solutions. To gather empirical data, two climate change storytelling workshops are hosted for climate activists. The participants are Finnish climate activists predominately from the group Elokapina (Extinction Rebellion of Finland). The workshops consist of two creative writing exercises and a semi-structured focus-group interview. In the first exercise, the participants are asked to write a story about climate change and in the second to write an ideal ending to this story. The interview is divided into three sections conducted before, in-between and after the writing. The stories written and the data from the interviews are analysed using a qualitive content analysis. The previously created analytical framework is used to look for similarities as well as differences in the stories the activists tell to those present in literature. In addition to the storylines, the emotions and the sense of authorship these activists experience in relation to the story of climate change are analysed. The stories of the activists are diverse and multifaceted. Most stories written in the first exercise relate to the trope of Climate Change Apocalypse. The activists’ emotions correspond the trope, being dominantly fear, sadness and guilt. The ideal endings relate most to the trope of Systemic Change. The emotion of radical hope associated with the trope, while not exclusively worded by the participants comes out in the action of being an activist and hoping for better futures even in the face of well-justified despair. All other tropes are also mentioned in discussion. In addition, three novel storylines emerge: misanthropy, individual change and climate changed living. In turn, a novel emotion emerging from the data is love. These storylines’ and emotions’ relationship to the six tropes is explored in analysis. In terms of authorship, the participants express a sense of collective authorship and shared responsibility. Lastly, risks about storytelling climate change are identified. As a complex phenomenon climate change does not necessarily comply to narrative format. This may lead to over-simplification of the issue. To counter this risk, I suggest building awareness around telling stories of climate change, as well as advocating for a multitude of stories rather than a single one – as there are as many stories about climate change as there are people telling them. There is also a risk of a story lock-in, where viewing one story of climate change as truth and thus the only possible future may hinder action. Yet, community-based and creative approaches can be useful in escaping these lock-ins and imagining alternatives.

Lichens are symbioses between fungi, photosynthetic algae and other organisms. The fact that several different fungi may occur in the same lichen thallus adds a further dimension to the diversity of these miniature ecosystems. Calicioids are a polyphyletic group of predominantly lichenised fungi which includes many species with stalked ascomata, topped with a persistent spore mass (mazaedium). One such species is Chaenotheca chrysocephala, a relatively common crustose lichen with a wide distribution. The lichenicolous fungus Chaenothecopsis consociata grows on the thallus of C. chrysocephala and is generally considered to be a parasite. This study aims to map the temporal and geographical distribution of C. chrysocephala and C. consociata in Europe in order to find out whether the parasite was present there before the year 1942, when the species was described, and to identify possible patterns which may affect the population dynamics of these two species. This study found that C. consociata was indeed present in Europe before 1942, at least in Norway, Sweden and Finland. Additionally, the percentage of infected C. chrysocephala thalli seems to have increased in Europe since the parasite was first found. The GBIF dataset showed a significant increase in infected C. chrysocephala thalli in northern Europe (N-EU) compared to central-southern Europe (CS-EU). Although the exact reason is unclear, this increase may be related to differences in forest structure across Europe. Firstly, the host lichen seems to prefer Picea and Pinus as its substrate, these being typical trees of needleleaf forests in Europe. Furthermore, the decrease of old-growth forest stands in Sweden and Finland may have reduced suitable habitat for the host, while the concurrent increase of disturbed stands may have favoured the dispersal of the parasite.