| 1. |
- Byholm, Patrik, et al.
(author)
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Losing your home : Temporal changes in forest landscape structure due to timber harvest accelerate Northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) nest stand losses
- 2020
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In: Ornis Fennica. - 0030-5685. ; 97:1, s. 1-11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In Finland, forests are both one of the main national economic resources and the main source of biodiversity. Lack of detailed empirical evidence of how forestry affects biodiversity limits the development of sustainable forest management. Previous studies have found that the Northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) is a keystone species in mature coniferous boreal forests, and that its presence is associated with high local biodiversity. To understand how timber harvest affect goshawk nest-stand constancy and nest occupancy, we analyzed changes in nine landscape classes in two buffer zones (100 m, 250 m) around goshawk nests in Western Finland during 2005-2013. Patterns of nest occupancy and nest stand loss during 2005-2013 was compared with corresponding data from 1999-2005 to investigate possible long-term changes in the same. We found a positive connection between the proportion of mature spruce forest and nest occupancy. Nest stand constancy was at a lower level during 2005-2013 than during 1999-2005. This was mainly because of forest loss due to cutting of nest stands. Given that the loss of goshawk nest stands has accelerated and because timber harvest in the area was found to be specifically targeted towards forest types favoured by goshawks, forestry may have an even larger negative effect on biodiversity locally than previously thought given that goshawk nest stands are associated with high biodiversity. To render the Finnish forestry ecologically sustainable, we propose that protection of goshawk nest stands should be an integrated part of standard forestry practices in the future.
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| 2. |
- Baltazar-Soares, Miguel, et al.
(author)
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Bringing to light nuclear-mitochondrial insertions in the genomes of nocturnal predatory birds
- 2023
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In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. - : Elsevier BV. - 1055-7903 .- 1095-9513. ; 181
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Mito-nuclear insertions, or NUMTs, relate to genetic material of mitochondrial origin that have been transferred to the nuclear DNA molecule. The increasing amounts of genomic data currently being produced presents an opportunity to investigate this type of patterns in genome evolution of non-model organisms. Identifying NUMTs across a range of closely related taxa allows one to generalize patterns of insertion and maintenance in autosomes, which is ultimately relevant to the understanding of genome biology and evolution. Here we collected existing pairwise genome-mitogenome data of the order Strigiformes, a group that includes all the nocturnal bird predators. We identified NUMTs by applying percent similarity thresholds after blasting mitochondrial genomes against nuclear genome assemblies. We identified NUMTs in all genomes with numbers ranging from 4 in Bubo bubo to 24 in Ciccaba nigrolineata. Statistical analyses revealed NUMT size to negatively correlate with NUMT's sequence similarity to with original mtDNA region. Lastly, characterizing these nuclear insertions of mitochondrial origin in a comparative genomics framework produced variable phylogenetic patterns, suggesting in some cases that insertions might pre-date speciation events within Strigiformes.
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| 3. |
- Baltazar-Soares, Miguel, et al.
(author)
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Genomic basis of melanin-associated phenotypes suggests colour-specific environmental adaptations in tawny owls
- 2024
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In: Molecular Ecology. - : WILEY. - 0962-1083 .- 1365-294X.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Feathers comprise a series of evolutionary innovations but also harbour colour, a key biological trait known to co-vary with life history or complex traits. Those relationships are particularly true in melanin-based pigmentation species due to known pleiotropic effects of the melanocortin pathway - originating from melanin-associated phenotypes. Here, we explore the molecular basis of melanin colouration and expected co-variation at the molecular level in the melanin-based, colour polymorphic system of the tawny owl (Strix aluco). An extensive body of literature has revealed that grey and brown tawny owl colour morphs differ in a series of life history and behavioural traits. Thus, it is plausible to expect co-variation also at molecular level between colour morphs. To investigate this possibility, we assembled the first draft genome of the species against which we mapped ddRADseq reads from 220 grey and 150 brown morphs - representing 10 years of pedigree data from a population in Southern Finland - and explored genome-wide associations with colour phenotype. Our results revealed putative molecular signatures of cold adaptation strongly associated with the grey phenotype, namely, a non-synonymous substitution in MCHR1, plus 2 substitutions in non-coding regions of FTCD and FAM135A whose genotype combinations obtained a predictive power of up to 100% (predicting grey colour). These suggest a molecular basis of cold environment adaptations predicted to be grey-morph specific. Our results potentially reveal part of the molecular machinery of melanin-associated phenotypes and provide novel insights towards understanding the functional genomics of colour polymorphism in melanin-based pigmented species.
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| 4. |
- Ekroos, Johan, et al.
(author)
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Philopatric predisposition to predation-induced ecological traps: habitat-dependent mortality of breeding eiders
- 2012
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In: Oecologia. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-1939 .- 0029-8549. ; 170:4, s. 979-986
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Because population size is sensitive to changes in adult survival, adult survival may be buffered against environmental variability. Philopatry may be adaptive in changing environments, but it could also constrain breeding habitat selection under changing conditions such as shifting predation regimes. Habitat preference and quality could become decoupled in long-lived philopatric species that evolved in stable environments when suddenly faced by increased adult predation risk, as dispersal may be triggered by past reproductive failure. We evaluated whether the Baltic eider (Somateria m. mollissima) population may currently face a predation-induced ecological trap. Eiders are philopatric and nest on open and forested islands. We hypothesized that open-nesting females would be disproportionately affected by increased predation. We compared female annual survival in these two habitats in 1996-2010. We also tested for effects of time trends, winter severity (NAO), female body condition, and habitat-specific predation pressure on survival. Our results revealed the lowest survival recorded for this species (I broken vertical bar = 0.720), and survival on open islands was significantly lower (I broken vertical bar = 0.679) than on forested islands (I broken vertical bar = 0.761). Nonetheless, only 0.7 % of females changed breeding habitat type despite ample availability of alternative islands, and breeding phenology in both habitats was similar. Female survival increased with body condition, while it was unrelated to winter climate and stable over time. Open islands had a higher predation pressure on incubating females. Breeding philopatry results in a predator-mediated ecological trap for open-nesting eiders. Our results contribute to explaining the drastic decline of the Baltic eider population.
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| 5. |
- Gunko, Ruslan, et al.
(author)
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Does Water Quality Matter for Life Quality? A Study of the Impact of Water Quality on Well-being in a Coastal Community
- 2022
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In: Environmental Management. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0364-152X .- 1432-1009. ; 70:3, s. 464-474
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Most studies of life quality are concentrated on a country-level scale, while local differences within a country or area are less studied. Thus, the effect of the environment on life quality on a local scale remains understudied and is often represented by one generalized common factor. In this study, we investigated the effect of an objectively measured environmental quality variable and subjective reflections of this (perceptions of environmental quality) in relation to life quality in a coastal community. Hence, we tested the effect of objective and subjective water quality measures using a model, accounting for other traditional variables (e.g., income and health) that predict life quality variations. Our findings indicate that perceptions of the environment are strongly associated with life quality, whereas objectively measured environmental quality is associated with life quality to a lesser extent. Thus, our results suggest that the impact of the environment on life quality is mediated via the way the environment is perceived (psychological effects) and less by the actual conditions of the environment.
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| 6. |
- Gunko, Ruslan, et al.
(author)
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How accurate is citizen science? Evaluating public assessments of coastal water quality
- 2022
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In: Environmental Policy and Governance. - : Wiley. - 1756-932X .- 1756-9338. ; 32:2, s. 149-157
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Citizen science is changing society's contribution to research projects worldwide. Non-experts are no longer just spectators, they are active participants and supporters of scientific work. Using citizen science, that is, data collected by laypeople, the opportunities to collect large-scale data on the environment are increasing. Such community-based and citizen scientific approaches can provide useful tools as local people can be trained to accurately take measurements that can be used in scientific studies. However, little is known about how well volunteer-based non-standard subjective assessments of the environment based on prior experience only and no training compare with scientifically measured estimates of that environment. In this paper, we tested how well measures of coastal water quality assessed by local inhabitants corresponds with objective water quality data collected using scientific instruments. Our results showed that over 70% of the respondents assessed water quality in the right direction and almost 60% were correct in their estimates. We found that socio-demographic factors affect the assessments, but do not markedly improve reliability. We conclude that simple questionnaires can be used to assess general coastal water quality.
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| 7. |
- Gunko, Ruslan, et al.
(author)
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Striving with Global Stress on a Local Level : Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Changed the Relationship between People and Nature?
- 2022
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In: Sustainability (Switzerland). - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 14:15
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The COVID-19 pandemic had harsh consequences on human health and society across the globe. In addition to health effects, the pandemic also influenced people’s values, concerns, and ethics due to lockdowns and general limitations in societal activities. In this study, we examined changes in the relationship between people and nature caused by COVID-associated stress, as well as its consequences on life quality, by comparing questionnaire-based survey data before and during the pandemic. We found that the pandemic had positive effects on individual respondents’ relationships with nature. Respondents who were more affected by the pandemic rated their life quality lower than those who were less affected. In accordance, the pandemic had a negative effect on people’s life quality, especially for people living in areas where the environment (coastal water quality) was in poor condition. Our results support the prediction that environmental quality may buffer against global stress and improve societal wellbeing.
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| 8. |
- Karell, Patrik, et al.
(author)
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Brown tawny owls moult more flight feathers than grey ones
- 2013
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In: Journal of Avian Biology. - 0908-8857. ; 44:3, s. 235-244
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The mechanisms by which melanin-based colour polymorphism can evolve and be maintained in wild populations are poorly known. Theory predicts that colour morphs have differential sensitivity to environmental conditions. Recently it has been proposed that colour polymorphism covaries genetically with intrinsic and behavioural properties. Plumage moult is a costly and crucial somatic maintenance function in birds. We used a long-term data set consisting of 761 observations on 307 individuals captured between 1985 and 2010 to examine differences in partial flight feather moult between grey (pale) and brown (pheomelanic dark) colour morphs of the tawny owl. We find that the brown morph consistently moult more primary flight feathers than the grey morph whereas there is no clear difference between colour morphs in the moulting of secondary feathers. Contrary to expectations, the difference in the number of moulted flight feathers between the morphs was independent of environmental conditions, as quantified by the abundance of prey. We discuss the potential physiological and behavioural causes for and costs of the observed difference in maintenance functions between colour morphs.
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| 9. |
- Karell, Patrik, et al.
(author)
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Mammalian nest predation induces small-scale nest site switching in territorial tawny owl (Strix aluco) females
- 2020
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In: Ornis Fennica. - 0030-5685. ; 97:2, s. 45-52
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Nest predation is a major factor affecting fitness in birds. Individuals are expected to respond to nest predation by selecting safe nesting sites and by moving away from risky sites. Thereby, perceived risk or experience of predation should lead to shifts in nest site selection. Experimental studies on behavioural and life-history consequences of nest predation have traditionally manipulated the risk of predation and studied the immediate consequences thereof. Fewer studies have however analysed the behavioural consequences of perceived predation risk to future breeding events and we know little about how sedentary territorial species respond to nest predation. We experimentally manipulated tawny owl (Strix aluco) breeding nest site choice by providing an additional alternative nest box within the territory, nearby the original nesting sites. The new nest box was provided either after a successful reproductive event (control group), or following a failed reproductive event caused by a nest predator (i.e. pine marten Martes martes, predated group). We show that tawny owls generally switched to the alternative nest site in the current breeding season when the nest was predated in the previous year, whereas they used the same nest after a successful breeding. We found no effects of previous predation experience on the probability to breed nor on clutch size. We conclude that small scale movement within the territory are used by tawny owls to minimize predation risk and that the owls use information on past predation events and nest failure to optimize their breeding decision in the following season.
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| 10. |
- Karell, Patrik, et al.
(author)
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Pale and dark morphs of tawny owls show different patterns of telomere dynamics in relation to disease status
- 2017
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In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. - : The Royal Society. - 0962-8452 .- 1471-2954. ; 284:1859
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Parasites are expected to exert long-term costs on host fecundity and longevity. Understanding the consequences of heritable polymorphic variation in disease defence in wild populations is essential in order to predict evolutionary responses to changes in disease risk. Telomeres have been found to shorten faster in malaria-diseased individuals compared with healthy ones with negative effects on longevity and thereby fitness. Here, we study the impact of haemosporidian blood parasites on telomere dynamics in tawny owls, which display a highly heritable plumage colour polymorphism. Previously, it has been shown that blood parasites have morph-specific impact on body mass maintenance. Here, we show that telomeres shortened faster in individuals with shorter breeding lifespan. Telomere length was negatively associated with the degree of pheomelanic brown coloration and shorter in infected than uninfected individuals. The rate of telomere shortening between breeding seasons was faster in darker pheomelanic individuals and suppression of parasite intensity between seasons was associated with faster telomere shortening in the paler individuals but not in darker ones. We propose that morph-specific physiological profiles cause differential telomere shortening and that this is likely to be a mechanism involved in previously documented environment-driven survival selection against the pheomelanic morph in this population.
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