Biodiversity decline detected in bird observations 1981–2018 around the islands of Seili, the Archipelago Sea, SW Finland

Bird sightings have been documented during the years 1981–2018 on the Seili and nearby islands in the Finnish Archipelago Sea, northern Baltic Sea. In this study, trends in sightings of bird species / groups and families or orders were classified as increasing, stable, decreasing or sporadic (random) based on monthly observation data. A total of 213 species were noticed in monitoring. Many species and groups declined during the study period, taxonomically 65 % of the bird families or orders showed decreasing abundances for over half or more than half of their species. The decline in bird diversity was evident also in the community composition of bird groups which has been narrowed down during the study period. Only a few species showed an increasing trend, most notably the White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) and the Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis). Presently many bird species spend lesser time at the area than during early observation years

Saaristomeren tutkimuslaitoksen kesä oli täynnä tiedettä ja taidetta

Tutkimuslaitoksen yhteistyö Contemporary Art Archipelago -taidehautomon (CAA) kanssa on vuosien varrella rakentanut dialogia tieteen ja taiteen välille. Seilissä oli kesällä runsaasti tapahtumia, jotka kuuluivat sarjaan Miten tiedät mitä tiedät? Huomioinnin harjoitteita. // How do you know what you know? Exercises in Attentiveness. Henkilökuntamme on vuosia tukenut taiteilijoiden työtä jakamalla tietoa ja tieteellisiä metodeja sekä osallistunut myös itse tapahtumiin. Seilissä oli kesän aikana myös paljon muuta toimintaa ja uudistuksia.</p

Biodiversity decline detected in bird observations 1981–2018 around the islands of Seili, the Archipelago Sea, SW Finland

Bird sightings have been documented during the years 1981–2018 on the Seili and nearby islands in the Finnish Archipelago Sea, northern Baltic Sea. In this study, trends in sightings of bird species / groups and families or orders were classified as increasing, stable, decreasing or sporadic (random) based on monthly observation data. A total of 213 species were noticed in monitoring. Many species and groups declined during the study period, taxonomically 65 % of the bird families or orders showed decreasing abundances for over half or more than half of their species. The decline in bird diversity was evident also in the community composition of bird groups which has been narrowed down during the study period. Only a few species showed an increasing trend, most notably the White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) and the Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis). Presently many bird species spend lesser time at the area than during early observation years.</p

Tutkimuksesta luokkahuoneisiin

Digitaaliset opetusmenetelmät on otettu käyttöön lyhyessä ajassa, vaikka niiden soveltuvuutta biologian opetukseen ja oppimiseen on tutkittu vähän. Kirjallisuuskatsauksen pohjalta selvitetään: a) Mitä digitaalisia opetusmenetelmiä tarkastelluissa artikkeleissa biologian opetuksessa käytetään? b) Mitä biologisia aiheita niiden avulla opiskellaan? c)  Mitä tukea ja hyötyä digitaalisista opetusmenetelmistä on biologian oppimiselle? d) Mitä tiedon ja ajattelun tasoja biologian oppimista tukevat menetelmät kehittävät? Kansainvälisissä sarjoissa 2000-luvulla julkaistut 10 biologian oppimista painottavaa artikkelia tutkittiin sisältöanalyysillä. Eniten käytettyjä digitaalisia opetusmenetelmiä olivat virtuaalinen kenttäretki, laboratorio ja oppimisohjelma. Aiheet vaihtelivat lajintunnistuksesta biologisiin ilmiöihin. Oppimista tukivat vuorovaikutteisuus, liikuteltavuus ja turvallisuus. Digitaaliset opetusmenetelmät kehittivät oppijoiden yksilöllistä tiedon hallintaa ja ajattelua etenkin asiatietojen ja käsitteiden osalta. Tulokset puoltavat digitaalisten opetusmenetelmien sisällyttämistä biologian opetussuunnitelmiin ja opetukseen

The blue mussel color polymorphisms and growth rates in the Archipelago Sea, northern Baltic Sea

The blue mussel (Mytilus trossulus × edulis) is one of the most abundant benthic animals in the Archipelago Sea in the northern Baltic. The mussel is considered a key species, because it participates in the biomass and nutrient cycles by filtering water, serves as a growth platform and is a food source for many organisms. The mussel exhibits a genetic polymorphism in its shell color, in which a recessive allele causes a dark blue color, whereas the dominant allele causes brown. Earlier studies have hypothesised about a relation between mussel color forms and growth rates. In this study, we examined the occurrence of the mussel’s color forms in the Finnish Archipelago Sea and investigated the differences in mussel growth rates between the color forms. We analysed 524 individuals from regional mussel populations representing four sampling sites with varying environmental conditions. The study revealed that presently the distribution of both color forms is relatively even. The dark blue color form indicated only a slight dominance in abundance at the study sites. We did not detect differences in growth rates among mussels of the color forms. This was likely due to a large variation in the individual growth rates of mussels. Instead, differences in the average growth rates among the sampling sites were observed. This indicated that other factors that limit the survival of mussels in the Archipelago Sea habitats, such as salinity and temperature, play an important role in the growth rates of the color forms. In the future, the dark blue form can likely be expected to be proportionally more common in the Archipelago Sea, if the global climate warming and seawater temperature together with turbidity increase continues as expected. Numerically the brown color form will be preserved because it can tolerate higher temperatures

The blue mussel color polymorphisms and growth rates in the Archipelago Sea, northern Baltic Sea

The blue mussel (Mytilus trossulus × edulis) is one of the most abundant benthic animals in the Archipelago Sea in the northern Baltic. The mussel is considered a key species, because it participates in the biomass and nutrient cycles by filtering water, serves as a growth platform and is a food source for many organisms. The mussel exhibits a genetic polymorphism in its shell color, in which a recessive allele causes a dark blue color, whereas the dominant allele causes brown. Earlier studies have hypothesised about a relation between mussel color forms and growth rates. In this study, we examined the occurrence of the mussel’s color forms in the Finnish Archipelago Sea and investigated the differences in mussel growth rates between the color forms. We analysed 524 individuals from regional mussel populations representing four sampling sites with varying environmental conditions. The study revealed that presently the distribution of both color forms is relatively even. The dark blue color form indicated only a slight dominance in abundance at the study sites. We did not detect differences in growth rates among mussels of the color forms. This was likely due to a large variation in the individual growth rates of mussels. Instead, differences in the average growth rates among the sampling sites were observed. This indicated that other factors that limit the survival of mussels in the Archipelago Sea habitats, such as salinity and temperature, play an important role in the growth rates of the color forms. In the future, the dark blue form can likely be expected to be proportionally more common in the Archipelago Sea, if the global climate warming and seawater temperature together with turbidity increase continues as expected. Numerically the brown color form will be preserved because it can tolerate higher temperatures.</p

Large-scale long-term passive-acoustic monitoring reveals spatio-temporal activity patterns of boreal bats

The distribution ranges and spatio-temporal patterns in the occurrence and activity of boreal bats are yet largely unknown due to their cryptic lifestyle and lack of suitable and efficient study methods. We approached the issue by establishing a permanent passive-acoustic sampling setup spanning the area of Finland to gain an understanding on how latitude affects bat species composition and activity patterns in northern Europe. The recorded bat calls were semi-automatically identified for three target taxa; Myotis spp., Eptesicus nilssonii or Pipistrellus nathusii and the seasonal activity patterns were modeled for each taxa across the seven sampling years (2015-2021). We found an increase in activity since 2015 for E. nilssonii and Myotis spp. For E. nilssonii and Myotis spp. we found significant latitude -dependent seasonal activity patterns, where seasonal variation in patterns appeared stronger in the north. Over the years, activity of P. nathusii increased during activity peak in June and late season but decreased in mid season. We found the passive-acoustic monitoring network to be an effective and cost-efficient method for gathering bat activity data to analyze spatio-temporal patterns. Long-term data on the composition and dynamics of bat communities facilitates better estimates of abundances and population trend directions for conservation purposes and predicting the effects of climate change

Monitoring of ticks and tick-borne pathogens through a nationwide research station network in Finland

In 2015 a long-term, nationwide tick and tick-borne pathogen (TBP) monitoring project was started by the Finnish Tick Project and the Finnish Research Station network (RESTAT), with the goal of producing temporally and geographically extensive data regarding exophilic ticks in Finland. In the current study, we present results from the first four years of this collaboration. Ticks were collected by cloth dragging from 11 research stations across Finland in May September 2015-2018 (2012-2018 in Seili). Collected ticks were screened for twelve different pathogens by qPCR: Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia garinii, Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia miyamotoi, Babesia spp., Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia spp., Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Francisella tularensis, Bartonella spp. and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). Altogether 15 067 Ixodes ricinus and 46 Ixodes persulcatus were collected during 68 km of dragging. Field collections revealed different seasonal activity patterns for the two species. The activity of I. persulcatus adults (only one nymph detected) was unimodal, with activity only in May July, whereas Ixodes ricinus was active from May to September, with activity peaks in September (nymphs) or July August (adults). Overall, tick densities were higher during the latter years of the study. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato were the most common pathogens detected, with 48.9 +/- 8.4% (95% Cl) of adults and 25.3 +/- 4.4% of nymphs carrying the bacteria. No samples positive for F. tularensis, Bartonella or TBEV were detected. This collaboration project involving the extensive Finnish Research Station network has ensured enduring and spatially extensive, long-term tick data collection to the foreseeable future.Peer reviewe

Monitoring of ticks and tick-borne pathogens through a nationwide research station network in Finland

In 2015 a long-term, nationwide tick and tick-borne pathogen (TBP) monitoring project was started by the Finnish Tick Project and the Finnish Research Station network (RESTAT), with the goal of producing temporally and geographically extensive data regarding exophilic ticks in Finland. In the current study, we present results from the first four years of this collaboration. Ticks were collected by cloth dragging from 11 research stations across Finland in May–September 2015–2018 (2012–2018 in Seili). Collected ticks were screened for twelve different pathogens by qPCR: Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia garinii, Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia miyamotoi, Babesia spp., Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia spp., Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Francisella tularensis, Bartonella spp. and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). Altogether 15 067 Ixodes ricinus and 46 Ixodes persulcatus were collected during 68 km of dragging. Field collections revealed different seasonal activity patterns for the two species. The activity of I. persulcatus adults (only one nymph detected) was unimodal, with activity only in May–July, whereas Ixodes ricinus was active from May to September, with activity peaks in September (nymphs) or July–August (adults). Overall, tick densities were higher during the latter years of the study. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato were the most common pathogens detected, with 48.9 ± 8.4% (95% Cl) of adults and 25.3 ± 4.4% of nymphs carrying the bacteria. No samples positive for F. tularensis, Bartonella or TBEV were detected. This collaboration project involving the extensive Finnish Research Station network has ensured enduring and spatially extensive, long-term tick data collection to the foreseeable future

Rysäkalastuksen tekniikka ja ammatillinen tietotaito silakan tutkimuksen käyttöön – pilottitutkimus 2019-2021. Loppuraportti: hankenumero 93977. [Trap net fishing technology and vocational know-how for the use of herring research - pilot study 2019-2020. Final research report no 93977].

TiivistelmäHankkeen ensisijaisena tarkoituksena on välittää perinteisen silakan rysäkalastuksen tekniikkaa ja osaamista ammattikalastajilta Livian ammattioppilaitoksen opiskelijoille alkuperäistä jäljittelevällä mutta kokonsa ja käsiteltävyytensä puolesta tarkoituksen mukaisella välineellä esim. pienryhmäopetuksessa. Toissijainen tarkoitus oli selvittää miten suunniteltu koesilakkarysä voi tuottaa näyteaineistoa Turun yliopiston Saaristomeren tutkimuslaitoksen vuonna 1984 alkaneelle silakkatutkimusprojektin lukuisille hankkeille. Rysäkalastushanke oli alun perin suunniteltu kaksivuotiseksi (2019-2020) mutta koronaviruspandemian aiheuttamien viiveiden vuoksi toimintoja oli perusteltua jatkaa muutoshaun turvin vielä 2021 aikana. Hanke on Saaristomeren kalatalousstrategian ja EMKR Suomen toimintaohjeiden mukainen perustuen paikalliseen osaamiseen ja tarpeisiin. Tämä loppuraportti kuvaa hankkeessa jakson tehtyjä toimia ja arvioi koerysäkalastusmenetelmän soveltuvuutta pienryhmän opetustarkoituksessa sekä tieteellisen tutkimusaineiston tuottamisessa.Opetuksellisesti koesilakkarysät havaittiin soveltuvan hyvin perinnetiedon siirtämisen välineiksi tuleville kalastajasukupolville – pienikokoisista rysistä on helppo havainnollistaa silakan rysäkalastamisen perusideaa. Rysien helpon käytön ja hallittavuuden vuoksi opetustapahtuma erityisesti pienryhmille on tarkoituksenmukaista.Käyttökokemukset ja rysistä saadut silakkasaalimäärät osoittivat, että koesilakkarysät toimivat erinomaisesti tieteellisen tutkimuksen menetelmänä näyteaineiston hankkimisessa. Tarvittavan näyteaineiston varmahkon saatavuuden sekä menetelmän helppokäyttöisyyden vuoksi koesilakkarysiä voidaan pitää suositeltavana menetelmänä tieteellisen tutkimusaineiston tuottamisessa.Pilotti osoitti, että rysien lähellä silakoiden perässä viihtyivät erityisesti lokkilinnut (harmaalokki, merilokki) mutta esim. harmaahylkeen tai merimetsojen viipymisiä rysien lähellä ei tarkkailussa havaittu. Tämä antoi viitteen siihen, että nimenomaan lokkilinnut olivat syyllisiä rysien tyhjentämiseen pilotin alkuvaiheessa mikä oli hämmentävää, sillä vedensyvyyttä rysien peräpussissa oli parhaimmillaan yli kolme metriä. Ongelman torjumiseksi rysät katettiin kattoverkoilla mikä osoittautuikin onnistuneeksi päätökseksi – kattoverkot käytännössä poistivat saaliin tyhjentymisongelman ja osin syötyjen kalojen jäämät rysistä hävisivät.AbstractThe primary purpose of the project was to transfer the technology and know-how of traditional trap-net herring fishing from professional fishermen to the students of the Livia Vocational School with a device that mimics the original trap-net but which is fitted more suitable for its size and manageability, e.g. in small group teaching. The secondary purpose was to find out how the designed experimental herring trap-net can produce sample material for the numerous projects of the herring research project started in 1984 by the Archipelago Sea Research Institute of the University of Turku. The project was originally planned for two years (2019-2020), but due to the delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it was justified to continue the activities during 2021 by the permissions of financiers. The project is in line with the Archipelago Sea Fisheries Strategy and the European maritime and fisheries fund  (EMFF Finland) guidelines, based on local expertise and needs. This final report describes the activities carried out in the project during the period and evaluates the suitability of the experimental fish fishing method for the teaching purpose of a small group and for the production of scientific research material.Educationally, experimental trap-nets were found to be well-suited as a means of passing on traditional knowledge to future generations of fishermen - it was easy to illustrate the basic idea of traditional herring trap-net fishing with small-scale devices. Due to the easy use and manageability of the nets, the educational event is especially appropriate for small group teaching.The pleasant user experience and regular herring catches from the nets showed that experimental herring trap-nets were an excellent method for scientific research in obtaining sample material. Due to the reliable availability of the necessary sample material and the ease of use of the method, experimental trap-nets can be considered as the preferred method for the production of scientific research material.</p