Luonnon, uskon ja eron voima: Lisääntymisen luvat Pauliina Rauhalan Taivaslaulussa (2013)

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Glassy phases and driven response of the phase-field-crystal model with random pinning

We study the structural correlations and the nonlinear response to a driving force of a two-dimensional phase-field-crystal model with random pinning. The model provides an effective continuous description of lattice systems in the presence of disordered external pinning centers, allowing for both elastic and plastic deformations. We find that the phase-field crystal with disorder assumes an amorphous glassy ground state, with only short-ranged positional and orientational correlations even in the limit of weak disorder. Under increasing driving force, the pinned amorphous-glass phase evolves into a moving plastic-flow phase and then finally a moving smectic phase. The transverse response of the moving smectic phase shows a vanishing transverse critical force for increasing system sizes

Biomarkers and fluctuating asymmetry as indicators of pollution-induced stress in two hole-nesting passerines.

Summary 1. The stress caused by air pollutants was studied at biochemical, morphological and ecological levels in the Pied Flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca , and Great Tit, Parus major , nestlings in 10 study sites along the pollution gradient of a copper smelter. 2. First, stress was measured using four biomarkers from blood and liver: ethoxyresorufin O -deethylase (EROD) enzyme, haemoglobin, stress protein Hsp70 and deltaaminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALA-d) enzyme. Second, the amount of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) in the length of the 3rd primary and the outermost rectrix (in P. major ) and the length and thickness of the tarsus were measured. These stress indicators were further examined in relation to the breeding performance of birds, i.e. the ecological response. 3. EROD activity was increased in F. hypoleuca nestlings near the pollution source. In P. major , it was not related to the pollution gradient but correlated well with the proportion of starved nestlings, i.e. the nutritional stress during the nestling period. The variations in haemoglobin, Hsp70 and ALA-d enzyme activity were not significantly related to pollution gradient. 4. The tarsus length of F. hypoleuca nestlings and primary length of P. major nestlings showed increased asymmetry in the vicinity of the pollution source. Breeding success decreased towards the pollution source in both species. 5. In F. hypoleuca , the pollution-related stress was verified at all three target levels. In P. major , pollution-related effects were found at morphological and ecological levels but not at the biochemical level, which suggests that direct toxic effect of heavy metals was not the main mechanism in this species

Challenging claims in the study of migratory birds and climate change

Recent shifts in phenology in response to climate change are well established but often poorly understood. Many animals integrate climate change across a spatially and temporally dispersed annual life cycle, and effects are modulated by ecological interactions, evolutionary change and endogenous control mechanisms. Here we assess and discuss key statements emerging from the rapidly developing study of changing spring phenology in migratory birds. These well-studied organisms have been instrumental for understanding climate-change effects, but research is developing rapidly and there is a need to attack the big issues rather than risking affirmative science. Although we agree poorly on the support for most claims, agreement regarding the knowledge basis enables consensus regarding broad patterns and likely causes. Empirical data needed for disentangling mechanisms are still scarce, and consequences at a population level and on community composition remain unclear. With increasing knowledge, the overall support (‘consensus view’) for a claim increased and between-researcher variability in support (‘expert opinions') decreased, indicating the importance of assessing and communicating the knowledge basis. A proper integration across biological disciplines seems essential for the field's transition from affirming patterns to understanding mechanisms and making robust predictions regarding future consequences of shifting phenologies

Decomposing the spatial and temporal effects of climate on bird populations in northern European mountains

The relationships between species abundance or occurrence versus spatial variation in climate are commonly used in species distribution models to forecast future distributions. Under "space-for-time substitution", the effects of climate variation on species are assumed to be equivalent in both space and time. Two unresolved issues of space-for-time substitution are the time period for species' responses and also the relative contributions of rapid- versus slow reactions in shaping spatial and temporal responses to climate change. To test the assumption of equivalence, we used a new approach of climate decomposition to separate variation in temperature and precipitation in Fennoscandia into spatial, temporal, and spatiotemporal components over a 23-year period (1996-2018). We compiled information on land cover, topography, and six components of climate for 1756 fixed route surveys, and we modeled annual counts of 39 bird species breeding in the mountains of Fennoscandia. Local abundance of breeding birds was associated with the spatial components of climate as expected, but the temporal and spatiotemporal climatic variation from the current and previous breeding seasons were also important. The directions of the effects of the three climate components differed within and among species, suggesting that species can respond both rapidly and slowly to climate variation and that the responses represent different ecological processes. Thus, the assumption of equivalent species' response to spatial and temporal variation in climate was seldom met in our study system. Consequently, for the majority of our species, space-for-time substitution may only be applicable once the slow species' responses to a changing climate have occurred, whereas forecasts for the near future need to accommodate the temporal components of climate variation. However, appropriate forecast horizons for space-for-time substitution are rarely considered and may be difficult to reliably identify. Accurately predicting change is challenging because multiple ecological processes affect species distributions at different temporal scales.Peer reviewe

Decomposing the spatial and temporal effects of climate on bird populations in northern European mountains

The relationships between species abundance or occurrence versus spatial variation in climate are commonly used in species distribution models to forecast future distributions. Under "space-for-time substitution", the effects of climate variation on species are assumed to be equivalent in both space and time. Two unresolved issues of space-for-time substitution are the time period for species' responses and also the relative contributions of rapid- versus slow reactions in shaping spatial and temporal responses to climate change. To test the assumption of equivalence, we used a new approach of climate decomposition to separate variation in temperature and precipitation in Fennoscandia into spatial, temporal, and spatiotemporal components over a 23-year period (1996-2018). We compiled information on land cover, topography, and six components of climate for 1756 fixed route surveys, and we modeled annual counts of 39 bird species breeding in the mountains of Fennoscandia. Local abundance of breeding birds was associated with the spatial components of climate as expected, but the temporal and spatiotemporal climatic variation from the current and previous breeding seasons were also important. The directions of the effects of the three climate components differed within and among species, suggesting that species can respond both rapidly and slowly to climate variation and that the responses represent different ecological processes. Thus, the assumption of equivalent species' response to spatial and temporal variation in climate was seldom met in our study system. Consequently, for the majority of our species, space-for-time substitution may only be applicable once the slow species' responses to a changing climate have occurred, whereas forecasts for the near future need to accommodate the temporal components of climate variation. However, appropriate forecast horizons for space-for-time substitution are rarely considered and may be difficult to reliably identify. Accurately predicting change is challenging because multiple ecological processes affect species distributions at different temporal scales

Contrasting population trends of Common Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) across Europe

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Protected area characteristics that help waterbirds respond to climate warming

Protected area networks help species respond to climate warming. However, the contribution of a site's environmental and conservation-relevant characteristics to these responses is not well understood. We investigated how composition of nonbreeding waterbird communities (97 species) in the European Union Natura 2000 (N2K) network (3018 sites) changed in response to increases in temperature over 25 years in 26 European countries. We measured community reshuffling based on abundance time series collected under the International Waterbird Census relative to N2K sites' conservation targets, funding, designation period, and management plan status. Waterbird community composition in sites explicitly designated to protect them and with management plans changed more quickly in response to climate warming than in other N2K sites. Temporal community changes were not affected by the designation period despite greater exposure to temperature increase inside late-designated N2K sites. Sites funded under the LIFE program had lower climate-driven community changes than sites that did not received LIFE funding. Our findings imply that efficient conservation policy that helps waterbird communities respond to climate warming is associated with sites specifically managed for waterbirds.Peer reviewe

Contrasting population trends of Common Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) across Europe

The greatest loss of biodiversity in the EU has occurred on agricultural land. The Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is one of the many numerous and widespread European farmland breeding bird species showing major population declines linked to European agricultural intensification. Here we present results based on monitoring data collected since 1975 in 24 countries to examine the influence of changing extent of grassland and cattle abundance (based on results of earlier studies showing the importance of lowland cattle grazed grassland for the species), wintering provenance and temperature on national breeding population trends of Starlings across Europe. Positive Starling population trends in Central-East Europe contrast with negative trends in North and West Europe. Based on this indicative approach, we found some support for the importance of cattle stock and no support for grassland, temperature or wintering provenance to explain Starling population trends in Europe. However, we acknowledge such a European-wide analysis may conceal regional differences in responses and suggest that currently accessible national land use datamight be insufficient to describe the detailed current changes in animal husbandry and grassland management that may be responsible for changes in food availability and hence breeding Starling abundance and their differences across Europe. Reviewing results from local studies relating Starling population trends to local agricultural change offer contradictory results, suggesting complex interacting processes at work. We recommend combining national datasets on demography, land-use/agricultural practices and from autecological research to better explain the reasons for contrasting Starling trends across Europe, to enable us to predict how changing agriculture will affect Starlings and potentially suggest mitigation measures to restore local populations where possible.Peer reviewe