Comment to Hansson, S. et al. (2017) : "Competition for the fish - fish extraction from the Baltic Sea by humans, aquatic mammals, and birds", with special reference to cormorants, perch, and pikeperch

Hansson et al. (2017) concluded that competition between fisheries and piscivorous mammals and birds exists in the Baltic Sea, based on the estimation of biomass of the fish species consumed in the ICES subdivisions. We compared their results to the data and scientific knowledge from the coastal waters of Finland and show that local differences in fisheries, fish assemblages and abundance of predators should be taken into account to reliably assess potential competition. Hansson et al. (2017) did not include the piscivorous fish in their analysis, but these may be the most important predators. In the Archipelago Sea, for instance, the consumption by fish predators is considerably larger than that of cormorants.Peer reviewe

Maatalouden rakennekehitys vuoteen 2008

Maatilojen lukumäärän puolittumista vaikea estää Väheneminen tapahtuu maatalouspolitiikan linjan valinnasta riippuen joko tilakoon nopean kasvun tai tuotannon supistumisen kautta Kilpailukyvyn parantaminen Suomen maataloudessa edellyttää tilakoon kasvua. Sillä voidaan alentaa tuotantokustannuksia ja turvata tuotannon taloudelliset edellytykset. Tilakoon kasvua tarvitaan riippumatta Agenda 2000 -neuvottelujen lopputuloksesta. Tällä hetkellä Suomessa on runsaat 70 000 keskeisimpiin tuotantosuuntiin erikoistunutta tilaa. Maatalouden taloudellisessa tutkimuslaitoksessa valmistuneen tutkimuksen mukaan lukumäärä vähenee alle puoleen nykyisestä vuoteen 2008 mennessä. Väheneminen tapahtuu joko tilakoon kasvun tai tuotannon nopean supistumisen kautta. Tutkimus kohdistuu lähinnä päätoimisen toimeentulon antaviin maatiloihin. Maaseudun pienyritystoiminta ja mahdollisuudet palkkatuloihin ratkaisevat lopulta sen, kuinka suureksi aktiivitilojen lukumäärä muodostuu. Ilman maatalouspolitiikan uudistuksia maataloustulo alenisi lähes 20 % vuosina 1997-2008. Tutkimus osoittaa, että kotimaisen ruuan saatavuus turvataan vain, jos maatilojen koko kasvaa selvästi. Kehityksen jarruttaminen ei kannata, sillä hidas tilakoon kasvu johtaisi pitkällä aikavälillä kilpailukyvyn heikentymiseen, tuotannon ja maataloustulon laskuun ja sitä kautta maatilojen määrän voimakkaaseen vähenemiseen. Maidontuotannon arvioidaan vähenevän 2,1 mrd. kiloon nykyisestä 2,3 mrd. kilosta vuoteen 2008 mennessä. Tällöin keskimääräisen tilakoon tulee kasvaa nykyisestä lähes 15 lehmästä 21 lehmään. Jos Agenda 2000 toteutuisi ilman Suomen maitotaloutta koskevia erityistoimenpiteitä, maitoa tuotettaisiin 1,7 mrd. kg vuonna 2008. Mikäli keskikoko jäisi 18 lehmään vuonna 2008, maidontuotanto vähenisi 1,6 mrd. kiloon jopa nykyisellä hinta- ja tukitasolla. Vaihtoehtoisten hinta- ja tukioletusten vallitessa maitotilojen lukumäärä vähenee nykyisestä 25 000 tilasta 12 000 - 15 000 tilaan. Tuotannon ja tilalukumäärän väheneminen on suurinta Sisä-Suomen alueella. Naudanlihantuotannon arvioidaan vähentyvän nykyisestä 95 milj. kilosta 60-70 milj. kiloon vuoteen 2008 mennessä lehmämäärän vähenemisen ja teuraspainojen alenemisen seurauksena. Kotimaista kulutusta vastaava sianlihan tuotanto voidaan ylläpitää, jos tilakoko kasvaa merkittävästi. Sikatilojen lukumäärä vähenee tällöin alle puoleen nykyisestä. Maatalouden tulotuet muodostavat perustan maataloustuotannon säilymiselle eri alueilla. Tarpeen oleva rakennekehitys edellyttää, että julkisen sektorin varoja ohjataan myös jatkossa sekä maatalouden investointien edistämiseen että tuotannosta luopumisen kirjaamiseen.This study analyses the recent changes in the Finnish farm structures and the need for structural development to the year 2008. It also evaluates the effects of the Agenda 2000 CAP reforms on agricultural production, farmers income, and structural development by assuming different scenarios for the development of factor productivity. The analysis is based on the dynamic regional sector model of Finnish agriculture (DREMFIA). The model treats domestic and foreign products as imperfect substitutes, takes into account the asset-fixity in agriculture, and restricts the short-term changes of production according to the technical and biological constraints. In the model Finland is divided into four main regions and 14 different production regions on the basis of the agricultural support system. The average size of farms has increased and the number of farms has decreased during the first years of the EU membership. The exit of farms has been relatively the fastest in the Northern and Eastern Finland. Good general economic development has encouraged the migration to the growing cities. At the same time, however, some farms have invested heavily, partly because of the extensive investment aid programmes. An important objective of agricultural policy is to rapidly increase the size of farm enterprises in order to improve future competitiveness. The highest investment activity is concentrated to the Southern Finland. The projections of the study show that the rate of technical change and the consequent increase in total factor productivity must be high, if Finland wants to maintain the current production volumes in agriculture. Thus, the trend towards fewer but larger farm enterprises will continue and even increase in many production sectors. The proposed CAP reform will have a minor effect on the total number of farms until 2008, but a great effect on the production volume and farm income. Furthermore, the reform would lower the incentives for productivity growth. A considerable increase in the farm size is needed in order to cut the production costs. Necessary conditions in this process are large investments and sufficient labour mobility, which permits the increase in the farm size and prevents the decrease of average farm incomes.vokMTT Taloustutkimu

MIRACLE Handbook : Guidelines for Mixed Reality Applications for Culture and Learning Experiences

Siirretty Doriast

EEG-Based Brain-Computer Interface for Tetraplegics

Movement-disabled persons typically require a long practice time to learn how to use a brain-computer interface (BCI). Our aim was to develop a BCI which tetraplegic subjects could control only in 30 minutes. Six such subjects (level of injury C4-C5) operated a 6-channel EEG BCI. The task was to move a circle from the centre of the computer screen to its right or left side by attempting visually triggered right- or left-hand movements. During the training periods, the classifier was adapted to the user's EEG activity after each movement attempt in a supervised manner. Feedback of the performance was given immediately after starting the BCI use. Within the time limit, three subjects learned to control the BCI. We believe that fast initial learning is an important factor that increases motivation and willingness to use BCIs. We have previously tested a similar single-trial classification approach in healthy subjects. Our new results show that methods developed and tested with healthy subjects do not necessarily work as well as with motor-disabled patients. Therefore, it is important to use motor-disabled persons as subjects in BCI development

Troubled by the humics — effects of water colour and interspecific competition on the feeding efficiency of planktivorous perch

Peer reviewe

An evaluation of gillnet CPUE as an index of perch density in small forest lakes

Gillnets are commonly used for monitoring fish communities and assessing the ecological quality inEuropean lakes. However, the relationship between gillnet CPUE and fish abundance is not linear anddepends on several factors affecting the catchability of gillnets. We investigated the effects of high watercolour, naturally anoxic hypolimnion, water temperature and sex ratio on the catchability of perch Percafluviatilis in gillnets. Data were collected during 10 years in nine forest lakes in southern Finland. Suchlakes are very common in Finland. The density and size structure of perch populations were estimatedby mark and recapture method during spring and standard gillnet fishing (CEN, 2005. Water qualitySampling of Fish with Multimesh Gillnets. European Committee for Standardization, Brussels (EN 14757))in late summer. Perch CPUE was positively but non-linearly dependent on the perch density. Catchabilityincreased with water colour, water temperature, and the volume of the anoxic hypolimnion. The sex ratiowas also important because late summer gillnetting overestimates the proportion of female perch. If thefactors that affect the catchability of perch in gillnets are taken into account, gillnet CPUE using standardmethods can be used as rough index of fish density in small forest lakes.Peer reviewe

Regional socio-economic impacts of intensive forest management, a CGE approach

The demand for and supply of forest biomass have both been increasing in recent years, which will set new requirements for forest management. Thus, new studies on regionally suitable forest management regimes to fulfill the needs of potential new investments and the impacts on wood supply potential on regional socioeconomic welfare are called for. The aim of this study was to examine the impacts of intensive forest management due to increased demand for wood biomass, from the regional economy point of view. In particular, the impact of intensive forest management on 1) regional gross domestic product (GDP), 2) private consumption, and 3) employment were assessed. The study was carried out by using computable general equilibrium (CGE) modelling combined with the requisite statistics and simulation of regional forest potential in the future. The results showed that total regional forest biomass supply with more intensive forest management could be increased annually on average by 26% (1.7Mm(3)) by 2030 compared to the business as usual (BAU) scenario. In this study, regional demand was increased by a hypothetical saw mill (0.5Mm(3)) and biorefinery (0.7Mm(3)). Total regional socio-economic benefits could be 2.8% ((sic)150 M) for GDP, 1.5% ((sic) 49 M) for private consumption and 1.6% (780 person-years) for employment, larger by 2030 than in the BAU scenario including multiplier effects. The study demonstrated how much regional socio-economic welfare would increase if regional wood demand with new investments combined with more intensive forest management and wood supply had more attention paid to it.Peer reviewe