Search results for "1181 Ecology"
showing 10 items of 185 documents
Predators' consumption of unpalatable prey does not vary as a function of bitter taste perception
2020
Many prey species contain defensive chemicals that are described as tasting bitter. Bitter taste perception is, therefore, assumed to be important when predators are learning about prey defenses. However, it is not known how individuals differ in their response to bitter taste, and how this influences their foraging decisions. We conducted taste perception assays in which wild-caught great tits (Parus major) were given water with increasing concentrations of bitter-tasting chloroquine diphosphate until they showed an aversive response to bitter taste. This response threshold was found to vary considerably among individuals, ranging from chloroquine concentrations of 0.01 mmol/L to 8 mmol/L.…
Lake eutrophication and brownification downgrade availability and transfer of essential fatty acids for human consumption
2016
Article
Gray plumage color is more cryptic than brown in snowy landscapes in a resident color polymorphic bird
2020
Abstract Camouflage may promote fitness of given phenotypes in different environments. The tawny owl (Strix aluco) is a color polymorphic species with a gray and brown morph resident in the Western Palearctic. A strong selection pressure against the brown morph during snowy and cold winters has been documented earlier, but the selection mechanisms remain unresolved. Here, we hypothesize that selection favors the gray morph because it is better camouflaged against predators and mobbers in snowy conditions compared to the brown one. We conducted an online citizen science experiment where volunteers were asked to locate a gray or a brown tawny owl specimen from pictures taken in snowy and snow…
Does catchment geodiversity foster stream biodiversity?
2019
Abstract Context One approach to maintain the resilience of biotic communities is to protect the variability of abiotic characteristics of Earth’s surface, i.e. geodiversity. In terrestrial environments, the relationship between geodiversity and biodiversity is well recognized. In streams, the abiotic properties of upstream catchments influence stream communities, but the relationships between catchment geodiversity and aquatic biodiversity have not been previously tested. Objectives The aim was to compare the effects of local environmental and catchment variables on stream biodiversity. We specifically explored the usefulness of catchment geodiversity in explaining the species richness on …
Trophic interactions between introduced lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and native Arctic charr (S. alpinus) in a large Fennoscandian subarctic lake
2014
Introduced fishes may have major impacts on community structure and ecosystem function due to competitive and predatory interactions with native species. For example, introduced lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) has been shown to replace native salmonids and induce major trophic cascades in some North American lakes, but few studies have investigated trophic interactions between lake trout and closely related native Arctic charr (S.alpinus) outside the natural distribution of the former species. We used stomach content and stable isotope analyses to investigate trophic interactions between introduced lake trout and native Arctic charr in large subarctic Lake Inarijarvi in northern Finland. …
Convergences and divergences between scientific and Indigenous and Local Knowledge contribute to inform carnivore conservation
2021
There is increasing recognition that diverse knowledge systems can work in mutually enriching ways and that Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) can enhance biodiversity conservation. However, studies using scientific knowledge and ILK in a complementary manner, and acknowledging convergent and especially divergent insights have remained limited. In this study, we contrasted proxies of abundances and trends of threatened and conflict-prone carnivores (caracal, cheetah, jackal, lion, leopard, spotted hyaena, striped hyaena) derived separately from scientific knowledge and ILK. We conducted camera trapping, track surveys and semi-structured interviews with local pastoralists from northern Ken…
Checklist of the family Ephydridae of Finland (Insecta, Diptera)
2014
A checklist of 112 species of shore flies (Ephydridae, Diptera) recorded from Finland is presented. Comparing this to the list of Hackman (1980), 52 changes are made: 25 species are added (all but one recorded after 1980), 18 misidentifications are deleted, 5 junior synonyms are replaced and 5 updated generic combinations are given. Peer reviewed
LTSER platforms as a place-based transdisciplinary research infrastructure: learning landscape approach through evaluation
2019
Context: Place-based transdisciplinary research involves multiple academic disciplines and non-academic actors. Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER) platform is one concept with ~ 80 initiatives globally. Objectives: As an exercise in learning through evaluation we audited (1) the siting, construction and maintenance of individual LTSER platforms, and (2) them as a distributed infrastructure for place-based transdisciplinary research with focus on the European continent. Methods: First, we defined a normative model for ideal performance at both platform and network levels. Second, four surveys were sent out to the 67 self-reported LTSER platforms officially listed at the end of 2016.…
Biogeochemical cycling and ecological thresholds in a High Arctic lake (Svalbard)
2019
Lakes are a dominant feature of the Arctic landscape and a focal point of regional and global biogeochemical cycling. We collected a sediment core from a High Arctic Lake in southwestern Svalbard for multiproxy paleolimnological analysis. The aim was to find linkages between the terrestrial and aquatic environments in the context of climate change to understand centennial-long Arctic biogeochemical cycling and environmental dynamics. Two significant thresholds in elemental cycling were found based on sediment physical and biogeochemical proxies that were associated with the end of the cold Little Ice Age and the recent warming. We found major shifts in diatom, chironomid and cladoceran comm…
Harvest‐induced evolution and effective population size
2016
Much has been written about fishery-induced evolution (FIE) in exploited species, but relatively little attention has been paid to the consequences for one of the most important parameters in evolutionary biology-effective population size (N-e). We use a combination of simulations of Atlantic cod populations experiencing harvest, artificial manipulation of cod life tables, and analytical methods to explore how adding harvest to natural mortality affects N-e, census size (N), and the ratio N-e/N. We show that harvest-mediated reductions in N-e are due entirely to reductions in recruitment, because increasing adult mortality actually increases the N-e/N ratio. This means that proportional red…