Search results for "MetS"

Evolutionary trade-offs in a small mammal : a quantitative genetics approach

2017

Limited resources force individuals to trade-off between life-history traits. A vast diversity of life-history strategies, which optimally combine life history traits, can be found. Knowledge of the genetic basis of this phenotypic variation is key to understanding evolutionary processes. I approached life-history evolution by estimating quantitative genetic parameters for a set of life-history traits in the bank vole (Myodes glareolus). The work is based on a laboratory-kept colony subjected to two-way selection for litter size (High- (H) and Low- (L) lines). Costs of the created reproductive strategies were observed in natural conditions. Selection increased the difference in litter size …

Metsäsaarekkeen koon vaikutukset puukiipijän (Certhia familiaris) lisääntymismenestykseen ja optimaaliseen pesyekokoon

2003

Questing abundance of adult taiga ticks Ixodes persulcatus and their Borrelia prevalence at the north-western part of their distribution

2020

Background Because ixodid ticks are vectors of zoonotic pathogens, including Borrelia, information of their abundance, seasonal variation in questing behaviour and pathogen prevalence is important for human health. As ticks are invading new areas northwards, information from these new areas are needed. Taiga tick (Ixodes persulcatus) populations have been recently found at Bothnian Bay, Finland. We assessed seasonal variation in questing abundance of ticks and their pathogen prevalence in coastal deciduous forests near the city of Oulu (latitudes 64–65°) in 2019. Methods We sampled ticks from May until September by cloth dragging 100 meters once a month at eight study sites. We calculated a…

Merimetson (Phalacrocorax carbo (L.)) ravinto Suomen rannikkovesissä

2011

Merimetsokannan nopea kasvu Suomen rannikkoalueella on herättänyt kysymyksiä sen vaikutuksista kalastuselinkeinoon. Tutkimuksessa selvitettiin merimetson (Phalacrocorax carbo (L.)) ravintokohteita ja niiden suhteita sekä arvioitiin kalankulutusta. Merimetson ravintoa analysoitiin oksennuspallojen avulla. Tutkimus käsitti kaikki rannikkoalueet Perämereltä Suomenlahdelle. Koko maan tasolla merkittävimmät merimetson ravintokohteet olivat ahven (Perca fluviatilis L.), kiiski (Gymnocephalus cernuus (L.)), särki (Rutilus rutilus (L.)) ja silakka (Clupea harengus membras L.). Nämä lajit muodostivat yhteensä 81 % merimetson ravinnosta massana ja 66 % kappaleina. Merimetson syömistä kaloista taloude…

Hauen (Esox lucius L.) ravinnonkäyttö pienissä suomalaisissa metsäjärvissä mahanäytteiden ja vakaiden isotooppien perusteella

2014

Monenlaisiin vesistötyyppeihin hyvin sopeutunut hauki (Esox lucius L.) kasvaa suotuisissa olosuhteissa kalaravinnon avulla nopeasti suurikokoiseksi ravintoketjun huippupedoksi. Saaliskalojen puuttuessa tai ravinnonsaatavuuden ollessa rajoitettua on kasvunopeus puolestaan hyvin hidasta. Pienten suomalaisten metsäjärvien haukien ravinnonkäyttöä ja sen vaikutusta kasvuun selvitettiin mahanäytteiden sekä vakaiden isotooppien avulla. Lisäksi selvitettiin evänäytteiden käytettävyyttä isotooppinäytteenä lihasnäytteiden rinnalla. Isotooppianalyyseissä käytettiin vapautetuista yksilöistä kerättyjä evänäytteitä, joiden δ13C ja δ15N arvot korreloivat voimakkaasti lihasnäytteiden kanssa. Evien happohuu…

Balancing food, activity and the dangers of sunlit nights

2019

Living in northern latitudes poses challenges to the animals that live in those habitats. The harsh environment provides a short breeding season where the sunlit summer nights provide little reprieve from visibility to predators and increased risk. In this paper, we tested the activity and food choice patterns of bank voles Myodes glareolus in early spring season, categorized by 18 h of daylight and 6 h of dusk in every day cycle. We found that territorial females showed a less predictable pattern of activity than males that were most active during the hours of dusk. The voles also showed preference to forage on high carbohydrate foods at sunset, while switching over to a more protein and f…

Teeren (Tetrao tetrix) pienpoikasajan elinympäristöt ja poikasravinnoksi tarjolla olevan selkärangatonfaunan määrä ja laatu keskisuomalaisissa talous…

2007

Selection on two behavioral genes : fitness effects of receptor genes for arginine vasopressin 1a and oxytocin in the bank vole Myodes glareolus

2017

Most variation in behavior is regulated by genes; nevertheless the mechanisms behind maintenance of genetic diversity at behavioral loci have remained mainly elusive in natural populations. I studied in my thesis selection mechanisms of two genes associated with socio-sexual behavior, arginine vasopressin receptor 1a (Avpr1) and oxytocin receptor (Oxtr) in bank vole (Myodes glareolus). Expression of Avpr1a and Oxtr in specific regions of the brain regulates diverse social and reproductive behaviors such as parental care, aggression, sexual behavior, social recognition as well as pair and parent- offspring bonding in mammals. In addition, there is a link between the length of a regulatory re…

Eco-epidemiology of tick- and rodent-borne pathogens in boreal forests

2017

Infectious diseases are amongst the ten major causes of human mortality worldwide, 60% of them being animal-borne. Variations of abiotic and biotic conditions are likely to modify the transmission of parasites and pathogens within reservoir species, and, as a consequence, alter the zoonotic risk for human. My thesis aims at elucidating the dynamics and mechanisms of the maintenance of ticks, tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) and the Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) in the reservoir host, the bank vole (Myodes glareolus, BV). In Northern Europe, tick-borne diseases are growing in importance to human because of the latitudinal expansion of the tick Ixodes ricinus. Field monitoring revealed that I. ricinus…

Conservation of traditional rural biotopes in Finland : a social-ecological approach

2018

This research focuses on conservation of traditional rural biotopes, which are biodiverse meadows and wood-pastures that are dependent on management through grazing or mowing. These low-intensity management actions have become rare as a result of agricultural modernisation. I have utilised a social-ecological approach in order to seek for the most critical factors hindering conservation of traditional rural biotopes in Finland. I also explore practical solutions that have the potential to improve their conservation status. The coverage of traditional rural biotopes has faced severe habitat loss during the last 150 years. This has led to endangerment of several habitat types and species that…