2013 - researchportal.helsinki.fi · PROGRAMME MONDAY 4.3. 9:00 OtsoOvaskainen Welcomingwords...
34
programme and abstract book 2013 Viikki Campus, University of Helsinki
Transcript of 2013 - researchportal.helsinki.fi · PROGRAMME MONDAY 4.3. 9:00 OtsoOvaskainen Welcomingwords...
programme and abstract book2013 Viikki Campus, University of Helsinki
PROGRAMME
MONDAY 4.3.
9:00 Otso Ovaskainen Welcoming words
PLENARY Chair: Jacquelin DeFaveri
9:05 Daniel Wegmann Model based inference of evolutionary histories
10:05 Coffee
SESSION I – Genetics Chair: Laura Meller
10:30 Christelle Couchoux Genetic relatedness of offspring coming from the same host cluster in the parasitoid wasp Hyposoter horticola
10:50 Anniina Mattila Flight-induced gene expression in the Glanville fritillary butterfly
11:10 Claire Morandin Variation in caste specific Vitellogenin expression within and among colonies of Formica ants
11:30 Jacquelin DeFaveri Finding Nemo: In search of local adaptation in the Sea
11:50 Lunch
SESSION II – Behaviour Chair: Ulisses Moliterno de Camargo
13:00 Wolfgang Reschka Experimental design to study the foraging behavior of a parasitoid wasp
13:20 Martina Ozan Queen-worker communication in the black ant Formica fusca – fecundity signalling loop
13:40 Eva Schultner Information is power: cues influence cannibalism in ant larvae
14:00 Jana Wolf Size-assortative mating in the macrogyne and microgyne forms of Myrmica ruginodis
14:20 Coffee
SESSION III – Evolution Chair: Silvija Budaviciute
14:50 Chris Eberlein Genetic bases of parallel phenotypic evolution in ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius) – a comparative genomic approach
15:10 Jenni Paviala Evolution of immune genes in the invasive Argentine ant
15:30 Heini Natri Progressive recombination suppression and differentiation in neo-sex chromosomes
PROGRAMME
TUESDAY 5.3.
PLENARY Chair: Laura Meller
9:00 Lynn Dicks Evidence-based conservation – a framework for enhancing the use of conservation science in policy and practice
10:00 Coffee
SESSION IV – Conservation I Chair: Hanna Susi
10:30 Corinna Casi A call for a more inclusive approach for conservation
10:50 Peter Kullberg The convention on biological diversity and global high-resolution conservation prioritization
11:10 Johanna Eklund The effectiveness of the protected areas of Madagascar
11:30 Riikka Puntila First application of FISK, the Freshwater Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit, in Northern Europe: example of Southern Finland
11:50 Lunch
SESSION V – Conservation II Chair: Anniina Mattila
13:00 Sanna Mäkeläinen The factors explaining the occurrence of the Siberian flying squirrel in urban forest landscape
13:20 Heidi Björklund Evaluation of artificial nests as a conservation tool for three forest-dwelling raptors
13:40 Henna Fabritius Habitat turnover in false heath fritillary meadows: building evidence base for conservation management
14:00 Kukka Kyrö Rooftop meadows: the role of green roofs in urban invertebrate conservation
POSTER SESSION and coffee
14:20 See separate list of posters at the end of this program
SESSION VI – Biodiversity Chair: Tanjona Ramiadantsoa
15:20 Silvija Budaviciute A functional classification of Malagasy ant assemblages
15:40 Marjaana Toivonen Environmental fallows as a tool to promote biodiversity in agricultural landscapes
16:00 Titta Majasalmi All forests are different – can the difference be quantified with biophysical variables LAI & FPAR?
19:00 Spring Symposium Dinner (preregistration required)
PROGRAMME
WEDNESDAY 6.3.
PLENARY Chair: Alexandre Budria
9:00 David Thieltges Disease ecology – linking parasites, hosts and the environment
10:00 Coffee
SESSION VII – Pathogens Chair: Alexandre Budria
10:30 Riikka Alanen Within- and between-season dynamics of powdery mildew Podosphaera plantaginis
10:50 Dimitri Stucki Infecting immune ants: an approach with bacteria and starvation
11:10 Hanna Susi The effect of co-infection on pathogen epidemiology
11:30 Martin Broberg The genetic regulation of expA and rsmA
11:50 Lunch
SESSION VIII – Dynamics Chair: Johanna Eklund
13:00 Tanjona Ramiadantsoa Geographical radiation in Malagasy dung beetles
13:20 Diego Pavon Survival and environmental change: the study case of Ural and tawny owl
13:40 Sara Fraixedas The impact of climate change and land-use practices on the population dynamics of wintering birds in Finland
14:00 Ulisses Moliterno de Camargo
Inferring the spatio-temporal dynamics of biological populations through autonomous recording and automated identification of animal sounds
18:00 onwards GRANDE FINALE (preregistration required)
PROGRAMME
POSTERS
1 Annina Launis Deficiently known lichen genus Micarea – New records, new species and high identification success through DNA-barcoding
2 Ahti Launis Delimitation of Puccinellia svalbardensis – Molecular evidence improves systematics of arctic saltmarsh grasses in European Arctic
3 Anna Norberg Impacts of environmental conditions on the spore production of wood-decaying fungi
4 Noora Parkkonen Variation in caste specific expression of chemical communication genes in Formica ants
5 Unni Pulliainen Inbreeding and mortality in the ant Formica exsecta
6 Antti Takolander Forests in warming climate: comparing model predictions for European trees
7 Annu Tertsonen Chemical recognition signals in the common black ant Formica fusca: genes versus rearing environment
8 Helena Uotila The social drivers of deforestation around Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar
9 Sini Vuorensyrjä Pathogen infection and oxygen stress on Formica exsecta workers
10 Ika Österblad Making your choice from a rich menu: constraints on host range in parasitoid wasps
INDEX
1
PREFACE
Welcoming words by the organizing committee 4
SECTION I: TALKS
1. Invited Plenary Speakers
2. Contributed Talks
SESSION I – Genetics
Christelle Couchoux: Genetic relatedness of offspring coming from the same host cluster in the parasitoid wasp Hyposoter horticola 6
Anniina Mattila: Flight-induced gene expression in the Glanville fritillary butterfly 6
Claire Morandin: Variation in caste specific Vitellogenin expression within and among colonies of Formica ants 7
Jacquelin DeFaveri: Finding Nemo: In search of local adaptation in the Sea 7
SESSION II – Behaviour
Wolfgang Reschka: Experimental design to study the foraging behavior of a parasitoid wasp 8
Martina Ozan: Queen-worker communication in the black ant Formica fusca – fecundity signalling loop 8
Eva Schultner: Information is power: cues influence cannibalism in ant larvae 9 Jana Wolf: Size-assortative mating in the macrogyne and microgyne forms of Myrmica ruginodis 9
Daniel Wegmann: Model based inference of evolutionary histories 5
Lynn Dicks: Evidence-based conservation – a framework for enhancing the use of conservation science in policy and practice 5
David Thieltges: Disease ecology – linking parasites, hosts and the environment 5
INDEX
2
SESSION III – Evolution
Chris Eberlein: Genetic bases of parallel phenotypic evolution in ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius) – a comparative genomic approach 10
Jenni Paviala: Evolution of immune genes in the invasive Argentine ant 10
Heini Natri: Progressive recombination suppression and differentiation in neo-sex chromosomes 11
SESSION IV – Conservation I
Corinna Casi: A call for a more inclusive approach for conservation 12
Peter Kullberg: The convention on biological diversity and global high-resolution conservation prioritization 12
Johanna Eklund: The effectiveness of the protected areas of Madagascar 13
Riikka Puntila: First application of FISK, the Freshwater Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit, in Northern Europe: example of Southern Finland 13
SESSION V –Conservation II
Sanna Mäkeläinen: The factors explaining the occurrence of the Siberian flying squirrel in urban forest landscape 14
Heidi Björklund: Evaluation of artificial nests as a conservation tool for three forest-dwelling raptors 14
Henna Fabritius: Habitat turnover in false heath fritillary meadows: building evidence base for conservation management 15
Kukka Kyrö: Rooftop meadows: the role of green roofs in urban invertebrate conservation 15
SESSION VI – Biodiversity
Silvija Budaviciute: A functional classification of Malagasy ant assemblages 16
Marjaana Toivonen: Environmental fallows as a tool to promote biodiversity in agricultural landscapes 16 Titta Majasalmi: All forests are different – can the difference be quantified with biophysical variables LAI & FPAR? 17
SESSION VII – Pathogens
Riikka Alanen: Within- and between-season dynamics of powdery mildew Podosphaera plantaginis 18
Dimitri Stucki: Infecting immune ants: an approach with bacteria and starvation 18
Hanna Susi: The effect of co-infection on pathogen epidemiology 19
Martin Broberg: The genetic regulation of expA and rsmA 19
INDEX
3
SESSION VIII – Dynamics
Tanjona Ramiadantsoa: Geographical radiation in Malagasy dung beetles 20
Diego Pavon: Survival and environmental change: the study case of Ural and tawny owl 20
Sara Fraixedas: The impact of climate change and land-use practices on the population dynamics of wintering birds in Finland 21
Ulisses Moliterno de Camargo: Inferring the spatio-temporal dynamics of biological populations through autonomous recording and automated identification of animal sounds 21
SECTION II: CONTRIBUTED POSTERS
Annina Launis: Deficiently known lichen genus Micarea – New records, new species and high identification success through DNA-barcoding 22
Ahti Launis: Delimitation of Puccinellia svalbardensis – Molecular evidence improves systematics of arctic saltmarsh grasses in European Arctic 22
Anna Norberg: Impacts of environmental conditions on the spore production of wood-decaying fungi 23
Noora Parkkonen: Variation in caste specific expression of chemical communication genes in Formica ants 23
Unni Pulliainen: Inbreeding and mortality in the ant Formica exsecta
24
Antti Takolander: Forests in warming climate: comparing model predictions for European trees 24
Annu Tertsonen: Chemical recognition signals in the common black ant Formica fusca: genes versus rearing environment 25
Helena Uotila: The social drivers of deforestation around Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar 25
Sini Vuorensyrjä: Pathogen infection and oxygen stress on Formica exsecta workers 26
Ika Österblad: Making your choice from a rich menu: constraints on host range in parasitoid wasps 26
WELCOMING WORDS
4
Welcome to Spring Symposium 2013
The Spring Symposium is organised annually by the Departments of Biosciences and Environ-mental Sciences, in collaboration with the Finnish Museum of Natural History and Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. The Symposium brings together PhD students active in research fields related to ecology, evolution, systematics and nature conservation. The event gives students an opportunity to present their work in a friendly atmosphere and to gain valuable feedback from other students and three international evaluators.
Since its beginnings, the symposium has been steadily growing over the years, and we are proud to welcome you to its 22nd edition. This year we have a great number of oral presentations from a wide range of fields, addressing important issues related to various aspects of evolutionary, ecological and conservation biology. Students at all stages of their PhD have contributed to the Symposium, sharing ideas about research plans to summarizing final results. The evaluators will award the best talk with Olli's prize, which is a 1000 € sponsorship to participate in an international conference. There will also be prizes for the second and third best presentations.
We also have an impressive number of posters contributed by MSc students this year, covering a wide scope ranging from broad environmental topics like climate change and deforestation, to species-specific topics like gene expression and systematics. A prize for the best poster will be awarded by the international evaluators.
In this book, you can find all abstracts listed chronologically according to sessions. We have chosen to organize the abstracts in this fashion to help you follow the program more easily. Above all, we hope that you – the audience – can attend as many talks as possible in order to provide valuable feedback to the speakers as well as engaging in lively discussions.
We hope you will enjoy the Symposium, and will join us for the Grande Finale at the Finnish Museum of Natural History where all prizes will be announced by the invited evaluators!!
The Organising Committee,
Tuomas, Alexandre, Jacquelin, Christina, Mari, Kalle, Laura, Marjaana, and Aino
Find out more about the fabulous story of the Spring Symposium at: http://www.helsinki.fi/project/springsymposium
Spring Symposium 2013 is funded by:
PLENARY TALKS
5
Model-based inference of evolutionary histories Daniel Wegmann Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland [email protected]
A detailed understanding of the evolutionary history of a species or population is crucial when identifying the targets of selection, inferring modes and tempo of speciation or designing appropriate management efforts in conservation. However, inferring evolutionary histories has been proven difficult, mainly because neutral processes are extremely stochastic and analytical solutions are difficult to obtain expect for the most simple models. This situation only recently changed with the advent of ever more powerful sequencing technologies allowing us to generate enormous data sets to overcome the stochastic nature of neutral processes and numerical approaches that allow to side-step or facilitate the calculation of likelihood functions. In this talk, I will make the case for model based inference in an evolutionary context and illustrate various numerical strategies with three examples: 1) the joint inference of mutation rates and population size change in humans, 2) the inference of recombination rates from admixed individuals and 3) the inference of phenotype rates of evolution.
Evidence-based conservation – a framework for enhancing the use of conservation science in policy and practice
Lynn Dicks Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, UK [email protected]
Conservation science is a discipline with a purpose. It aims to improve the protection or management of species, habitats, landscapes, biodiversity or ecosystems. It seeks to understand them better, or to understand human interactions with them. But research evidence is just one of many areas of knowledge that feed into decisions about how to protect or manage the environment. There are many examples where it has been ignored or overlooked in favour of cheaper, quicker or more palatable solutions. This talk is about what can be done to enhance the use of scientific knowledge to inform decisions. A framework for evidence-based conservation has been developing over the last ten years, originally based on the way evidence is used in medical practice. I will describe the framework, and show how compiled ecological evidence can be used to inform policy, to set research priorities and to measure the potential impact of existing research on real conservation problems. Disease ecology – linking parasites, hosts and the environment
David Thieltges NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Netherlands [email protected]
Diseases are usually the domain of physicians and veterinarians but ecologists have become increasingly interested in the matter, too. In this presentation, I will exemplify why diseases are also of interest to ecologists and why an ecological perspective on diseases helps to understand the emergence and dynamics of diseases. I will do so by giving a short general introduction to the ecology of diseases and by presenting examples from my own research on marine parasites.
CONTRIBUTED TALKS
6
SESSION I – Genetics
Genetic relatedness of offspring coming from the same host cluster in the parasitoid wasp Hyposoter horticola
Christelle Couchoux Department of Biosciences, Metapopulation Research Group, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Hyposoter horticola is a solitary egg-larval endoparasitoid that attacks the Glanville Fritillary butterfly Melitaea cinxia. The adult females suffer strong intraspecific competition while foraging and face a risk of host overexploitation. Like some other parasitoids, H. horticola, after parasitizing a fraction of the hosts in a cluster, deposits chemical markers to deter conspecifics from parasitizing the remaining hosts. We previously showed that, in the lab, significantly fewer wasps probed egg clusters that had been marked compared with control egg clusters, proving the marking behaviour to be effective in deterring subsequent wasps from laying eggs in previously used host clusters. The next step was to determine how successful the deterrent marker is under natural competitive conditions. We did this by using microsatellite markers to assess the genetic relatedness of wasps originating from the same host egg cluster. We estimated the number of mothers that parasitized each of the host clusters from natural populations. Our results show that the majority of the offspring of one group are indeed full-siblings, but in almost every case there are cheaters.
Flight-induced gene expression in the Glanville fritillary butterfly Anniina Mattila Department of Biosciences, Metapopulation Research Group, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Flight is essential for reproduction and dispersal in butterflies and many other insects. Studies on the Glanville fritillary butterfly have shown that the higher the rate of flight metabolism an individual can achieve, the higher is its capacity for dispersal in the field. However, flight is also energetically one of the most demanding activities, and metabolism during flight may be limited by oxygen conductance to the flight muscles, leading to hypoxia. Much research has been conducted on flight metabolism and dispersal in the Glanville fritillary, a model species for metapopulation biology, but the genetic basis of flight and dispersal remains poorly known. One exception is the well-documented association between variation in the gene phosphoglucose isomerase (Pgi) and flight metabolism and dispersal. In this study, we investigate genome-wide gene expression patterns induced by controlled flight in the Glanville fritillary. We aim to identify genes and pathways that are up- or down-regulated in flight, with a special interest in e.g. hypoxia-related genes, and examine their correlation with flight metabolism. We also compare flight-induced gene expression in two populations that differ significantly in their average flight capacity.
CONTRIBUTED TALKS
7
Variation in caste specific Vitellogenin expression within and among colonies of Formica ants
Claire Morandin Department of Biosciences, TEAM::ANTZZ, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Gene expression differences between queens and workers are crucial for social insect evolution, but when relatedness is low the very same gene expression differences make the gene expressed in workers vulnerable to mutation accumulation. This is because the strength of selection on genes expressed in workers only decreases when relatedness between queens and workers decreases. However, evolutionary stability of caste biases in gene expression is still unknown. Little is known about the variation in caste biased gene expression among closely related species, and among colonies within species. Furthermore, in a natural environment, gene expression differences between individuals within the same colonies may arise due to external, uncontrolled factors, which are often not taken into consideration when pooling individuals for gene expression studies. In this study we investigate how caste biased expression patterns of Vitellogenin vary among individuals, colonies and species in Formica ants where relatedness within nest varies between closely related species. Caste biased expression of Vitellogenin is well known to affect several aspects of social insect life history and behavior. This study will provide insight into variation in caste specific gene expression across species and across colonies of social insects and will contribute to improve further gene expression studies.
Finding Nemo: In search of local adaptation in the Sea
Jacquelin DeFaveri Department of Biosciences, Ecological Genetics Research Unit, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Population structure in widespread marine organisms is typically characterized by a low degree of genetic differentiation in putatively neutral genomic regions, but much less is known about differentiation in genes whose functional roles are associated with selection regimes. To uncover possible adaptive population divergence and heterogeneous genomic differentiation in marine threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), we used a candidate genome scan approach to analyze variability in 138 microsatellite loci located within/close to (< 6 kb) functionally important genes in samples collected from ten geographic locations. The degree of genetic differentiation in markers classified as neutral or under balancing selection – as determined with several outlier detection methods – was low (FST = 0.033 or 0.011, respectively), whereas average FST for directionally selected markers was very high (0.097). Clustering analyses provided support for genomic and geographic heterogeneity in selection: six genetic clusters were identified based on allele frequency differences in the directionally selected loci, whereas four were identified with neutral loci. Analyses of historical effective population sizes and migration rates, using only neutral loci, revealed fairly large Ne estimates (933–1652), and generally high levels of gene flow. These results suggest that in spite of the high degree of physical connectivity, there is a great deal of adaptive divergence among these oceanic populations that is not apparent when neutral loci are analyzed.
CONTRIBUTED TALKS
8
SESSION II – Behaviour Experimental design to study the foraging behavior of a parasitoid wasp
Wolfgang Reschka Department of Biosciences, Metapopulation Research Group, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Hyposoter horticola is a solitary parasitoid wasp that parasitizes the unhatched larvae of the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia). The hosts are susceptible for only a very short window of time, during which there is strong competition among wasps to parasitize them. To optimize its foraging a wasp locates multiple egg clusters in the landscape and then monitors them in order to not miss that window. I am studying how H. horticola navigates through the landscape and keeps track of the locations of hosts over time. I have devised a method to track the wasps via automated systems and designed a set of experiments to conduct in an artificial landscape next summer in order to study the spatial memory capabilities of H. horticola and the navigational system used by it.
Queen-worker communication in the black ant Formica fusca – fecundity signalling loop
Martina Ozan Department of Biosciences, TEAM::ANTZZ, University of Helsinki [email protected]
In colonies of social insects queen may be completely dependent on workers for nutrition and brood care hence the ability of queen to attract worker attention should be of paramount importance. Whenever several queens co-breed, an efficient queen-worker communication may translate into a reproductive advantage over other, competing queens. In the ant Formica fusca, queens signal their fecundity using cuticular hydrocarbons and workers respond to queen signalling by preferentially associating with more fecund queen. Queens on the other hand, respond positively to the amount of worker attention they receive by readily adjusting their egg-laying rate. These worker attention induced changes in queen fecundity are also reflected in queen cuticular hydrocarbon profile, which thus likely represent an honest signal of queen reproductive status. Existence of such plasticity in queen fecundity should allow maximization of colony reproductive output under temporal fluctuations in colony resources, benefiting both queens and workers. However, in the presence of kin recognition mechanism, manipulating queen fecundity may provide the means for workers to regulate the number and identity of reproducing queens in order to maximize own inclusive fitness and in doing so significantly influence the reproductive skew among queens.
CONTRIBUTED TALKS
9
Information is power: cues influence cannibalism in ant larvae
Eva Schultner Department of Biosciences, TEAM::ANTZZ, University of Helsinki [email protected]
In social organisms, offspring fitness is shaped by behavioural interactions with other group members. These interactions can take the form of competition and reach extreme levels when offspring engage in egg cannibalism. While cannibals benefit directly from such selfish behaviour, they also risk high inclusive fitness costs if their victims are siblings. To avoid these, individuals must be able to discriminate between kin and non-kin. The decision to cannibalize is therefore influenced by intra-brood relatedness and recognition cues, both important characteristics of ant societies. In addition, benefits from cannibalism are potentially huge in ants since larval nutrition determines if females develop into reproductive queens or sterile workers. We investigated whether larvae of the ant Formica aquilonia react to variation in relatedness by comparing intensity of cannibalism in broods with experimentally manipulated levels of genetic diversity. Furthermore, we studied the role of recognition cues by analyzing chemical odours of eggs and tested for differences in cannibalism among sexes. In our experiments, larvae cannibalized sibling eggs less often than eggs from foreign populations. Discriminatory behaviour matched population-specific egg odours, suggesting larvae use chemical recognition cues. Larvae sex also had a strong effect, with males cannibalizing three times as often as females.
Size-assortative mating in the macrogyne and microgyne forms of Myrmica ruginodis
Jana Wolf Department of Biosciences, TEAM::ANTZZ, University of Helsinki [email protected]
In this project, assortative mating of the large (macrogyne) and small (microgyne) queen morphs of the red ant Myrmica ruginodis was studied. Size-assortative mating occurs widely in animals, but whether the occurrence of the two M. ruginodis morphs is maintained by size-assortative mating is not known. Females generally choose their mating partner during nuptial flights, while males compete over females and large males usually regarded as higher quality will get most matings. However, whether a bi-modal size distribution exists in males at all and whether small males participate in a nuptial flight has not been confirmed so far. To test assortative mating between the two morphs in M. ruginodis, individual males as well as males and females engaged in copula have been collected from nuptial flights, and measured for size. In addition, new males and females produced in the population have been collected from nests and measured. Size-assortative mating was assessed for the couples as well as spatial and temporal isolation of macrogyne and microgyne morphs during the mating flights. This study will provide insight into the composition of nuptial flights of Myrmica ruginodis and their mating behavior in connection to the queen size dimorphism.
CONTRIBUTED TALKS
10
SESSION III – Evolution
Genetic bases of parallel phenotypic evolution in ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius) – a comparative genomic approach
Chris Eberlein Department of Biosciences, Ecological Genetics Research Unit, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Uncovering the genetic architecture of local adaptation is a central topic in contemporary evolutionary biology. Driven by natural selection, isolated populations adapt to local environments, and often differentiate from each other phenotypically and physiologically. In Fennoscandian ninespine sticklebacks, which occur in marine and freshwater habitats, pond populations show similar phenotypes in several traits (e.g. growth, behavior, body shape) apparently as a result of adaptation to reduced predation-risk, contrary to marine populations. The present study investigates genetic mechanisms underlying the parallel phenotypic evolution observed in ninespine sticklebacks based on genomic approaches (linkage and QTL mapping) with F2-intercrosses between pond populations and a marine population. In particular, we clarify whether the same (parallel) or different (convergent) genes and genomic regions are responsible for the repeated evolution of phenotypic traits. Restriction site Associated DNA (RAD) sequencing identified a total number of 5,309 SNPs generated from Pstl-digested genomic DNA in 283 individuals of an F2-intercross. A high dense linkage map constructed for this cross consisted of 21 linkage groups. Further linkage and QTL mapping for multiple crosses will give the first insights into genomic regions responsible for parallel phenotypic evolution in ninespine sticklebacks.
Evolution of immune genes in the invasive Argentine ant Jenni Paviala Department of Biosciences, TEAM::ANTZZ, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Ants are among the most abundant and influential social insects in terrestrial ecosystems. Most ant populations are kin structured meaning that nestmates are highly related to each other. High relatedness between the nestmates assures that natural selection is working efficiently. Some ant species, however, possess an unusual form of social organization called unicoloniality. The nests of unicolonial populations contain many queens, which together with the exchange of individuals between the nests leads to extremely low relatedness between the nestmates. The introduced populations of Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) represent one of the most extreme examples of unicoloniality, whereas in native L. humile populations nestmates are more closely related and local genetic differentiation is evident. Introduced populations are highly competitive and dominant but at the same time the high population densities combined to a new pathogen fauna and reduced genetic diversity create a potential selection pressure on the immune genes. The specific aim of this study is to investigate whether the evolutionary rate of immune genes is higher in introduced than in native, kin structured populations of the Argentine ant. The genetic variation of selected immune genes will be compared between the native and introduced populations of L. humile.
CONTRIBUTED TALKS
11
Progressive recombination suppression and differentiation in neo-sex chromosomes
Heini Natri Department of Biosciences, Ecological Genetics Research Unit, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Recombination suppression leads to the structural and functional differentiation of sex chromosomes, thus being a key step in sex chromosome evolution. Despite extensive theoretical work, the exact processes of recombination suppression and differentiation remain uncertain. In threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), a neo-sex chromosome system has recently evolved by a fusion between the Y chromosome and an autosome in the Japan Sea lineage, which diverged from other lineages about 2 Mya. We investigated the evolutionary dynamics and differentiation processes of sex chromosomes based on intraspecific comparative analyses. Chromosome-wide differentiation patterns and phylogenetic inferences indicated that the ancestral sex chromosomes were extensively differentiated in all lineages prior to their divergence. While genetic differentiation between the neo-sex chromosomes was identified in a small region, recombination suppression was found in a large region spanning most of the ancestral and neo-sex chromosomes. Distinct levels of genetic differentiation and recombination suppression were detected sequentially in the neo-sex chromo-somes, suggesting that differentiation has gradually spread from the fusion point following the extension of recombination suppression. Our study illustrates an ongoing process of sex chromosome differentiation, providing empirical support for the theoretical model of gradual recombination suppression and differentiation in the very early stage of sex chromosome evolution.
CONTRIBUTED TALKS
12
SESSION IV – Conservation I
A call for a more inclusive approach for conservation
Corinna Casi Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki [email protected]
My contribution in this Spring Symposium, as a humanist, will be a call for a more inclusive and comprehensive approach when talking about conservation, thanks to the cooperation of scientists and humanists. After the Doha Climate Change Conference in Qatar in Nov. 2012, I read a U.N. report where, among other topics, they discussed about conservation and I realized that talking about conservation by itself it is less effective than discussing it in a wider perspective. My presentation is an invitation to cooperation among different disciplines: such science and humanities. But it is also a call to a more comprehensive approach that, for example, look at adaptation and mitigation of the forests at the same time. Or an approach that take care about conservation of forests but also, and contemporaneously, about reduction of deforestation and forest degradation. If we think about conservation of forests but we forget about reducing deforestation, the first aim will not be fully accomplished. Therefore we need specialists who take care about different fields.
The Convention on Biological Diversity and global high-resolution conservation prioritization
Peter Kullberg Department of Biosciences, Metapopulation Research Group, University of Helsinki [email protected]
In the tenth Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Nagoya 2010 it was decided that 17% of terrestrial and 10% of marine areas should be protected globally by 2020. It was also stated that conservation decision-making should be based on sound science. Here I discuss how recent scientific literature about spatial conservation prioritization analyses and macro ecology correspond to the information needs posed by the CBD. I base my talk on a literature review of relevant research articles published in 2010–2012 and most influential articles published since 2000. I concentrate on scale, resolution and geographical extent of the studies and the type and breadth of utilized data. The analytical needs of the CBD are best supported with global-scale high-resolution analyses using broad biodiversity and anthropogenic data. I found only a few studies that answered these requirements and could thus directly support well-informed large-scale decision-making. In contrast, there are many small scale, low resolution, narrow scope or theoretically aimed studies that are important in developing theory and local practices, but which are inadequate for guiding decision making at the global scale.
CONTRIBUTED TALKS
13
The effectiveness of the protected areas of Madagascar
Johanna Eklund Department of Biosciences, Metapopulation Research Group, University of Helsinki [email protected]
One way to quantitatively measure the effectiveness of protected areas is to assess the deforestation that has taken place inside park borders. Studies have shown that protected areas in general do not succeed with halting the loss, but succeed in decreasing the rate of deforestation compared to adjacent lands. Recently, however, these kind of inside-outside comparisons have been criticized for over-estimating the effectiveness of protected areas mainly due to confounding factors and leakage. Instead propensity score matching methods have been proposed. This method assesses what might have happened had a treatment, in this case protection, not been applied. We investigate the effectiveness of the protected areas of Madagascar for two time periods: 1990–2000 and 2000–2005, by using a countrywide forest cover and clearance classification based on Landsat imagery. We use regression models to identify predictors of effectiveness, using data on protected area management and governance.
First application of FISK, the Freshwater Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit, in Northern Europe: example of Southern Finland
Riikka Puntila Department of Aquatic Sciences, University of Helsinki [email protected]
The climatic conditions of north temperate countries pose unique influences on the rates of invasion and the potential adverse impacts of non-native species, and methods are needed to evaluate these risks, beginning with the pre-screening of non-native species for potential invasives. Recent improvements to the Fish Invasiveness Scoring Kit (FISK) have provided a means (i.e. FISK v2) of identifying potentially invasive non-native freshwater fishes in virtually all climate zones. In the present study, FISK is applied for the first time in a north temperate country, i.e. Southern Finland and calibrated to determine the appropriate threshold score for fish species that are likely to pose a high risk of being invasive in this risk assessment area. The threshold between “medium” and “high” risk was determined to be 22.5, which is slightly higher than the original threshold for the UK (i.e. 19) and that determined for a FISK application in Japan (threshold = 19.8). This underlines the need to calibrate such decision-support tools for the different areas where they are employed. The results are evaluated in the context of current management strategies in Finland regarding non-native fishes.
CONTRIBUTED TALKS
14
SESSION V – Conservation II
The factors explaining the occurrence of the Siberian flying squirrel in urban forest landscape
Sanna Mäkeläinen Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Urban areas are characterized by intensive human land use which results both in habitat loss and fragmentation, and the original habitat might exist only in remnant patches. Forest-dwelling species are susceptible to changes in landscape structure due to their specialized habitat requirements and reluctance to move through the urban matrix. In consequence of recent conflicts between conservation efforts and land use management, more information on the habitat requirements of the vulnerable Siberian flying squirrel in urban areas is needed. We investigated the effect of landscape composition and configuration on the occurrence of the flying squirrel in a local scale in urban area in Eastern Finland. All suitable and potential forest patches were searched to determine the presence or absence of the flying squirrel and the landscape characteristics of occupied sites were compared to those of unoccupied sites. We found that the amount of suitable habitat was not larger near occupied sites and the occurrence was not affected by settled areas. In addition, our results showed that the distance between occupied sites is the most important factor explaining the occurrence of the species.
Evaluation of artificial nests as a conservation tool for three forest-dwelling raptors
Heidi Björklund Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Forest age structure has become younger due to intensive forestry in Northern Europe. Consequently, big forest-dwelling hawks may lack nest sites as they need large trees to support their nests. Artificial nest construction has been a global conservation measure to provide nest sites for raptors, but the impact of this practice has seldom been evaluated. We compared the nesting success of northern goshawk Accipiter gentilis, common buzzard Buteo buteo and honey buzzard Pernis apivorus in natural and artificial nests based on long-term data in Finland. The probability of successful nesting of goshawk and common buzzard was lower in artificial nests, whereas no difference was found in the nesting success of honey buzzard between the nest types. Brood size did not differ between the nest types for any of the species. Finally, distances to anthropogenic features had no effect on nesting success. These results indicate that hawks switching from natural to artificial nests are potentially lured to an ecological trap with higher risk of nesting failure. However, breeding at artificial nests with lower success can be additive to the population, if otherwise non-breeding individuals settle to nest. Our results emphasize the importance of monitoring and evaluation of conservation efforts.
CONTRIBUTED TALKS
15
Habitat turnover in false heath fritillary meadows: building evidence base for conservation management
Henna Fabritius Department of Biosciences, Metapopulation Research Group, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Endangered species of early-successional landscapes are dependent on disturbances that regenerate their habitat. Studies on how to allocate resources to conserve dynamic patch networks are, however, scarce. I studied factors that drive habitat turnover in meadows inhabited by the false heath fritillary (Melitaea diamina), an endangered Finnish butterfly. I collected data on 92 false heath fritillary meadows and recorded their maintenance history, land use type, vegetation, host plant density and false heath fritillary occupancy. The results indicated a high habitat turnover rate and linkages from land use type to meadow overgrowth and to false heath fritillary occupancy. Next, I will use these data to model the metapopulation dynamics of the false heath fritillary under several habitat maintenance scenarios. The results will support the development of an evidence-based conservation strategy for this species.
Rooftop meadows: the role of green roofs in urban invertebrate conser-vation
Kukka Kyrö Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Green roofs provide various benefits for urbanized areas. They, for example, help in storm water management, sequestrate CO2 emissions, decrease urban heat island effect and reduce energy consumption by both cooling and insulating buildings. In addition to these services, green roofs provide habitats for wildlife. Although the limited size of the roofs and the vertical isolation from surrounding green spaces restrict the range of species which can benefit from green roofs, these man-made habitats appear to offer interesting possibilities for invertebrate conservation. The abiotic features and the vegetation of green roofs typically resemble dry and rocky meadows. Thus, green roofs could provide complementary habitats for species related to these habitats. In my thesis, I investigate the green roof dwelling invertebrate fauna in the Helsinki metropolitan area and explore how different roof characteristics affect the invertebrate diversity and community composition. I also aim to study which roof designs would best support a rich native invertebrate fauna and if endangered meadow species could benefit from green roofs.
CONTRIBUTED TALKS
16
SESSION VI – Biodiversity
A functional classification of Malagasy ant assemblages
Silvija Budaviciute Department of Biosciences, Metapopulation Research Group, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Ecosystem functions are mediated through the traits of species in a community. The traditional taxonomical classification of ants inefficiently reflects ant ecological functions in tropical ecosystems. In my study, I apply the concept of functional groups to classify the ant assemblages of Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. I combine morphological, ecological, life history traits and different multivariate analyses techniques to identify these groups. I will use such groups to understand how different levels of habitat disturbance affect ant functional roles.
Environmental fallows as a tool to promote biodiversity in agricultural landscapes
Marjaana Toivonen Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Helsinki [email protected]
A novel agri-environment scheme for Environmental Fallows was introduced in Finland in 2009 to replace the former CAP set-aside. It is probably the single most important subsidy scheme targeted at natural values of ordinary agricultural landscapes. In 2012, over 6% of the field area was enrolled under the scheme with four fallows types: long-term grasslands and fields sown with meadow, game or landscape seed mixtures. We evaluated the scheme’s value for biodiversity based on data from the vegetation surveys in three regions across Finland. We found that species richness of vascular plants was the highest in the meadow field type sown with low competitive grasses and meadow plants. In perennial fallows, plant species richness related positively with the parcel size, variation in height, and age, and negatively with high and dense vegetation structure. Plant communities of game, landscape and meadow fields differed from those of other non-cropped biotopes in agrolandscapes such as margins and semi-natural grasslands, as they include specific sown species and abundant annual weeds germinating from the seed bank. The efficiency of the scheme could be increased by better targeting, and overcoming agronomic challenges regarding establishment and management methods.
CONTRIBUTED TALKS
17
All forests are different – can the difference be quantified with biophysi-cal variables LAI & FPAR?
Titta Majasalmi Department of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Biophysical variables such as LAI (leaf area index, defined as hemisurface area of leaves per horizontal ground area) and FPAR (fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation) belong to the group of essential climate variables (ECV) and have a key role in processes related to carbon fixation by vegetation and energy flows between land surface and atmosphere. Global monitoring activities have rapidly increased during last decades due to fast development of remote sensing techniques, and growing concern of the environment. The most widely used products (e.g. global LAI and FPAR maps) are based on measurements of radiation reflected by the Earth surface, and thus field data are needed to validate these datasets and to improve existing models for estimating LAI and FPAR from satellite images, and for predicting primary productivity of plants. Common field measurement techniques to measure LAI and FPAR (e.g. LAI-2000, TRAC, hemispherical photography) are based on equations describing radiation penetration through plant canopies. This presentation will show my recent results related to interconnections between forest structure, LAI and FPAR measured in southern Finland during summer 2012.
CONTRIBUTED TALKS
18
SESSION VII – Pathogens Within- and between-season dynamics of powdery mildew Podosphaera plantaginis
Riikka Alanen Department of Biosciences, Metapopulation Research Group, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Diseases pose a major threat to the health of humans, crops and livestock. Understanding what generates variation in disease transmission both during the growing season and from one season to the next is one of the major challenges of disease biology. Podosphaera plantaginis is an obligate pathogen of Plantago lanceolata and in Finland its occurrence is largely restricted to Åland Islands. The dynamics of P. plantaginis are driven by strong seasonality: local pathogen populations experience epidemic expansion in summer and subsequently crash every winter as host plants die back to underground rootstocks. Factors affecting overwintering success of obligate pathogens are poorly understood even though the process of overwintering is a crucial part of pathogen life cycle. I am studying within- and between-season dynamics at plant level within populations in the Åland Islands. At this stage of the study I have gathered information of within-season dynamics and in the future I’m going to link this data with between-season dynamics to find out if overwintering success is determined by phenotypic and genotypic differences in the pathogen strains. Preliminary results of within-season study indicate that there is variation in infectivity and aggressiveness between pathogen populations and on resistance level of host plants to pathogen.
Infecting immune ants: an approach with bacteria and starvation
Dimitri Stucki Department of Biosciences, TEAM::ANTZZ, University of Helsinki [email protected]
In social insects host-parasite interactions have a high impact on colony performance and parasites are considered a major threat to these organisms. A strong individual immune defense is essential to prevent the spread of parasites within the colony, however, it might also reduce other aspects of colony performance owing to trade-offs. In contrast, opportunistic pathogens might take the chance to turn against their host when another element of the trade-off is weakened. This project investigated a possible effect of starvation on the immune resistance of newly emerged F. exsecta workers against oral infection with the two entomopathogenic bacteria S. marcescens and P. entomophila. For the experiment, groups of callow worker ants were provided with food treated with either bacteria, heat-killed bacteria or a control. After four days feeding, one part was starved, while the food treatment of a second group was continued. Consistent with previous observations the continuously fed group showed hardly any mortality in any of the treatments. However, the mortality in the starved group showed no significant differences in mortality between the treatments.
CONTRIBUTED TALKS
19
The effect of co-infection on pathogen epidemiology
Hanna Susi Department of Biosciences, Metapopulation Research Group, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Pathogens often occur as co-infections, where several genetically different strains simultaneously infect same host. Co-infection may lead to competition when host resources are limited and the optimal reproduction rate may change from a situation without competition. To understand how the competition affects to evolution of virulence and epidemiology of the disease I used the Plantago– Podosphaera interaction as a model. Natural populations of Plantago lanceolata infected by Podosphaera plantaginis were surveyed and the pathogen populations were genotyped to test the prevalence of co-infection and to examine the epidemiological consequences. An experimental approach was taken to pinpoint the outcome of co-infection in genetically controlled hosts that vary in their resistance levels. The impact of competition was high suggesting that the within host dynamics can be linked to the spread of the disease. The patterns observed in the natural populations show increased levels of disease in co-infected plants.
The genetic regulation of expA and rsmA
Martin Broberg Department of Biosciences, Division of Genetics, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Recently the genome of the soft rot plant pathogen Pectobacterium wasabie strain SCC3193 (formerly known as Pectobacterium carotovorum sp. carotovorum SCC3193) was sequenced. The SCC3193 strain has previously been used in exploring and understanding genetic regulation, in particular that of expA and rsmA, two interconnected global regulators. So far expA has been shown to affect PCWDE production through its control of rsmA. However, transcriptomic studies suggest that both genes regulate genes involved in for example type VI secretion system, general secretion, energy metabolism, ion transport as well as flagella biosynthesis. This study strives to provide an investiga-tion into the interplay between expA and rsmA, and map the overlaps between their regulons. We performed a microarray analysis of the transcriptome of two previously studied mutants in rsmA and expA respectively, as well as a double mutant of both genes. This allowed us to see that rsmA has a greater impact on the transcriptome and physiology of the cell than expA, which on the other hand, has an impact on genes relating to the redox state of the cell as well as energy metabolism that exists outside of the rsmA regulon.
CONTRIBUTED TALKS
20
SESSION VIII – Dynamics
Geographical radiation in Malagasy dung beetles
Tanjona Ramiadantsoa Department of Biosciences, Metapopulation Research Group, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Madagascar is located relatively close to the African mainland (400 km), but because of its ancient isolation (>100 my), Madagascar possesses a unique fauna and flora with a very high degree of endemism. Furthermore, Madagascar is well known for species with very restricted distributions, which raises questions about the dynamics of species’ geographical ranges in radiations. With more data available, there is an opportunity to examine the evolutionary diversification in many species-rich taxa. In my talk, I discuss a mathematical and statistical framework to investigate geographical radiations, that is the coupled dynamics of evolutionary radiation and changes in species’ geograph-ical ranges. I use a spatially explicit stochastic model that can be fitted to empirical data using Approximate Bayesian Computation. As an example, I analyze the radiation of one large endemic clade of Malagasy dung beetles, consisting of the genera Nanos and Apotolamprus with 74 species.
Survival and environmental change: the study case of Ural and tawny owl
Diego Pavon Finnish Museum of Natural History, Bird Ecology Unit, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Understanding how survival is affected by the environment is essential in order to gain insight into population dynamics and life-history and to identify possible selective pressures driven by the environment. However, we still have little understanding on the relative effect of the different environmental factors and possible synergies on demographic traits and population dynamics. Here, we used two long-term, individual-based data on Tawny Owl Strix aluco (1981–2010) and Ural Owl Strix uralensis (1986–2010) to perform capture-mark-recapture analysis of annual female adult survival in response to three biologically meaningful environmental variables and their two-way interactions. Interestingly, despite the similar ecology of these two nocturnal predators, we found that their survival was affected by rather different environmental drivers. Tawny Owl survival was mainly negatively affected by snow depth (winter severity). In the Ural Owl, high food (vole) abundance improved survival during years with deep snow, but was less important during years with little snow. In addition, Ural Owl survival was strongly density dependent, whereas Tawny Owl survival was not. Our findings caution for extrapolating information on one species to another, even if it is an ecologically similar one. Survival analyses including only one or few potential environmental drivers of a species’ survival may lead to incomplete conclusions, since survival may be affected by several (correlated) factors and their interactions. Such multi-faceted information is needed to make proper population forecasts required in management and conservation.
CONTRIBUTED TALKS
21
The impact of climate change and land-use practices on the population dynamics of wintering birds in Finland
Sara Fraixedas Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Climate change has shown to shift species’ distributions and abundances towards higher latitudes. On the other hand, human land-use practices can also affect population trends, and the combination of these two major drivers on population dynamics is still poorly examined. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential effects of climate change and land-use practices on wintering bird populations in Finland. We used three different variables (climatic niche, wintering habitat and migration strategy) to explain the population trends of 63 species for a 54-year period (1959–2012) based on data from winter bird censuses. We measured climatic niche by classifying all species into southern or northern species according to their distribution of the wintering area. Furthermore, we used four different habitat types (water systems, forests, rural settlements and urban areas) and species were categorized into short-distance migrants, partial migrants and residents depending on their migration behaviour. Our results should answer what kinds of species have shifted their abundances in a polewards direction and how changes in different habitats are interacting with the changing climate. Lastly, we will establish a climatic indicator which explicitly integrates the impacts of concurrent global change on wintering bird communities.
Inferring the spatio-temporal dynamics of biological populations through autonomous recording and automated identification of animal sounds
Ulisses Moliterno de Camargo Department of Biosciences, Metapopulation Research Group, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Just as next-generation sequencers have fueled the growth of genomics, autonomous recording units are stimulating rapid growth in bioacoustics, particularly with respect to the development of novel applications for analysis, such as automated species identification tools. Just 10 years ago, acoustic surveys of animal populations required point counts by human observers with obvious limitations of temporal replication and spatial coverage. With the growing use of autonomous recording units it is now possible to sample many more sites, repeatedly and simultaneously, with the same field effort. The resulting large sample sizes offer improved precision in the quantification of the current state and temporal dynamics of species distributions. This largesse of data, however, comes at the cost of a huge volume of audio recordings to be processed and analyzed. Automated identification systems are instrumental to bridge the gap between acoustic sampling technology and the final goal of estimating the biological parameters, yet further developments in the field are required. In this presentation I will illustrate the utility and reach of bioacoustics as a tool for studies of spatial ecology in an Amazonian bird community, and also point further methodological improvements that I will develop during my doctoral study.
CONTRIBUTED POSTERS
22
POSTERS
Deficiently known lichen genus Micarea – New records, new species and high identification success through DNA-barcoding
Annina Launis Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Micarea is a genus of lichenized fungi (Ascomycota). The species occur on many different substrata such as bark and lignum of old and decaying trees, rocks, mosses and bare soil. Many of them are dependent of old-growth forests and are excellent indicators of environmental continuity. The genus consists of around 100 species worldwide. At the moment 30 species are known to occur in Finland. Micareas are small and inconspicuous, and their morphological characters are mainly microscopic and chemical. This has left them nearly unstudied in Finland for many decades. During our study we made several new records of rare species and discovered two previously unrecognized species by science. Our study shows that DNA-barcoding is a highly efficient method to identify species of Micarea. DNA methods have also enabled us to further study the systematics of this polyphyletic genus.
Delimitation of Puccinellia svalbardensis - Molecular evidence improves systematics of arctic saltmarsh grasses in European Arctic
Ahti Launis University Center in Svalbard [email protected]
Grasses of genus Puccinellia Parl. are ecologically important to arctic land ecosystems and supports for example large numbers of nesting goose in high arctic. As the speciation might be very recent by polyploidization or hybridization, the species status of rare species has to be well evaluated. Both mechanisms leaves barely no evidence of speciation in DNA sequences so more of a population genetic methods are used. Puccinellia svalbardensis Rønning (1961) has been considered an endemic and rare species and is found exclusively on Spitsbergen island, Svalbard. It has been definitely overlooked as many more locations have been found in the past ten years. AFLP results and morphology shows some hybridization with similar species but proves that it is not a variation of more common species and very convincingly claims the species status.
CONTRIBUTED POSTERS
23
Impacts of environmental conditions on the spore production of wood-decaying fungi
Anna Norberg Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Disappearance and fragmentation of habitats are primary causes for the global loss of biodiversity. Habitat loss and fragmentation of continuous areas produce small, isolated patches, which are not connected to each other. An important question is how much habitat fragmentation, and the changes in climatic conditions caused by it, influence the responses of the organisms living in these habitats. Wood-decaying fungi form an ecologically important and species-rich group of forest species. The taxonomy and ecology of fungi living on dead wood are relatively well known in Fennoscandia, but the spore production of this species group is a poorly studied subject. The aim of my MSc project is to investigate quantitatively how different environmental conditions affect the spore production of polypores and certain corticioids. The results of my study will give preliminary information about the impact of fragmentation on the spore production of these species. Furthermore, the outcomes of this study will elucidate the influence of climatic conditions and landscape structure on the spore production of these species.
Variation in caste specific expression of chemical communication genes in Formica ants
Noora Parkkonen Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki [email protected]
One of the key features of social hymenoptera is the existence of separate queen and worker castes, which are consequences of differential gene expression. However, very little is known about evolution of gene expression biases. Natural selection drives the evolution of sociality in ants and explains the formation and maintenance of their social groups. Most ant populations are kin structured, having usually only one reproducing individual per nest (queen). Intruders are not accepted in these colonies because of highly developed recognition systems (chemical communication). Supercolonies make an exception having numerous queens as well as many interconnected nests that individuals move in between. In such colonies, the relatedness among nestmates is much lower than in the kin structured ones, which leads to differential needs for kin recognition. I study variation in the caste specific gene expression patterns of genes linked to chemical communication. Study genes are involved in solubilizing and transporting odorants and pheromones through hemolymph in insects. I use seven Formica ant species (that vary in queen number) to investigate how gene expression patterns vary among species, especially between kin structured ants and their unicolonial sister species, as well as between colonies. The study is carried out using quantitative PCR.
CONTRIBUTED POSTERS
24
Inbreeding and mortality in the ant Formica exsecta
Unni Pulliainen Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Inbreeding has been shown to have profound consequences on a genomic, individual, population and even species level. However, the effects of inbreeding on natural populations, especially on insects, remain largely unstudied. Ants are an ideal study system for this, as they are ecologically important and form socially complex groups. This provides another level possibly affected by inbreeding through the extreme amount of interactions between numerous individuals that can give rise to socially mediated inbreeding depression. Inbreeding has been shown to have negative consequences both at the individual and colony level in a natural population of the narrow-headed ant (Formica exsecta). Here, we compare the resistance of inbred and outbred ants against starvation. Our results indicate that inbreeding seems to have no effect on longevity under starvation, however when fed, the inbred ants outlive outbred ones. What makes these inbred ants live longer? Do they have a less active metabolism, or could there be some other genetic causes to the phenomenon? Or could the inbred ants just be less active than outbred individuals in stressful environments (such as during an experiment), spending less energy and thus outlive them? We hope to answer these questions using behavioural and genetic methods.
Forests in warming climate: comparing model predictions for European trees
Antti Takolander Department of Biosciences, Metapopulation Research Group, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Forest ecosystems harbor large part of biological diversity in Europe, and provide important ecosystem services. Climate is an important factor determining plant species distributions, and climate change has been predicted to cause range shifts and extinctions in European flora. Reliable estimates of vegetation responses to accelerating global warming are crucial for evaluating effective adaptation strategies in biodiversity conservation. Bioclimatic envelope models are widely used to model species' distributions, and are relatively easy to implement. However, due to many sources of uncertainty in model selection and parameterization and the underlying assumptions about species-climate relationship, the reliability of their predictions has been questioned. On the other hand, alternative, process-based modeling strategies are computationally heavy and require large quantities of detailed input data, which is often not available. Using climate projections for 2041–2050 and 2071–2080 with the SRES scenario A2 I compare model predictions for 5 representative European tree species using the BIOMOD library in R and a dynamic vegetation model. In all species, the BIOMOD models predict more northern future distribution compared to the dynamic vegetation model, thus predicting greater climate change impact on northern forest biodiversity. I investigate the causes of these differences and discuss their implications.
CONTRIBUTED POSTERS
25
Chemical recognition signals in the common black ant Formica fusca: genes versus rearing environment
Annu Tertsonen Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki [email protected]
In social insects such as ants, workers may not reproduce but gain indirect fitness benefits from helping their mother rear collateral kin. Thus workers need effective recognition systems to be able to direct altruistic behavior towards relatives. Many ant species are known to use chemical odors, encoded in cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs), to differentiate between nest mates and non-nest mates. These odors seem to have both a genetic and environmental component, but still very little is known about how individuals acquire their odors. In our study we investigated to what extent the CHC profiles of the common black ant, Formica fusca, are determined by genes and the environment individuals are reared in. We used a cross-fostering set up and reared brood either with workers from their own colony or with unrelated workers from an alien colony. We then extracted the CHCs from rearing workers, brood and the mother queens and analyzed their chemical profiles using gas chromatography. Comparison of CHC profiles will allow us to quantify the degree of chemical divergence among individuals from different generations as well as different castes. We also carried out aggression bio-assays to assess potential differences in behavior of workers towards brood reared under different conditions. The social drivers of deforestation around Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar
Helena Uotila Department of Biosciences, Metapopulation Research Group, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Madagascar’s unique biodiversity with high number of endemic species is threatened by deforestation and habitat loss. Slash-and-burn agriculture, known as tavy, is often considered as the main cause of deforestation alongside poverty and population growth. In this study I focus on the change in the deforestation rates between two time periods (1990–2000, 2000–2005) around the villages surround-ing Ranomafana National Park while trying to understand the causes. I assess whether the observed patterns could be explained by topographical and infrastructural variables using correlation analyses and apply participatory methods at two selected villages to evaluate the perceptions of the villagers. The results show a significant decline in the deforestation rates since 2000 and suggest a bigger change in the villages with higher altitude and closeness to river. This decline matches with a shift towards modern agriculture in the study villages, where the majority of the remaining forests are either strictly protected or managed by the communities with restricted access to resources. The villagers respect the borders of the protected area and acknowledge the positive impacts of the forest, such as the water storing. However, limited access to land and resources and the problems with food production together with increasing population cause contradictory attitudes towards the protected areas, which could lead to problems again in the future.
CONTRIBUTED POSTERS
26
Pathogen infection and oxygen stress on Formica exsecta workers
Sini Vuorensyrjä University of Oulu [email protected]
Organisms experience many forms of stress. One example is oxygen stress that is caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are formed during normal cell metabolism. ROS damage cells and according to the free radical theory of aging (FRTA) they cause aging. Another stress factor is pathogen infection. The organism must use resources to fight against pathogens, just as the organism must use resources to shield its cells against oxygen stress. The organism only has limited resources and directing its efforts towards one stress factor can cause a trade-off, where it doesn't have enough resources to fight against another stress factors as well. We wanted to see to which stress factor the Formica exsecta worker ants would react more strongly when exposed to both oxygen stress and pathogen infection. Oxygen stress was induced by feeding ants hydrogen peroxide and the infection was induced by feeding ants bacterium (Serratia marcensens). We checked the mortality of the ants daily and after the experiment we collected samples for gene expression studies. We studied the gene expression levels of multiple antioxidant and immune genes to see whether the ants would direct more efforts towards fighting against oxygen stress or pathogen infection.
Making your choice from a rich menu: constraints on host range in parasitoid wasps
Ika Österblad Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki [email protected]
Unlike parasites, parasitoids almost invariably kill their hosts; but, in contrast to predators, they require only one prey animal. These important regulators of host populations can be divided into two functional types: koinobionts, which benefit from allowing their hosts to remain active even after parasitism; and idiobionts attacking sessile stages. The host range of koinobionts tends to be narrower, since the interaction between koinobiont and host is tighter and more delicate. But even an idiobiont doesn’t parasitize indiscriminately. There are limitations as to what it encounters, what it recognizes as a potential host, and what it actually is able to successfully parasitize. In the large genus Gelis (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), some species parasitize insect cocoons while others use spider eggs. Many Gelis species are opportunistic generalists, but interestingly, none have been found to attack both insects and spiders. How high is the host switch threshold? Which are the constraints determining host range? As a prequel to further study of their evolution and host interactions, I’m constructing a molecular phylogeny of the genus. Mapping host data onto the tree will show whether the switch from insect to spider hosts has occurred several times or only once in the history of the genus.
