Jani Pellikka

Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus - a good candidate for an umbrella species in taiga forests

The capercaillie Tetrao urogallus is widely accepted as a species seriously suffering from fragmentation of forests and habitat loss. Foresters as well as conservationists agree on the need and principles for maintaining viable populations, but the proposed management means often differ. The approach currently favoured by Finnish foresters is to manage capercaillie leks and their surroundings using methods that differ from those used in intensive forestry. It may be desirable to prove that forests with capercaillie leks also favour other forest bird species and biodiversity in general. During the last 16 years (1987–2002), forest birds have been censused and capercaillie leks were mapped in the 465-km2 study area in southern Finland. Most of the study area consists of spruce-dominated mature forests. The remainder of the landscape is a mixture of variously aged forests, agricultural areas, lakes and scattered human settlements with a gradient from an agricultural-forest mosaic to forest-dominated areas. The old-growth forest bird species three-toed woodpecker Picoides tridactylus, pygmy owl Glaucidium passerinum and red-breasted flycatcher Ficedula parva were more abundant within 300 m and 1,000 m radii around capercaillie lek sites than in non-lek control sites. Also the overall species richness of breeding forest birds was higher in the vicinity of capercaillie leks. On a larger scale (100 × 100 km squares), using the wildlife triangle scheme developed in Finland, we show that the density of capercaillie closely coincides with a wildlife richness index describing the total abundance of 15 other forest-dwelling mammal and bird species with diverse ecology and habitat requirements. Capercaillie is a flagship species for foresters, and can be considered a good candidate for an umbrella species for wildlife in taiga forests.

SYLVATIC TRICHINELLA SPP. INFECTION IN FINLAND

Abstract Although human infections caused by Trichinella sp. have not been reported in Finland for several decades and Trichinella sp. infection in pork has become virtually extinct in the last decade, sylvatic Trichinella spp. infection is still highly prevalent in Finland. Muscle digestion of 2,483 carnivorous wild animals from 9 host species during 1999–2005 showed 617 positive animals (24.8%). Molecular identification from 328 larval isolates revealed 4 different endemic Trichinella species, i.e., T. nativa, T. spiralis, T. britovi, and T. pseudospiralis. Seven percent of the infected animals carried mixed infections. Trichinella nativa was the most common species (74%), but T. spiralis was identified in 12%, T. britovi in 6%, and T. pseudospiralis in 1% of the animals. Host species showed different sample prevalence and Trichinella species distribution. Geographical distribution also varied, with the southern part of the country having significantly higher percentages than the northern part. Infection density was dependent on both the infecting Trichinella species and the host species. Trichinella spiralis was discovered in areas with no known domestic infection cases, indicating that it can also occur in the sylvatic cycle. Raccoon dogs and red foxes are the most important reservoir animals for T. spiralis, as well as for the sylvatic Trichinella species in Finland.

Meeting the ecological, social and economic needs of sustainable forest management at a regional scale

Abstract Sustainable forest management (SFM) has a long tradition in Finland, and modern sustainability concepts link economic, ecological and social aspects. The ecological aspect refers to the maintenance of biodiversity and the long-term functionality of forests, while the economic aspects concern continuity of timber supply. Socially sustainable forest management takes multiple use into consideration. These three components of SFM are commonly regarded as competing, or even exclusive, suggesting that there are trade-offs between them. Relationships between components of SFM, however, differ across spatial and temporal scales. Interdisciplinary research is needed to explore the interaction between sustainability components. This study explored the interrelationships between ecological, social and economic sustainability at the regional scale. Regional differences of sustainability components were also studied. Two economic, two social and eight ecological variables were included in the analyses. The study covered 41 regional municipality complexes in central Finland. The results show trade-offs between some ecological components and economic ones. Grouse abundance and numbers of old-growth forest patches decreased when forestry activity increased. There was some support for the idea that socially active communities compete less intensively with ecological components of forests than communities where forestry has a central role.

The role of game management in wildlife populations: uncertainty analysis of expert knowledge

Uncertainties about future states of wildlife populations make it difficult to pre-adapt to possible threats and ensure sustainability of resources and harvesting over the long term. This uncertainty is partly due to the unknown impact and future states of many factors that explain population sizes and variation. In this paper, the effect of local game management activities on the uncertainty of future population sizes of groups of Finnish wildlife species (ungulates, forest grouse, large predators, small predators and mountain hare) was analysed using expert knowledge and the Bayesian belief networks (BBNs) modelling techniques. As a result, the current knowledge and agreement of the relationships between wildlife population sizes and the game management activities explaining their variation as well as trends are evaluated. Information given to hunters and the number of hunters were seen as the most effective factors for the management of game populations. However, there were great uncertainties in the expectations regarding future trends in the management activities, especially in feeding, and there was disagreement in the direction of the trend in the length of the hunting season. The trends in the size of forest grouse populations were viewed as the most uncertain trend among species groups. At the same time, forest grouse were seen as the most regulated species group by local game management. Among interest variables, experts were very uncertain and they disagreed about the direction of the trend in the recreational value of hunting.

Balancing the needs of capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) and moose (Alces alces) in large-scale human land use

The capercaillie has been negatively affected by the loss of mature forests. However, forestry creates young plantations offering a superabundant food supply for moose. Using two spatial scales, we tested whether the landscape-level environmental requirements of the capercaillie and moose differ. We compared the spatial association between the abundances of the two species in 50- × 50-km grids and, using a set of regression models, analyzed how it was affected by various land use variables in five regions of Finland. Both species were generally most abundant in the same grid cells. Moreover, the association between abundance and several landscape variables was very similar for both species. Forest cover had a positive impact on both species in Eastern and South-Western Finland. Only in Western Finland was the capercaillie more positively associated with older forest than the moose. Human impact variables were negatively related to both capercaillie and moose abundance in Eastern and South-Western Finland, the effect being stronger for capercaillie. In Northern Finland, human impact turned positive. Our results highlight that, on broad landscape and regional scales, we might not need to make trade-offs in management decisions concerning capercaillie and moose. While considering regional land use planning, the primary goal for both species seems to be to secure large areas of forest, preferably at a distance from human settlement.

Do Female Sex Fantasies Reflect Adaptations for Sperm Competition

Researchers have suggested that female strategies for sexual selection in humans include the promotion of sperm competition. Sperm competition entails the simultaneous presence of fertile sperm from at least two males in the females reproductive organ competing for the opportunity to fertilise the ovum. Certain behaviour patterns near ovulation may enable such competition. In this paper, we describe relative preferences for female sexual fantasy types and explore the idea that these preferences may help us understand the settings and mechanisms that promote sperm competition, and discourage interfemale competition. To expand this exploration, we also examine whether preferences vary with respect to the menstrual cycle. Our preliminary findings indicate notable preferences among females for multiple male-partner fantasies over multiple female-partner fantasies or fantasies that include multiple male and female partners. This suggests that females find multipartner settings as arousing as males do, but the psychological mechanism relating to settings that include the presence of same sex competitors may differ from that of males. We also discovered some indications that the female preference for promoting sperm competition and avoiding interfemale competition is the highest and strongest near ovulation.

Trichinella in the North

Background Endemic human trichinellosis has been rare in Norway, Sweden and Finland. In Norway the last outbreak involving five persons is from 1953 and before that there were reported six epidemics with 711 patients since 1881 (reference in [1]). In Sweden 10 outbreaks involving 504 patients were documented 1917-1969 (reference in [2]). In Finland only eight human cases have been reported since 1890, the latest being three hunters at 1977 who got the infection from bear meat (reference in [1]). Sporadic cases of trichinellosis in production animals have been detected in pig meat inspection in these countries. In Norway there was a peak of positive pigs in the 1950’s and 1960’s but since 1981 no positive finding in pigs has been reported. In Sweden, 127 positive pigs were reported 1970-1999 and no cases since 2000. The first infected Finnish pig was found 1954, and the total number of positive pigs in fifty years was up to 714 (1954-2003). There was a peak of cases in the 1980’s and 90’s when a total of 671 pigs were found positive. During 1981-2000, the positive animals originated from 0-19 farms yearly. Since 2004 no trichinella has been found in pigs. The decrease in Trichinella prevalence and incidence in domestic swine has been speculated to be due the change in Finnish swine industry since Finland joined the EU in 1995 [3]. During recent years, the industry has moved towards large-scale enterprises with corporative ownership with new facilities. These are better protected against the Trichinella infection commonly present in surrounding wildlife in Finland [3]. High sylvatic trichinellosis prevalence has been reflected to farmed wild boars in which condemnation due trichinelllosis has been relatively more common than in pig. To clarify the spatial variation of sylvatic trichinella prevalence suggested in earlier studies, a new Finnish sample set was analyzed.

Payments for Improved Ecostructure (PIE): Funding for the Coexistence of Humans and Wolves in Finland

The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is a source of concern and a cause of damage to people’s livelihoods. In Finland, as in most countries, actual damages are compensated according to the real lost value. However, often, the suffered damages are larger than what is compensated, and worries and fears are not accounted for at all. The purpose of our transdisciplinary action research is to contribute to the process of modifying the scientific, administrative, and everyday habits of mind in order to meet the practical prerequisites of living with the wolf. In 2014, we planned and participated in a process designed to update Finland’s wolf population management plan. During our study, we applied e-deliberation, conducted a national wolf survey, and organized solution-oriented workshops in wolf territory areas around Finland. By applying abductive reasoning, we illustrate the basic features of an economic scheme that would help finance and coordinate practical modifications to the ecological, economic, and institutional circumstances and settings in wolf territory areas. The potential economic instrument is based on payments for improved ecostructures. In our paper, we describe the organization, functioning, and financing of this instrument in detail.

Nudging the impasse? Lessons from the nationwide online wolf management forum in Finland

ABSTRACT During the early 2010s, Finnish wolf (Canis lupus) policy reached an impasse. Unfavorable conservation status, intensifying wolf–human conflict, civil disobedience, legislative confusion, and administrative frustration characterized the situation. As part of a participatory updating process for the Finnish national wolf management plan in 2014, we organized a nationwide wolf management forum to explore how e-participation could be used to nurture deliberation for improved wolf policy. We present our interactive method and the resulting wolf territory-based solutions to the wolf problems that the participants of a nationwide online forum identified. The theoretical and practical significance of our work is that we ascribe value to the functional features of these solutions as modifications to the action environment, shared by people and wolves. In this vein, we discuss the role of e-deliberation on the path toward an institutional fit, and we consider how local decision making could help to implement promising wolf territory-level policy interventions.

Adapting moose hunting: a case study on fragmented hunting grounds around Nuuksio National Park in Helsinki metropolitan area, Finland

Ecological and social fragmentation of hunting grounds presents a challenge to the management of ungulate populations. We studied how the local groups of moose hunters (hunting clubs) have adjusted their hunting practices in the face of competing uses of the land in the Helsinki metropolitan area. We analyzed qualitative and quantitative data from the 11 hunting clubs operating around the Nuuksio National Park. Our theoretical approach was a blend from the social-ecological systems theory and pragmatist conception of habit. According to our findings, there are some key mechanisms of adaptation operative and functioning in this particular social-ecological system. First, we discovered various technical and tactical adaptations in how the actual hunt was exercised in the environment where the perturbations are frequent. We also identified the ways in which the hunters attempted to entrain their activities with the spatial and temporal rhythms of other users. Thirdly, we found out how the hunters also tried to influence the societal rules and the interpretation of existing rules. In the face of continuous fragmentation, the wildlife administration and management would benefit if the collaborative politics of becoming, i.e., prospective will for habit breaking and habit taking in perpetually changing environments, was exercised.