Markku Kuitunen

Effects of Educational Background on Students' Attitudes, Activity Levels, and Knowledge Concerning the Environment

Abstract The objective of this study was to establish whether students in a variety of educational establishments differed in their attitudes toward nature and the environment and to discover more about their nature- and environment-related activities and knowledge. Major variations among students were found according to their gender and educational backgrounds. Female students tended to show more responsibility toward the environment than male students. Of the different educational groups studied, students of biology exhibited the most positive attitudes and the greatest levels of knowledge; they also participated in many nature-related activities. In contrast, there was some evidence that students of subjects related to technology and economics adopted a more negative attitude toward the environment and, on average, had fewer nature-related hobbies than students in general. Attitudes, the quantity of nature-related activities, and knowledge about environmentor nature-related issues correlated with one another. Although educational background seemed to affect attitudes, activity levels, and knowledge, there are without a doubt a number of other underlying factors.

Can grassland plant communities be preserved on road and railway verges

Semi-natural grasslands are a threatened biotope type in many countries. Typical grassland plant species are adapted to continuous grazing or mowing that keeps the envi- ronment open. With the decline in grassland area, these spe- cies are ever more reliant on alternative habitats such as road verges. To find out whether plant communities comparable to those of semi-natural grasslands can be maintained on modern road and railway sides, the vegetation of 92 grasslands and 90 road and railway verges was studied. These biotope types were compared with each other according to their community structure, total number of species, number of grassland species and restricted-range diversity. Further study of the vegetation of road and railway verges was carried out in order to identify the treatments and environments which are most likely to support diverse plant communities. The species number and the restricted-range diversity proved to be higher next to roads and railways than on grasslands. Grassland species were, however, most abundant on grasslands. Furthermore, the com- munity structure of these biotope types was totally divergent. In their present state, road and railway verges are not a substi- tute for semi-natural grasslands. Nevertheless, the occurrence of grassland species in verges may be enhanced by a suitable mowing regime, by giving up the use of de-icing salt and herbicides and by allowing natural establishment of vegeta- tion on the verges.

Municipal Solid Waste Management in the Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana

Municipal solid waste management in Accra, Ghana, is at present delivered in an unsustainable manner. Due to uncontrolled urbanisation, large quantities of waste are generated daily in Accra, and this exerts much pressure on an over strained solid waste management system. Coupled with weak institutional capacity, and lack of resources, both human and capital, the city authorities face difficulties in ensuring that all the waste generated in the city is collected for disposal. Home collection of waste is limited to high and, some middle income areas while the poor are left to contend with the problem on their own. This leads to indiscriminate disposal of waste in surface drains, canals and streams, creating unsanitary, and unsightly environments in many parts of the city.

Ranking of habitats for the assessment of ecological impact in land use planning

Abstract A simple habitat ranking method suitable for use in the early stages of land use planning is developed here. The method is designed for assessment of the biological impacts of infrastructure and urban development. The objectives are to formulate an assessment procedure, to minimise fieldwork and to avoid error due to species remaining unnoticed in the field. Ranking takes place in terms of a habitat value (HV) index calculated on the basis of the species present (vascular plants, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals), the threat categories to which they belong and the likelihood of their occupying specific habitats. The existence of the species in different habitats was predicted on the basis of the literature. To calculate the HV index, threat categories and preferred habitats were defined for each species, so that the species could be weighted according to their relative threat category in the region concerned. The method was tested in Finland (60–70° N), using several weights for each threat category in order to reveal the effect of differences in weighting. The results appeared to be relatively insensitive to the weights used, supporting the objectivity of the method. Herb-poor dry meadows, riparian habitats, herb-rich deciduous forests, industrial/urban habitats and cultivated areas were ranked highest in the southern regions of the country. Arctic alpine fells, riparian habitats, spruce mires and herb-rich deciduous forests were ranked highest in the northern-most region. In addition to potential species composition, the total area of a habitat and its vulnerability to the development concerned also has an influence on its ranking, and therefore separate rankings must be calculated for different types of development. The results suggest that habitat ranking of this kind could be profitable in the early stages of environmental impact assessment, because it helps one to concentrate on the most valuable habitats. It is also reasonable to assume that our method may be of help in evaluating Siberian boreal habitats by combining this method with geographical information systems.

Selecting networks of nature reserves: methods do affect the long-term outcome

Data on vascular plants of boreal lakes in Finland were used to compare the efficiency of reserve selection methods in representing four aspects of biodiversity over a 63 year period. These aspects included species richness, phylogenetic diversity, restricted range diversity and threatened species. Our results show that the efficiency of reserve selection methods depends on the selection criteria used and on the aspect of biodiversity under consideration. Heuristic methods and optimizing algorithms were nearly equally efficient in selecting lake networks over a small geographical range. In addition, a scoring procedure was observed to be efficient in maintaining different aspects of biodiversity over time. However, the random selection of lakes seems to be the most inefficient option for a reserve network. In general, reserve selection methods seem to favour lakes that maximize one aspect of diversity at the time of selection, but the network may not be the best option for maintaining the maximum diversity over time. The reserve selection methods do affect the long-term outcome but it is impossible to recommend one method over the others unequivocally.

Deceptive pollination of Dactylorhiza incarnata: an experimental test of the magnet species hypothesis

Floral deception, which mainly appears in highly evolved families such as Orchidaceae, was studied in Central Finland. In nectarless Dactylorhiza incarnata, the deceptive pollination system has been considered to function best in remote habitats such as marshes, where flowering plants attractive to pollinators are rare (remote habitats hypothesis). In contrast, the magnet-species theory predicts that a nectarless plant benefits from growing in the vicinity of nectarcontaining species. We tested these hypotheses by adding attractive, nectar-containg violets (Viola x wittrockiana) to orchid populations. The percentage of fruit set in D. incarnata was adversely affected by the violets, probably because interspecific exploitation competition for pollinators took place in favour of the violas at the expense of the orchids. This result gave no support for the magnet-species theory and supported the remote habitats hypothesis.

REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS OF EURASIAN TREECREEPERS, CERTHIA FAMILIARIS, LOWER IN TERRITORIES WITH WOOD ANTS

Few studies have considered the effects of interspecific competition between distantly related taxa on the reproductive success of individuals. We compared the food supply, laying date, clutch size, and breeding success of a small double-brooded passerine bird, the Eurasian Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) between territories with or without col- onies of red wood ants (Formica rufa group) during four years. Both the wood ants and Eurasian Treecreepers forage on tree trunks and utilize the same food resources. It has been shown that the wood ants are able to depress the available food supply for the treecreepers and interfere with their foraging behavior. We found that food abundance was lower in territories colonized by wood ants, and that this difference was more pronounced during the second clutches. In territories without ants, treecreepers started breeding earlier and increased the size of second clutches, whereas birds breeding in territories with ants de- creased clutch size in second breeding attempts. In addition to hatching later, nestlings in territories with ants achieved lower body mass near fledging and suffered higher mortality than nestlings in territories without ants. Consequently, double-brooded treecreeper pairs produced an average of 2.3 more fledg- lings, also of higher quality, in territories without ants than in territories with ants. There were no differences between the territory types in any measure of habitat quality other than food abundance. Our results suggest that wood ants reduce territory quality of Eurasian Treecreepers by means of food depletion and have negative effects on the breeding success of individual birds. These results show that competition between organisms in different phyla may be effective in determining the reproductive success of individuals.

Factors affecting the choice of cooking fuel, cooking place and respiratory health in the Accra metropolitan area, Ghana

Indoor air pollution resulting from the combustion of solid fuels has been identified as a major health threat in the developing world. This study examines how the choice of cooking fuel, place of cooking and behavioural risk factors affect respiratory health infections in Accra, Ghana. About 65.3% of respondents use charcoal and 4.2% use unprocessed wood. A total of 241 (25.4%) respondents who cook had had respiratory health symptoms in the two weeks preceding the study. Household socioeconomic status and educational attainment of respondents were found to have a significant impact on respiratory health through their particular influence on the choice of cooking fuel. Households that use wood and charcoal have a high incidence of respiratory health symptoms. The poor are more affected by respiratory health problems due to their heavy dependence on solid fuels as compared with their wealthy counterparts. Households that cook in multiple purpose rooms are more affected by respiratory health problems than those that cook outdoors. There is a positive correlation between the presence of children in the kitchen during cooking and the incidence of respiratory health symptoms among children (r=0.31, p<0.0001). Poverty and lack of education and awareness are the major factors affecting the choice of cooking fuel, place of cooking and respiratory health in Accra.

Intersexual foraging niche differentiation within the breeding pair in the Common Treecreeper Certhia familiaris

Foraging site differences between the sexes and breeding success of 10 pairs of Common Treecreeper were studied in mixed coniferous forest in Central Finland. The Treecreeper is a bark-foraging species in which intersexual niche differentiation and dimorphism have often been observed. The habitat variables studied were: relative foraging height (vertical dimension); structural foraging site (trunk or other part of tree); diameter of tree trunk; and tree species. The females visited spruce significantly more frequently (72% of the records) than the males (52%) and usually foraged higher up than the males. We found a negative correlation between wing length and foraging height in spruce, but body weight did not correlate with any habitat variables. For tree species the degree of overlap in foraging niche utilization within breeding pairs was 77% and the combined overlap in tree species use and foraging height was 51%. The observed intersexual niche differentiation is interpreted as a consequence of sexual dimorphism caused by sexual selection. It has been suggested that feeding efficiency and reproductive success could be maximized by sexual segregation of the foraging niche. However, we found no evidence for this.

Effects of male removal on female foraging behavior in the Eurasian treecreeper

Abstract In old, spruce-dominated forests of central Finland, Eurasian treecreepers Certhia familiaris divide their territories spatially during the breeding season. Females forage primarily on the upper parts of the tree trunks, while males use the lower parts of the tree trunks. In this study we removed males from eight territories in the early nestling period to see if the mates absence would change the foraging patterns of the resident female. Widowed females foraged at lower heights, thus behaving more like paired males. These females also spent less time on each tree and on each foraging bout than did paired females. We conclude that male removal facilitated the change in a females foraging niche and foraging time at the trees. Females may re-optimize their foraging site selection owing to the absence of dominant males and a consequent need to increase their parental care. Behavioral plasticity may be the mechanism of niche partitioning between the sexes in this species.