Large terrestrial carnivores can sometimes display strong family bonds affecting the spatial distribution of related individuals. We studied the spatial genetic relatedness and family structure of female Eurasian lynx, continuously distributed in southern Finland. We hypothesized that closely related females form matrilineal assemblages, clustering together with relatives living in the neighboring areas. We evaluated this hypothesis using tissue samples of 133 legally harvested female lynx (from year 2007 to 2015), genotyped with 23 microsatellite markers,...

Explaining the large-scale diversity of soil organisms that drive biogeochemical processes—and their responses to environmental change—is critical. However, identifying consistent drivers of belowground diversity and abundance for some soil organisms at large spatial scales remains problematic. Here we investigate a major guild, the ectomycorrhizal fungi, across European forests at a spatial scale and resolution that is—to our knowledge—unprecedented, to explore key biotic and abiotic predictors of ectomycorrhizal diversity and to identify dominant responses and thresholds...

Buffer zones, established between agricultural fields and water bodies, are widely used as a measure to reduce nitrogen (N) in surface runoff and groundwater. However, the literature indicates inconsistent results on the N removal efficiency of buffer zones between studies. We performed a weighed meta-analysis on the buffer zone effects on nitrate-N and total N in surface runoff and groundwater by summarizing 46 studies published between 1980 and 2017. The overall effects of buffer zones...

Elucidating the genetic basis of adaptation to the local environment can improve our understanding of how the diversity of life has evolved. In this study we used a dense SNP array to identify candidate loci potentially underlying fine-scale local adaptation within a large Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) population. By combining outlier, gene–environment association, and haplotype homozygosity analyses, we identified multiple regions of the genome with strong evidence for diversifying selection. Several of these candidate regions...

In spite of the high importance of forests, global forest loss has remained alarmingly high during the last decades. Forest loss at a global scale has been unveiled with increasingly finer spatial resolution, but the forest extent and loss in protected areas (PAs) and in large intact forest landscapes (IFLs) have not so far been systematically assessed. Moreover, the impact of protection on preserving the IFLs is not well understood. In this study we conducted...

Root and butt rot caused by members of the Heterobasidion annosum species complex is the most economically important disease of conifer trees in boreal forests. Wood decay in the infected trees dramatically decreases their value and causes considerable losses to forest owners. Trees vary in their susceptibility to Heterobasidion infection, but the genetic determinants underlying the variation in the susceptibility are not well-understood. We performed the identification of Norway spruce genes associated with the resistance...

Human-induced climate change is expected to cause major biotic changes in species distributions and thereby including escalation of novel host-parasite associations. Closely related host species that come into secondary contact are especially likely to exchange parasites and pathogens. Two competing theories, the Enemy Release Hypothesis, where invading hosts escape their original parasites; and the Novel Weapon Hypothesis, where invading hosts bring new parasites that have detrimental effects on native hosts, have been described to predict...

Environmental shifts may induce sudden reversals in the relative quality or sexual attractiveness of mates (ecological cross-overs) leading to non-directional sexual selection. Studies on such ecological cross-overs induced by environmental shifts during the non-breeding season are particularly rare. We studied the interactive effects between wintering conditions and a male white wing patch on the breeding success of breeding pairs and the local survival of females in a migratory passerine population over a 32-year period. After...

Sperm pre-fertilization environment has recently been suggested to mediate remarkable transgenerational consequences for offspring phenotype (transgenerational plasticity, TGB), but the adaptive significance of the process has remained unclear. Here, we studied the transgenerational effects of sperm pre-fertilization thermal environment in a cold-adapted salmonid, the European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus L.). We used a full-factorial breeding design where the eggs of five females were fertilized with the milt of 10 males that had been pre-incubated at two...

Many studies have reported that hydraulic properties vary considerably between tree species, but little is known about their intraspecific variation and, therefore, their capacity to adapt to a warmer and drier climate. Here, we quantify phenotypic divergence and clinal variation for embolism resistance, hydraulic conductivity and branch growth, in four tree species, two angiosperms (Betula pendula, Populus tremula) and two conifers (Picea abies, Pinus sylvestris), across their latitudinal distribution in Europe. Growth and hydraulic efficiency...

Invasive plant impacts vary widely across introduced ranges. We tested the hypothesis that differences in the eco-evolutionary experience of native communities with the invader correspond with the impacts of invasive species on native vegetation, with impacts increasing with ecological novelty. We compared plant species richness and composition beneath Pinus contorta to that in adjacent vegetation and other P. contorta stands across a network of sites in its native (Canada and USA) and non-native (Argentina, Chile,...

Understanding the mechanisms by which populations adapt to their environments is a fundamental aim in biology. However, it remains challenging to identify the genetic basis of traits, provide evidence of genetic changes and quantify phenotypic responses. Age at maturity in Atlantic salmon represents an ideal trait to study contemporary adaptive evolution as it has been associated with a single locus in the vgll3 region, and has also strongly changed in recent decades. Here, we provide...

The white-tailed deer is an important game species in Finland. We evaluated the potential of estimating the white-tailed deer pre-harvest density using non-invasive DNA collection within a spatial capture–recapture (SCR) framework. We sampled faeces during three weekly visits in autumn 2015 from 180, 20 x 20 m plots clustered in groups of four. Individual identification was based on 12–14 microsatellites. Of the 245 faecal samples collected, an individual could be identified from only 36 (15%)....

The effects of anthropogenic stressors on community structure and ecosystem functioning can be strongly influenced by local habitat structure and dispersal from source communities. Catchment land uses increase the input of fine sediments into stream channels, clogging the interstitial spaces of benthic habitats. Aquatic macrophytes enhance habitat heterogeneity and mediate important ecosystem functions, being thus a key component of habitat structure in many streams. Therefore, the recovery of macrophytes following in-stream habitat modification may be...

No-till as a water protection measure is highly efficient in controlling erosion and particulate phosphorus (PP) loss, but tends to increase dissolved reactive P (DRP) concentrations in runoff water. In a 9-year field study on a clay soil in SW Finland, the effects of no-till and autumn plowing on surface runoff and subsurface drainage water quality were compared. The site had 2% slope and was under spring cereal cropping, with approximately replacement fertilizer P rates....