Keyword: Biodiversity Unit of the University of Turku

A research group from the Biodiversity Unit of the University of Turku studies the diversity of parasitoid insects around the world. Parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera) are one of the most species rich animal taxa on Earth, but their tropical diversity is still poorly known. In the latest study, the group discovered 15 new, sizeable species that parasitise spiders in the lowland rainforests of the Amazon and the cloud forests of the Andes.

Scientists at the Biodiversity Unit of the University of Turku have studied the diversity of tropical parasitoid wasps for years. Parasitoid wasps are one of the most species rich animal taxa on Earth, but their tropical diversity is still poorly known. Recently, the research group sampled Afrotropical rhyssine wasps, which are among the largest wasps. Scientists from three countries and research institutes participated in the research which was led by the University of Turku research group.

The diversity and ecology of African parasitoid wasps was studied for over a year during a project run by the Biodiversity Unit of the University of Turku. Parasitoid wasps are one of the animal groups that are the most rich in species. However, the tropical species are still very poorly known. Understanding the diversity of parasitoid wasps inhabiting rainforests is important, because tropical biodiversity is dwindling at an accelerating rate.

In a new study, researchers at the University of Turku and the University of Helsinki identified the diet of the most common Finnish bat species. The diet of the bats included a considerable amount of various invertebrates, including ground dwelling beetles, gnats, mosquitoes, and a wealth of moths. The researchers were able to determine a total of over 500 different prey species from the approximately 1,200 bat droppings collected for the study.

Mr Sakari Alhopuro, (Finnish honorary title of) lääkintöneuvos, has donated €1.5 million to the University of Turku for establishing three professorships. One of the professorships is focused on subarctic ecology, another one on the Archipelago Sea research, and the third on biodiversity.

Throughout the history of life, new groups of species have flourished at the expense of earlier ones and global biodiversity has varied dramatically over geologic time. A new study led by the University of Turku shows that completely different factors regulate the rise and fall of species.

Tree ferns still occupy the tropical moist forests in Australia, even though they shared their “golden age” with dinosaurs.