Keyword: Department of Biology

A new study shows that horses can be more reluctant in new situations if they have multiple riders, have had several owners or the horse has been with its current owner only for a short period of time. The results of the international research group that studied the interaction between horses and humans also indicate that it takes time to build a good interactive relationship with a horse.

The University of Turku, together with the Universities of Eastern Finland, Oulu, Helsinki and Jyväskylä and Åbo Akademi University are collaborating in biodiversity education, and the course catalogue for this academic year has been published. Through the Biodiversity education network, students at the University of Turku have a possibility to take biodiversity-related courses from other universities.

Researchers from the University of Turku have described seven new fern species from the rainforests of tropical America. Many of the species were uncovered as the by-product of ecological research: the species diversity in tropical forests is still so poorly known that field trips and herbarium work keep discovering previously unknown species.

An international team of scientists found that sociality is not linked to intestinal nematode infection in Asian elephants. The researchers looked at loneliness and characteristics of the elephants’ social groups and found no differences in infection levels.

This year BioCity Student Symposium titled Students are the Solution is arranged on-site by PhD researchers from The University of Turku and Abo Akademi University together with BioCity Turku and InFLAMES Flagship in Cave theatre - Visitor and Innovation Centre Joki, 24th August 2022.

Fish rarely feed their young. An exception are certain species of snakeheads whose offspring feed on trophic eggs provided by their parent. A new study shows that this exceptional adaptation developed in snakehead fish around 12 million years ago. This behaviour might have enabled the fish to conquer new environments and led to the high diversity of species seen in one particular group of snakeheads.  

An international team of scientists found that sociality is linked to stress in Asian elephants. For example, loneliness increased male elephants’ level of stress, whereas having babies present reduced the stress level in female elephants. 
 

Scientists from University of Turku observed that ergot, a common plant disease on rye, defended its host plant chemically against grass feeding insects. The ergot disease in grains spoils the yield and causes seed loss to the plant. Based on this, it is classified as harmful from the human perspective. A new study states that the ergot appears to be a beneficial protector for its host plant capable of even increasing plant fitness.
 

More than half of bacterial species in the core of the human gut microbiome are potentially sensitive to glyphosate, shows new research. Researchers from the University of Turku introduced the first bioinformatics resource to determine and test the potential sensitivity of organisms to glyphosate.

According to a new Finnish study, different groups of insectivores compete for the same type of food. Researchers of the University of Turku and the Finnish Museum of Natural History made the discovery by comparing birds, bats and dragonflies that forage in the same area in Southwest Finland. These very distantly related predators consumed the same insect groups, such as flies, mosquitoes, and other dipterans. The results shed new light on the decline in insect populations, because a remarkable portion of insectivores may actually be in greater danger than previously believed.