Localities In Finland Research Articles

On the Need of Conviviality: Experiences of Religious Diversity of Nordic Youth

Abstract This article studies young people’s experiences of religious diversity in two Nordic localities in Finland and in Norway. In the Nordic discourse, the concept of conviviality gained importance through the lwf’s policy document Seeking Conviviality in 2013. Haugen’s three “Rs”, respect, relationality and reciprocity will be used as a starting point for the analysis of the experiences of young people. The aim of the study is to understand how young people experience religious diversity and what these experiences can contribute to Haugen’s reformulation of conviviality. The results show that conviviality tends to be more easily discussed than practised. They indicate that living in the same neighbourhood with youth from other religious traditions helps to face religious diversity but that this coexistence does not in itself generate reciprocity. Rather, in order to really live together there is a need to get to know each other’s practices and values more deeply.

Towards Strengths-Based Planning Strategies for Rural Localities in Finland

AbstractIn this article, we will introduce the topic of strengths-based planning strategies for rural localities in Finland. The strengths-based approach focuses on capacity building and competence enhancement with the local people, encouraging communities to valorise, identify and mobilise existing but often unrecognised assets. Setting focus only on the deficiencies and problems easily inflicts a ‘surrender mentality‘ in places outside of the urbanisation impact, creating a narrative that both decision-makers and community members start to believe. Hence, the role and potential of smaller rural localities is easily forgotten by planners, politicians and the public at large. Addressing the scale of rural localities in spatial planning, we will first reflect upon the main findings from our earlier research project “Finnish rural localities in the 2010`s” conducted by Lahti University of Applied Sciences, the University of Oulu and Aalto University in 2013-2015. Findings from the research project affirmed the unfortunate consequences of rapid urbanisation, rational blueprint planning and overoptimistic expectations of growth in the 1960s and 70s, which have resulted in the state of permanent incompleteness in rural localities today. However, these localities possess many under-utilised strengths, and we consider it essential for the future development of rural localities to make the most of this potential, and not only tackle the downwards spiral. This requires the ability to engage local stakeholders around a common vision for the future, and strategic approach based on endogenous strengths. We will discuss these possibilities via two theoretically informed case studies. The first one, Vieremä, is situated in the region of Northern Savo, and the other one, Vääksy, is the main centre in the municipality of Asikkala, situated in the region of Päijät-Häme in Southern Finland. Our study design can be characterised as qualitative research benefiting from a case study approach, mixed methods research and participatory action research. Being critical-emancipatory by nature, the exploratory and normative perspectives of Future Studies have also provided methodologies to explore future alternative paths and the available, yet possibly hidden, resources of people, commodities and skills in new ways. Through these case studies, we have identified an urgent need for capacity building and preparedness for sustainable resource management in Finnish rural localities, including natural and cultural heritage protection, climate change management and human well-being. There is a need to start thinking creatively ‘outside-the-box‘ and create strategic alliances between civil society, business and government, and most importantly, between urban and rural areas. Now is the time to start innovating a range of policy options and strategic objectives for addressing rural localities as places where a sustainable future can be developed in Finland.

Widespread hybridization within mound-building wood ants in Southern Finland results in cytonuclear mismatches and potential for sex-specific hybrid breakdown.

Hybridization and gene flow between diverging lineages are increasingly recognized as common evolutionary processes, and their consequences can vary from hybrid breakdown to adaptive introgression. We have previously found a population of wood ant hybrids between Formica aquilonia and F.polyctena that shows antagonistic effects of hybridization: females with introgressed alleles show hybrid vigour, whereas males with the same alleles show hybrid breakdown. Here, we investigate whether hybridization is a general phenomenon in this species pair and analyse 647 worker samples from 16 localities in Finland using microsatellite markers and a 1200-bp mitochondrial sequence. Our results show that 27 sampled nests contained parental-like gene pools (six putative F.polyctena and 21 putative F.aquilonia) and all remaining nests (69), from nine localities, contained hybrids of varying degrees. Patterns of genetic variation suggest these hybrids arise from several hybridization events or, instead, have backcrossed to the parental gene pools to varying extents. In contrast to expectations, the mitochondrial haplotypes of the parental species were not randomly distributed among the hybrids. Instead, nests that were closer to parental-like F.aquilonia for nuclear markers preferentially had F.polyctena's mitochondria and vice versa. This systematic pattern suggests there may be underlying selection favouring cytonuclear mismatch and hybridization. We also found a new hybrid locality with strong genetic differences between the sexes similar to those predicted under antagonistic selection on male and female hybrids. Further studies are needed to determine the selective forces that act on male and female genomes in these newly discovered hybrids.

Record of Borearctia menetriesii (Eversmann, 1846) (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae) larva on Aconitum rubicundum Fischer (Ranunculaceae) in Eastern Siberia

In this note we report the first record of Borearctia menetriesii (Eversmann, 1846) (Erebidae: Arctiinae) larva on a native host plant, Aconitum rubicundum Fischer (Ranunculaceae). This aconite spe - cies is a close relative of A. lycoctonum, which is widespread across Eurasia, but has a scattered distribu - tion in Fennoscandia. The majority of B. menetriesii localities are situated within the distribution range of A. lycoctonum and other aconite taxa, which are diverse and widespread in the Eastern Palaearctic. How - ever, only two of the six westernmost B. menetriesii localities in Finland are in accordance with sporadic records of A. lycoctonum. Our record confirms that B. menetriesii is a polyphagous species like most other boreal Arctiinae. We have expanded the list of a few Lepidoptera species which can use Aconitum spp. as suitable host plants despite the fact that they are poisonous for insects because of high alkaloid content.

Youth Cultures, Lifestyles and Social Class in Finnish Contexts

The purpose of this article is to analyse young people’s cultural practices and style seeking by utilizing certain notions of a theory promoted in the 1970s at CCCS (the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies in Birmingham), and especially the notions of ‘new studies’ on social class that refer to Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts. The article takes as its focus the lifestyles of young people in certain localities in Finland. Although the qualitative data from 39 interviews were collected in the Finnish cities of Helsinki and Kajaani, the main focus in this article is on different localities in Helsinki (33 interviews). It is suggested that young people’s styles vary within locations and the formation of (life)styles takes place partly within groups, which are connected to the local culture (area, school) as well as to social class (family, school). I argue that no one can, will or is able to manifest any kind of style wherever they wish. One’s (life)style is attached to locality, class, gender and ethnicity.

Homes as Old Age Security? Households’ Perceptions of Housing and Elderly Care in Finland and Portugal

This paper investigates homeowners’ views on housing and elderly care in two urban localities in Finland and Portugal. A special emphasis is put on the perception of old-age care arrangements and the role of housing equity in providing security. Our qualitative interview data focuses on the shared frameworks of understanding through which interviewees make sense of these issues. Given the socio-cultural differences between the two countries, it can be expected that these frameworks would be rather different. The Finnish welfare state endorses the ideals of the Nordic welfare model, such as universal benefits, high coverage and public provision. Portugal represents the Mediterranean model where the family and the third sector are central in providing welfare and the state's role is more limited. Therefore, one could hypothesise that Portuguese interviewees regard old-age care mostly outside the scope of the state, with stronger inputs from the family than Finnish interviewees. Additionally, within the perspective of home as the locus of family solidarity and intergenerational transfers, equity withdrawal would be understood more negatively whereas Finnish households would see it more positively emphasising the benefits it gives to the individual.

High mitochondrial DNA sequence diversity in the parthenogenetic earthworm Dendrobaena octaedra

Apomictic parthenogens are clonal organisms with limited genetic opportunity for increasing diversity beyond mutation. However, such species can be successful and have been shown to harbor more genetic diversity than might be expected. Here we surveyed diversity of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene from the mitochondrial genome of the earthworm Dendrobaena octaedra, an apomictic parthenogen. Diversity estimates made previously from allozyme markers for this species were high, but could have been affected by a detection bias, namely variable expression of alleles in the polyploid genome. We found similarly high mtDNA diversity over three localities in Finland, each represented by two sites; either with or without anthropogenic soil metal contamination. A single haplotype was most common over all sites, and over two thirds of all haplotypes sampled were similar to it in sequence (only varying by 1-3 substitutions). However, more divergent rare haplotypes were also found in one locality, Imatra, in southeast Finland close to the Karelian Isthmus. Metal contamination in the soil did not have a significant effect on genetic diversity, although metal exposure is known to be detrimental to the worms. There was no evidence for cryptic species within D. octaedra and phylogenetic analyses showed some structure of lineages that may have diverged in historical glacial refugia. Other mechanisms, such as rare genetic exchange with closely related species or high mutation and dispersal rates may explain high genetic diversity in D. octaedra.

Black fungus-gnats in deciduous forest habitat in northern Europe, with the description of <i>Bradysia arcula</i> sp. n. (Diptera: Sciaridae)

The sciarid fauna of a deciduous forest in Kivijärvi Nature Reserve, southern Finland, was studied. In all, 58 species were found in a material of 247 specimens, collected with Malaise traps. The material included the following species new to the Finnish and North European fauna: Corynoptera postforcipata Rudzinski, Leptosciarella juniperi (Mohrig & Blasco-Zumeta), Leptosciarella subcoarctata Mohrig&Menzel, Leptosciarella yerburyi (Freeman), Phytosciara macrotricha (Lengersdorf) and Sciara nursei Freeman. Bradysia arcula sp. n., found also in two other localities in Finland, is described, and a key to the Finnish species of the Bradysia praecox group is provided

Mycobacteria in water and loose deposits of drinking water distribution systems in Finland.

Drinking water distribution systems were analyzed for viable counts of mycobacteria by sampling water from waterworks and in different parts of the systems. In addition, loose deposits collected during mechanical cleaning of the main pipelines were similarly analyzed. The study covered 16 systems at eight localities in Finland. In an experimental study, mycobacterial colonization of biofilms on polyvinyl chloride tubes in a system was studied. The isolation frequency of mycobacteria increased from 35% at the waterworks to 80% in the system, and the number of mycobacteria in the positive samples increased from 15 to 140 CFU/liter, respectively. Mycobacteria were isolated from all 11 deposits with an accumulation time of tens of years and from all 4 deposits which had accumulated during a 1-year follow-up time. The numbers of mycobacteria were high in both old and young deposits (medians, 1.8 x 10(5) and 3.9 x 10(5) CFU/g [dry weight], respectively). Both water and deposit samples yielded the highest numbers of mycobacteria in the systems using surface water and applying ozonation as an intermediate treatment or posttreatment. The number and growth of mycobacteria in system waters correlated strongly with the concentration of assimilable organic carbon in the water leaving the waterworks. The densities of mycobacteria in the developing biofilms were highest at the distal sites of the systems. Over 90% of the mycobacteria isolated from water and deposits belonged to Mycobacterium lentiflavum, M. tusciae, M. gordonae, and a previously unclassified group of mycobacteria. Our results indicate that drinking water systems may be a source for recently discovered new mycobacterial species.

Value of semi-natural areas as biodiversity indicators in agricultural landscapes

Semi-natural habitats are key elements between cultivated and natural areas. Ditch boundaries, buffer zones, barn areas and woodland patches were analyzed in Toholampi, Yläne, Nurmijärvi and Liperi localities in Finland over the period 1954–1998 by means of indicators for semi-natural areas, based on calculations of the sum of patch densities (PD sum) and the sum of patch areas (CA sum). There were only a few semi-natural habitats left by the late 1990s. The sharpest decrease in PD sum indicator values, by 90%, was found for Yläne, while the corresponding drops in the figures for Nurmijärvi, Toholampi and Liperi were 77, 65 and 59%, respectively. The CA sum indicator showed a similar trend. The indicators were tested by calculating the metapopulation capacity of the barn areas. The use of CA sum is suggested for semi-natural patches as a quick, cheap and robust monitoring tool and indicator of change in biodiversity value in agricultural landscapes. The indicator PD sum may be important to interpret landscape and habitat changes when attention needs to be paid to the mosaic of landscape elements.

Non‐target beetles (Coleoptera) in Trypodendron pheromone traps in Finland

AbstractNon‐target beetles were surveyed in Trypodendron pheromone traps in 3 localities in Finland. Two window traps baited with Trypolure, containing lineatin dissolved in ethanol, and one control trap without attractant were used in each locality. A total of 1648 specimens belonging to 223 non‐target species were recorded. The species were divided into five ecological groups to be treated separately. Hylurgops palliatus and Hylastes cunicularius were abundant in baited traps, whereas other scolytids as a group did not show clear attraction. Other species living in recently dead trees, including bark‐ and wood‐boring species and associated species (predators, scavengers, fungivores, etc.), were clearly attracted by Trypolure. The most abundant ones were Hylecoetes flabellicornis, Thanasimus formicarius, Rhizophagus dispar, and Rhizophagus nitidulus. Although numerous in the samples, saproxylic species inhabiting more decayed wood and non‐saproxylic species did not seem to be attracted. Grouping of species into ecological groups was helpful in the search for attraction patterns among species that usually are scarce in pheromone traps.

Nested assemblages resulting from host size variation: the case of endoparasite communities in fish hosts

Nested species subsets are a common pattern in many types of communities found in insular or fragmented habitats. Nestedness occurs in some communities of ectoparasites of fish, as does the exact opposite departure from random assembly, anti-nestedness. Here, we looked for nested and anti-nested patterns in the species composition of communities of internal parasites of 23 fish populations from two localities in Finland. We also compared various community parameters of nested and anti-nested assemblages of parasites, and determined whether nestedness may result simply from a size-related accumulation of parasite species by feeding fish hosts. Nested parasite communities were characterised by higher prevalence (proportion of infected fish) and intensities of infection (number of parasites per fish) than anti-nested communities; the two types of non-random communities did not differ with respect to parasite species richness, however. In addition, the correlation between fish size and the number of parasite species harboured by individual fish was much stronger in nested assemblages than in anti-nested ones, where it was often nil. These results were shown not to be artefacts of sampling effort or host phylogeny. They apply to both assemblages of adult and larval parasites, which were treated separately. Since species of larval parasites are extremely unlikely to interact with one another in fish hosts, the establishment of nestedness appears independent of the potential action of interspecific interactions. The species composition of these parasite communities is not determined from within the community, but rather by the extrinsic influence of host feeding rates and how they amplify differences among parasite species in probabilities of colonisation or extinction. Nested patterns occur in parasite communities whose fish hosts accumulate parasites in a predictable fashion proportional to their size, whereas anti-nested communities occur in parasite communities whose fish hosts do not, possibly because of dietary specialisation preventing them from sampling the entire pool of parasite species available locally. Thus, nestedness in parasite communities may result from processes somewhat different from those generating nested patterns in free-living communities.

Flight period and ecology of Trypodendron proximum (Niijima) (Col., Scolytidae) in Finland

The flight period of Trypodendron proximum was studied by pheromone‐baited window traps in three localities in Finland. Trypodendron proximum started to fly at +13°C, and swarming peaked at around +15°C, which was the threshold temperature for the flight of Trypodendron lineatum. There was only a little overlap in the flight periods of T. proximum and other Trypodendron species. Trypodendron proximum constituted 4.5–22.1% of the total number of Trypodendron individuals caught. Field observations indicated that T. proximum may overwinter in the bark of standing trees, which would enable the beetles to fly when there is still snow. Most of the field observations of T. proximum are from dead standing Norway spruces and Scots pines in Finland.

Concentrations of Ames Mutagenic Chlorohydroxyfuranones and Related Compounds in Drinking Waters

The extremely potent Ames mutagen MX [3-chloro-4-(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone] has been found to account for a substantial part of the mutagenicity of drinking waters. Some compounds showing structural relationship with MX have been identified in drinking waters, but it has not been investigated whether they are commonly occurring. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to make a comprehensive survey of the occurrence of such compounds in drinking waters and of their importance as mutagenicity contributors. Drinking water was collected from 35 localities in Finland and from St. Petersburg, Russia. The acidified water samples were processed through XAD-8 resin and eluted with ethyl acetate. The mutagenic activity was measured in the extracts using the Ames Salmonella typhimurium strain TA100 without metabolic activation. In addition, the concentrations of a total of 13 compounds were determined in the extracts using GC/MS in the selected ion monitoring mode. The study confirms that MX i...

Neuropsychological symptoms among tanker drivers exposed to gasoline.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the occurrence of neuropsychological symptoms over periods of one week and one month among tanker drivers as related to exposure to gasoline (methyl-tert-buthyl ether 10%). Milk delivery drivers acted as controls. In addition to exposure to gasoline, age, chronic diseases, perceived health, working time, work history in the occupation of driver and alcohol consumption were scrutinized for their associations with the symptoms. The target group for the study consisted of 101 road tanker drivers from three Finnish oil companies all around Finland. The control group was 100 milk delivery drivers from two milk companies from the same localities in Finland as the tanker drivers. Standardized symptom interviews were conducted for all drivers. The differences in the occurrences of neuropsychological symptoms between tanker drivers and controls were not statistically significant. The age of the drivers, chronic diseases and perceived health were connected to the occurrence of symptoms among drivers. The results of this study do not exclude the possibility that vulnerable groups exhibit an increased sensitivity to gasoline.

Faunistics of Coleoptera in subarctic pine forests in Finnish Lapland

The beetle fauna of pine forests was surveyed by window flight trapping in four separate study areas in Pallas-Ounastunturi National Park in Enontekiö Lapland (Le) and Hammastunturi wilderness area in Inari Lapland (Li). The total catch of individuals was 4905, consisting of 195 species. The proportion of species new to the province was 48% in Le and 25% in Li, respectively. Eleven rare species (known at most from 25 localities in Finland) were found. Rarefaction, diversity analyses and similarity indices showed that species richness, relative abundances of species and species composition did not differ significantly between the study areas.

Synchrony in population dynamics

Our data are long-term population dynamics of a set of species in different localities in Finland. There is considerable level of species-specific synchrony in population fluctuations among the localities. The degree of synchrony levels off with increasing distance among the populations compared. Climatic perturbations and dispersal have been proposed as pace-making factors for synchrony. According to Moran's theorem, local populations sharing a common structure of density dependence should become synchronized under the influence of a spatially correlated density-independent factor. This predicts synchrony to decay slower with increasing distance between local populations than if the synchrony is caused by dispersal. To explore the significance of the Moran effect and dispersal in explaining the observed regional synchrony, we used a metapopulation system. The Moran effect and dispersal are both capable to synchronize alone local population fluctuations. However, with dispersal the level of synchrony decreases with distance among the populations. Adding Moran's effect does not greatly affect the level of synchrony, nor the negative correlation between synchrony and distance. This finding makes it difficult to tell apart whether an observed negative correlation between the level of synchrony and distance among the compared populations is caused by dispersal alone, or both dispersal and Moran's effect acting together.

Body iron stores, dietary iron intake and coronary heart disease mortality.

To assess whether increased body iron stores and dietary iron intake are associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease mortality. A prospective population study with a mean mortality follow-up time of 14 years. Participants attending a health screening examination carried out in several localities in Finland. All 6086 men and 6102 women aged from 45 to 64 years at the baseline examination without known heart disease, who had had serum iron and total iron binding capacity (TIBC) assessed. In a random fifth of these people, dietary iron intake was assessed by a dietary history. The study was observational without any interventions. Mortality from coronary heart disease. Altogether, 739 of the men and 245 of the women died from coronary heart disease. No relationship between TIBC and coronary mortality was observed in the men; in the women, an inverse although not significant association was found. Transferrin saturation was inversely but not significantly associated with coronary mortality in men; in women, the relationship was U-formed with a higher mortality at both the lower and higher ends of the distribution. Adjustment for other risk factors did not alter the results. No association was found with dietary iron intake and coronary mortality. The results do not corroborate earlier findings that excess body iron stores and increased iron intake are associated with an elevated risk of coronary heart disease.

Coexistence in Helminths of the Bank Vole Clethrionomys glareolus. I. Patterns of Co-Occurrence

We describe the patterns of co-occurrence in gastrointestinal helminths of the bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus at two localities in Finland, Pallasjarvi in western Lapland and Lammi in southern Finland. Four of 12 pairs of helminth species showed significant, but often inconsistent, positive co-occurrence patterns (presence - absence data). Similarly, the significant pairwise correlations in helminth abundance were rare (three of 10 pairs) and inconsistent. The rarity of significant overall associations among helminth species in the presence-absence data (two positive associations in seven data sets) and total absence in the density data support the idea of independent co-occurrence

Coexistence in Helminths of the Bank Vole Clethrionomys glareolus. II. Intestinal Distribution and Interspecific Interactions

1. We studied the intestinal distribution of helminths (cestodes and nematodes) in the bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus, and changes in distribution due to the presence and varying abundance of other species. The material was obtained from two localities in Finland: Pallasjarvi in western Lapland and Lammi in southern Finland. 2. The intestinal distribution of the common species Heligmosomum mixtum (Nematoda) was affected by the rare species Capillaria sp. (Nematoda) and Paranolocephala gracilis (Cestoda). The common species showed inconsistent negative interactions with other common species. 3. The data indicate that interactions between the intestinal helminths of the bank vole are most likely to occur between species with large intestinal overlap, but not necessarily feeding overlap