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Introduction: A main goal of protected areas is to maintain species diversity and the integrity of biological assemblages. Intensifying land use in the matrix surrounding protected areas creates a challenge for biodiversity conservation. Earlier studies have mainly focused on taxonomic diversity within protected areas. However, functional and especially phylogenetic diversities are less studied phenomena, especially with respect to the impacts of the matrix that surrounds protected areas. Phylogenetic diversity refers to the range of evolutionary lineages, the maintenance of which ensures that future evolutionary potential is safeguarded. Functional diversity refers to the range of ecological roles that members of a community perform. For ecosystem functioning and long-term resilience, they are at least as important as taxonomic diversity. Aim: We studied how the characteristics of protected areas and land use intensity in the surrounding matrix affect the diversity of bird communities in protected boreal forests. We used line-transect count and land-cover data from 91 forest reserves in Northern Finland, and land-cover data from buffer zones surrounding these reserves. We studied if habitat diversity and productivity inside protected areas, and intensity of forest management in the matrix have consistent effects on taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversities, and community specialization. Results: We found that habitat diversity and productivity inside protected areas have strong effects on all diversity metrics, but matrix effects were inconsistent. The proportion of old forest in the matrix, reflecting low intensity forest management, had positive effects on community specialization. Interestingly, functional diversity increased with increasing logging intensity in the matrix. Conclusions: Our results indicate that boreal forest reserves are not able to maintain their species composition and abundances if embedded in a severely degraded matrix. Our study also highlights the importance of focusing on different aspects of biodiversity.

As human impacts on wildlife have become a topic of increasing interest, studies have focused on issues such as overexploitation and habitat loss. However, little research has examined potential anthropogenic impacts on animal behavior. Understanding the degree to which human interaction may alter natural animal behavior has become increasingly important in developing effective conservation strategies. We examined two populations of northern goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) in Montana and Finland. Goshawks in Finland were not protected until the late 1980s, and prior to this protection were routinely shot, as it was believed that shooting goshawks would keep grouse populations high. In the United States, Goshawk were not managed as predator control. Though aggressive nest defense has been characterized throughout North America, goshawks in Finland do not show this same behavior. To quantify aggression, we presented nesting goshawks with an owl decoy, a human mannequin, and a live human and recorded their responses to each of the trial conditions. We evaluated the recordings for time of response, duration of response, whether or not an active stimulus was present to elicit the response (i.e., movement or sound), and the sex of the bird making the response. We used t-Test with unequal variance to compare mean number of responses and response duration. Our results suggested that goshawks in Montana exhibit more aggressive nest defense behaviors than those in Finland. While this could be due to some biotic or abiotic factor that we were not able to control for in a study on such a small scale, it is also possible that the results from this study suggest another underlying cause, such as an artificial selection pressure created by shooting goshawks.

Eurasian otter populations strongly declined and partially disappeared due to global and local causes (habitat destruction, water pollution, human persecution) in parts of their continental range. Conservation strategies, based on reintroduction projects or restoration of dispersal corridors, should rely on sound knowledge of the historical or recent consequences of population genetic structuring. Here we present the results of a survey performed on 616 samples, collected from 19 European countries, genotyped at the mtDNA control-region and 11 autosomal microsatellites. The mtDNA variability was low (nucleotide diversity = 0.0014; average number of pairwise differences = 2.25), suggesting that extant otter mtDNA lineages originated recently. A star-shaped mtDNA network did not allow outlining any phylogeographic inference. Microsatellites were only moderately variable (H o = 0.50; H e = 0.58, on average across populations), the average allele number was low (observed A o = 4.9, range 2.5-6.8; effective A e = 2.8; range 1.6-3.7), suggesting small historical effective population size. Extant otters likely originated from the expansion of a single refugial population. Bayesian clustering and landscape genetic analyses however indicate that local populations are genetically differentiated, perhaps as consequence of post-glacial demographic fluctuations and recent isolation. These results delineate a framework that should be used for implementing conservation programs in Europe, particularly if they are based on the reintroduction of wild or captive-reproduced otters.

We examined inter-specific interactions among goshawks (Accipiter gentilis), common buzzards (Buteo buteo) and honey buzzards (Pernis apivorus) in western Finland in 1983–1996. Because goshawks are among the largest birds of prey species in boreal forests they may take over the nest of smaller and less-competitive forest-dwelling raptors when searching for suitable places for breeding. Accordingly, more than half of newly established goshawk territories were found on the territories previously occupied by the common buzzard and the honey buzzard. Otherwise, territory sharing between these species was rare. Fledgling production of honey buzzards was not associated with the presence of goshawks, probably owing to the almost 2 months later onset of breeding. This probably decreases competitive interactions between these two species. An intensive interference competition, instead, seemed to be evident between common buzzards and goshawks, because the fledgling production of common buzzards was decreased by 20% as a result of failures during incubation and nestling period in the vicinity (<1 km) of occupied goshawk nests. Similarly, territory occupancy of common buzzards till the next breeding season was significantly reduced in the presence of goshawks. Relatively high proportions of occupied buzzard territories (17%) in the study area were shared by breeding goshawks on the same territory. This suggests that although their diets are dissimilar they inhabit similar habitats and might compete for the available prime nesting habitats within forest landscapes. In addition, goshawks benefit from taking over the complete nests of other raptors, imposing upon the original owners of the nest, because building a large stick nest is probably energetically costly. As a large raptor, the goshawk apparently has a competitive advantage over smaller ones, and may have an ever-increasing impact on smaller birds of prey, if there is a lack of sheltered forests inducing competition for the available nest sites.

We investigated predation rates of black grouse chicks during 1985–2007 in two localities in western Finland in light of three predation hypothesis: The Alternative Prey Hypothesis (APH) stating that vole-eating generalist predators cause a collapse in grouse reproduction after voles’ decline, the Main Prey Hypothesis (MPH), where grouse specialised predators by a lagged response cause an inversely density dependent predation for prey and the Predation Facilitation Hypothesis (PFH), where generalist and specialist predators act in concert. We also studied the effect of weather on grouse reproduction. We found that buzzard predation alone did not support APH, but did so when combined with goshawk predation. Kill rate by goshawks showed a linear response for black grouse chicks but was not density dependent. It, however, explained the losses of chicks but not their autumn density. Combined density of chicks with adults correlated with vole index in the latter study period (since 1994), thus, giving some support for APH. Weather seemed to have no effect on black grouse reproduction. Although buzzards and goshawks took, on average, only 10% of hatched grouse chicks we conclude that the among-year survival pattern of juvenile forest grouse may largely be determined by raptor predation.

Food-supplementation experiments conducted on terrestrial vertebrates have usually shown the importance of food as an agent in increasing reproductive success. However, to date, the number of large-scale food supplementation experiments carried out on top predators has been limited. The Eurasian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) is the largest nocturnal avian predator in the boreal and temperate regions of Eurasia. Here, we study the diet composition and breeding success of this top predator in relation to the location and distance to rubbish dumps, which sustain large numbers of brown rats Rattus norvegicus, one of the main prey items for owls. The number of these rubbish dumps (hereafter dumps) increased in Finland during the period between the 1960s and the 1990s, whereafter their number was steeply reduced, leading to a remarkable decline in rat populations. A similar trend in the Eagle Owl population largely followed this development, raising the question of whether this country-wide \"supplementary feeding experiment\" was behind this phenomenon. The proportion of rats in the diet of the owls was high, on average, 70% of prey items near the dumps decreasing to around 10-15% at a 6-7 km distance from the dumps. Correspondingly, the number of 3-4-week-old offspring declined in relation to the distance from the dump, so that 0.5 less chicks were recorded at a distance of 10 km from the dump. During the study, the overall density of nests near the dumps was 2.7 times higher than those recorded further away. The availability of extra food material within the dumps (and rats therein) probably induced an increase in the Finnish Eagle Owl population, which saw a decline after dumps were closed.

Food-supplementation experiments conducted on terrestrial vertebrates have usually shown the importance of food as an agent in increasing reproductive success. However, to date, the number of large-scale food supplementation experiments carried out on top predators has been limited. The Eurasian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) is the largest nocturnal avian predator in the boreal and temperate regions of Eurasia. Here, we study the diet composition and breeding success of this top predator in relation to the location and distance to rubbish dumps, which sustain large numbers of brown rats Rattus norvegicus, one of the main prey items for owls. The number of these rubbish dumps (hereafter dumps) increased in Finland during the period between the 1960s and the 1990s, whereafter their number was steeply reduced, leading to a remarkable decline in rat populations. A similar trend in the Eagle Owl population largely followed this development, raising the question of whether this country-wide \"supplementary feeding experiment\" was behind this phenomenon. The proportion of rats in the diet of the owls was high, on average, 70% of prey items near the dumps decreasing to around 10–15% at a 6–7 km distance from the dumps. Correspondingly, the number of 3–4-week-old offspring declined in relation to the distance from the dump, so that 0.5 less chicks were recorded at a distance of 10 km from the dump. During the study, the overall density of nests near the dumps was 2.7 times higher than those recorded further away. The availability of extra food material within the dumps (and rats therein) probably induced an increase in the Finnish Eagle Owl population, which saw a decline after dumps were closed.

Breeding habitat choice based on the attraction to other species can provide valuable social information and protection benefits. In birds, species with overlapping resources can be a cue of good quality habitats; species with shared predators and/or brood parasites can increase joint vigilance or cooperative mobbing, while raptors may provide a protective umbrella against these threats. We tested whether the migratory common redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) is attracted to breed near active nests of the great tit (Parus major), a keystone-information source for migrant passerine birds, or a top predator, the northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis). This system is unique to test these questions because the redstart is a regular host for the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). Therefore, we also evaluated other possible benefits coming from the heterospecific attraction, especially in terms of reducing brood parasitism risk. We monitored redstart occupancy rates, onset of breeding, reproductive investment, and followed nest outcomes in terms of brood parasitism, nest predation risk and overall reproductive success. Redstarts avoided breeding near goshawks, but showed neither attraction nor avoidance to breed next to great tits. Both neighbours neither reduced brood parasitism risk nor affected overall nesting success in redstarts. Redstarts may not use heterospecific attraction for settlement decisions, as associations with other species can only exist when some benefits are gained. Thus, environmental cues may be more important than social information for redstarts when breeding habitat choice. Other front-line defence strategies may have a better impact reducing breeding negative interactions, such brood parasitism.

In this study we used the stomach contents of Eagle Owls (primarily 1st winter birds) made available from Finnish museums or taxidermists. Female owls from Finland had an average weight of 2760g (N=50), while male weights averaged 2200g (N=35). The most common prey for both male and female owls was Field Vole. Despite our limited material (42 female and 24 male stomachs), it suggests that Eagle Owl females preyed upon relatively larger prey (Hedgehogs, Muskrat and a wider variety of larger birds) than males. A more correct way to test whether females and males select different prey, diet for males and females hunting in the same area simultaneously should be studied. This would include intensive radio telemetry and/or the video filming of the sexed individuals.The dead found Eagle Owl specimens used in the current study, however, provide the cheapest avenue to address sexual dietary differences in species where internal examination is the only sure way to determine gender.

Generalist predators using small mammals as their primary prey are suggested to shift hunting alternative prey such as bird nests, when small mammals are in short supply (the alternative prey hypothesis, APH). Nest survival and survival of young individuals should be positively linked to small mammal abundance and negatively linked to predator abundance, but little information exists from survival of chicks, especially until recruitment. We test these predictions of the APH using 13 years (2002–2014) of life history data from a ground nesting shorebird breeding on coastal meadows. We use small mammal abundance in the previous autumn as a proxy for spring predator abundance, mainly of mammalian predators. We examine whether small mammal abundance in the spring and previous autumn explain annual variation in nest survival from depredation and local recruitment of the southern dunlin Calidris alpina schinzii. As predicted by the APH, survival from nest predation was positively linked to spring small mammal abundance and negatively linked to autumn small mammal abundance. Importantly, local recruitment showed opposite responses. This counterintuitive result may be explained by density‐dependent survival. When nest depredation rates are low, predators may show stronger numerical and functional responses to high shorebird chick abundance on coastal meadows, whereas in years of high nest depredation, few hatching chicks lure fewer predators. The opposite effects on nest and local recruitment demonstrate the diverse mechanisms by which population size variation in primary prey can affect dynamics of alternative prey populations. Using long‐term life history data, we show that nest survival and juvenile survival of a precocial shorebird are linked to the regional small mammal abundances during the breeding season and during the previous autumn. While these results support the alternative prey hypothesis, they also show that variation in small mammal abundance can have different impacts on different life history stages of the alternative prey.