A molecular-based identification resource for the arthropods of Finland.

To associate specimens identified by molecular characters to other biological knowledge, we need reference sequences annotated by Linnaean taxonomy. In this study, we (1) report the creation of a comprehensive reference library of DNA barcodes for the arthropods of an entire country (Finland), (2) publish this library, and (3) deliver a new identification tool for insects and spiders, as based on this resource. The reference library contains mtDNA COI barcodes for 11,275 (43%) of 26,437 arthropod species known from Finland, including 10,811 (45%) of 23,956 insect species.

The importance of study duration and spatial scale in pathogen detection-evidence from a tick-infested island.

Ticks (Acari: Ixodoidea) are among the most common vectors of zoonotic pathogens worldwide. While research on tick-borne pathogens is abundant, few studies have thoroughly investigated small-scale spatial differences in their occurrence. Here, we used long-term cloth-dragging data of Ixodes ricinus and its associated, known and putative pathogens (Borrelia burgdorferi s.

Tick-borne pathogens in Finland: comparison of Ixodes ricinus and I. persulcatus in sympatric and parapatric areas.

Background: Almost 3500 tick samples, originally collected via a nationwide citizen science campaign in 2015, were screened to reveal the prevalence and distribution of a wide spectrum of established and putative tick-borne pathogens vectored by Ixodes ricinus and I. persulcatus in Finland. The unique geographical distribution of these two tick species in Finland allowed us to compare pathogen occurrence between an I.

Crowdsourcing-based nationwide tick collection reveals the distribution of Ixodes ricinus and I. persulcatus and associated pathogens in Finland.

A national crowdsourcing-based tick collection campaign was organized in 2015 with the objective of producing novel data on tick distribution and tick-borne pathogens in Finland. Nearly 20 000 Ixodes ticks were collected. The collected material revealed the nationwide distribution of I.

Anaplasma phagocytophilum in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks in southwestern Finland.

Anaplasma phagocytophilum is the causative agent of an emerging tick-borne disease, human granulocytic anaplasmosis. While the bacterium has been reported from questing ticks in neighboring Sweden, Norway and Russia, the few surveys regarding questing ticks in Finland have thus far been negative. In the current study, the prevalence of A.

Tick-borne bacterial pathogens in southwestern Finland.

Background: Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus are the main vectors of Lyme borreliosis spirochetes and several other zoonotic bacteria in northern Europe and Russia. However, few studies screening bacterial pathogens in Finnish ticks have been conducted. Therefore, reports on the occurrence and prevalence of several bacterial pathogens detected from ticks elsewhere in Europe and Russia are altogether missing from Finland.

Assessing the abundance, seasonal questing activity, and Borrelia and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) prevalence of Ixodes ricinus ticks in a Lyme borreliosis endemic area in Southwest Finland.

Studies have revealed that Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) have become more abundant and their geographical distribution extended northwards in some Nordic countries during the past few decades. However, ecological data of tick populations in Finland are sparse. In the current study, I.

Leg deformities of oribatid mites as an indicator of environmental pollution.

Oribatid mites have often been used as indicators of the degree of environmental pollution but few studies have assessed the effects of pollution at individual level. One possible indicator of environmental stress at individual level is structural malformations of exoskeleton. We studied whether a number of leg deformities in soil oribatid mites could be used as an indicator of the degree of heavy metal pollution or acidity in nature.