The new professor of experimental ecology Leena Lindström is tackling Colorado beetle
Leena Lindström has been working as an university lecturer in ecology and evolutionary biology at the Department of Biological and Environmental Science at the Ģֱ since 2011. She was a professor of evolutionary ecology 1.1.2018-31.8.2019. In her doctoral dissertation at the Ģֱ 2000 Lindström studied the evolution of warning coloration. She was an Academy Research Fellow 2006-2011 and has also done research at the universities of Oxford, Newcastle and Vermont.
Lindström is leading the invasion biology research group at the Ģֱ. It is funded by the Academy of Finland and The Finnish Cultural Foundation. Lindström is happy that the strong tradition of experimental research is recognized with this new professorship at the department:
"There are many research groups, which works on experimental research and experimental research is one of the reasons why Jyväskylä is unique among the universities of Finland."
”My research has been mainly experimental ranging from animal coloration into invasion of invasive species. I am driven by my curiosity and I want to understand how the world works and which mechanisms explain the biological world around us”, Lindström describes.
Recently we have also added experimental ecology to our master’s degree in ecology and evolutionary biology.
”In teaching I see that experimental work can be very fundamental as it brings important aspects for the student’s thinking. Experiments are always simplification of the world yet each experiment has to be build by still capturing the essence of the studies phenomenon. This makes the students to think which parts are essential in the questions at hand. You have to know how the control and manipulation has to be done, in order to find relevant answers”, Lindström describes.
Lindström’s research focuses on the problematic invasive Colorado potato beetle
At the Ģֱ the strong statistics department strengthens further the biological experimental work. For instance, she has done collaboration with the professor Juha Karvanen in optimizing the experimental setups.
In her own research, Leena Lindström focuses on the stress resistance of the invasive species. Particularly she is interested in how humans affect the stress resistance and invasive success. The Colorado potato beetle is among the worst pest of potato.
”What makes the Colorado potato beetle very special is that, it has an ability to develop resistance to pesticides over and over again. Currently beetle is resistant to over 50 pesticides. And resistance to new substances seems to develop even quicker nowadays. We are of course interested in why and with what mechanisms“, says Lindström.
More information at the Leena Lindström’s research group:
/science/en/bioenv/research/biosciences/invasion-biology-research-group)
You can may find more of Leena Lindström’s research group’s work at the Researcher’s night 27.9.2019. The Department of Biological and Environmental science has wide variety of interesting exhibits at Ambitica-building at Ylinstönrinne (Survontie 9).
/en/academic-events/researchers-night/programme/at-ylistonrinne
For further information:
Professor Leena Lindström, leena.m.lindstrom@jyu.fi, puh. +358 40 842 7228 Communications officer Tanja Heikkinen, tanja.s.heikkinen@jyu.fi, tel. +358 50 581 8351
/science/en
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