MATTI'S PERSONAL FILE
Present address:
Matti J. Koivula
Department of Biological and Environmental Science
P.O. Box 35
FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä
FINLAND
E-mail: mjkoivula (at) gmail.com
Pre-academic life
- Born in Kauhajoki, Ostrobothnia, Finland, in 1965
- Have lived most of my life in Southern Finland (Turku, Helsinki and Kirkkonummi)
- Army in the Finnish Frontier Guard, SE Finland, 1985-1986
- Studies in computer electronics, Espoo Technical College 1987-1988
Research career
My research interests include forest and fire ecology, road ecology, conservation biology, and autecology and identification of birds and beetles.
By the beginning of February 2008, I had published 20 ecological research papers in peer-reviewed journals and two were in press, two were published in reviewed congress proceedings, and >50 papers had been published or accepted in Finnish and English non-reviewed scientific journals, congress-abstract books and report series. I had also written and edited seven non-fiction books, and prepared a GIS dataset of important bird habitats of Helsinki for the Helsinki Environment Center (1999). Moreover, I had given 27 talks and presented >10 posters in scientific congresses, society meetings and workshops, reviewed >50 manuscripts for >20 scientific journals and >5 congress proceedings books, and supervised nine Master’s degree theses in the University of Helsinki. During 2001-2005, I was an editor in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Entomologica Fennica, had edited a special issue on ground beetles to the same journal in 2006, and am currently the Editor-in-chief of Ornis Fennica, a quarterly peer-reviewed ornithological journal.
- Studies in animal and plant ecology, conservation biology and hydrobiology in the University of Helsinki, Finland, during 1990-2001
- MSc Jan 1997: (Boreal carabid beetles and Aspen leaf litter). The effects of leaf-litter addition on carabid richness. (Published in Ecography in 1999.)
- PhD March 2001: "Carabid beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in managed boreal forests": ground beetle richness and abundance in different logging regimes. (Published in various journals 1999-2002.)
- Other research interests: bird and beetle richness across forest/farmland edges and land-use gradients, and effects of roads on beetles
- March 2001-Dec 2002: Post-doc in prof. Jari Niemelä’s urban ecology group, University of Helsinki: birds and ground beetles across a land-use gradient in Southern Finland
- Awarded by the University of Alberta (Killam Postdoctoral Fellowship) in 2002
- Jan 2003-Dec 2006: Post doc in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, at the Department of Renewable Resources.
- Major ecological study project on the effects of fire severity and salvage logging at the House River fire, Alberta, Canada 2003-06 (see below)
- Assistant professorship in Ecology and Environmental Management, University of Jyväskylä, Finland, 2007-2011
Current projects
Management and ecology of urban habitats
With Mikko Mönkkönen & Janne Kotiaho, Univ. Jyväskylä & Juha Pöyry, Finnish Environment Institute
We study the ecological effects of habitat management in an urban framework. Our interests are on richness and abundance variation of multiple insect groups and vascular plants in different open habitats and city forests, and the role of spatial scale in determining this variation. The project is currently at its initiation phase, and in 2008 two Master's students and 3-4 Candidate teams will do their research under the project umbrella.
The House River Fire project: Spatial scale, fire severity, salvage logging and forest biodiversity
With Fiona K. A. Schmiegelow, John R. Spence & Ellen Macdonald, Univ. Alberta
The central questions of the House River Fire project are the landscape-level ecological effects of merchantable timber and salvage logging after the fire, and the importance of spatial scale. The field work, funded by the Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Ltd., was done during 2003-04. The samplings included winter and summer transect counts of birds, saproxylic and ground beetle sampling, and vegetation and tree inventories. We also followed the nesting success of woodpeckers, and sampled beetles associated with polypores at the edges of Black spruce, Aspen and clear-cut stands. We co-operate with Alberta Research Council and Canadian Wildlife Service.
EMEND (Ecosystem Management Emulating Natural Disturbances) project
With John R. Spence, Univ. Alberta
The EMEND project focuses on combining forestry and conservation interests in boreal forests. My sub-project was done in 2005; the aim was to evaluate the ecological role of the spatial distribution of habitat resource. I sampled ground dwelling arthropods in clear-cuts that were isolated (>500 m from clusters of harvested areas) and connected (within the clusters), and in retention patches within clear-cuts, in 25 percent and 75 percent thinned stands, and in un-logged areas.
ET project: Edges and trampling in urban woodland patches
With Ellen Macdonald & John R. Spence, Univ. Alberta
The aims of this project are to study trampling intensity and edge effects on various taxa in urban forests in several countries, including Canada. The field work was done in 2003 at the vicinity of Edmonton. A Swedish MSc student Weronica Isaksson has prepared her thesis in the Canadian sub-project. The overall project is coordinated by the University of Helsinki, Finland (Dr. S. Lehvävirta and Dr. D. J. Kotze).
Dead wood and ground dwelling invertebrates
With David Langor, Canadian Forest Service & Chris Buddle, McGill Univ.
We study the importance of dead downed wood material on ground-dwelling beetles and spiders experimentally by comparing the amount of dead wood and invertebrate catches. The dataset was collected in 1999-2001.
Bioassess project
With Jari Niemelä, Univ. Helsinki & Rob Fuller & Dan Chamberlain, British Trust for Ornithology
We assess the potential bioindicator value of various plant and animal groups across a land-use intensity gradient. The project, led by prof. Allan D. Watt, UK, includes eight participating countries. The Finnish field work was done in Sipoo, southern Finland, during 2001-02. I was responsible for Finnish bird and beetle sampling. JN and I, with Dr. D. J. Kotze, are currently analysing the European ground-beetle data, and with Dr. Fuller I am analysing the bird data. The Finnish beetle sub-project also includes studies on landscape structure and ground beetles (with JN and Ms. Paula-Kaisa Leppänen) and the ecological role of meadows and other "semi-agricultural" habitats for beetles (with JN and Ms. Johanna Blomqvist).
Roadside ecology
With Johan Kotze, Univ. Helsinki & Rikjan Vermeulen, Vijster Biological Station, the Netherlands
The aims of this "super-urban" project are to study the importance of (1) highways as potential isolating barriers for forest taxa, (2) forest roads as barriers for forest species and dispersal corridors for open-habitat species, and (3) median strips and verges for vascular plants and insects. See publications.
Insular ecology of ground beetles
With Johan Kotze & Bob O'Hara, Univ. Helsinki
In the summer of 2002, we sampled ground beetles and vegetation on several Baltic islands. Our aims were to test some assumptions of classical island geography and related theories, namely the importance of the amount of habitat, island size and isolation distance.
Other activities
I have been working as a research assistant in the Finnish Forest Research Institute 1982-1992, carried out tens of different bird inventory and other ecological census projects for various researchers, consultants and the Finnish Museum of Natural History 1982-2002, and taught ecology and conservation biology in the Universities of Helsinki, Alberta and Jyväskylä 1993-2008. I have also been active in student politics (e.g., president of Symbioosi, the society of the biology students of the University of Helsinki with ca. 700 members) and in the ornithological society of Helsinki district Tringa (e.g. secretary and vice president, and chair of the research committee, the society currently having ca. 1700 members). I was awarded by Symbioosi (1992) and Tringa (2000) for remarkable activity in these societies, and was recently named an honorary member of Symbioosi (2005). Moreover, I received a honour prize from WWF Finland in 2000 (see WWF bulletin) for a book presenting the most valuable sites for birds in southern Finland (see Publications). Perhaps the most prestigious award so far has been the Izaak Walton Killam Fellowship that I got from the University of Alberta in 2002.
My wife Hanna is a biologist, graduated in January 2000, having been working e.g. as a web master of the Finnish Museum of Natural History since then. We share the major interests, which has a strong positive effect on our living. Our daughter Hilla was born in July 1997, and son Eelis in July 2001. These energy packages take care that there is never too little action or too silent at home.
Interests other than work... Well, my favourite place in the world is the Finnish archipelago, especially Åland islands. I love sea and dark, old Northern Taiga forests, and birding, nature photography, drawing, writing, fishing and music. I began my fisherman career as a 7-years-old kid in 1973, birding in 1976, photography in the late 1970s, and playing music in higher secondary school in 1983. Birds are my main interest, drawing and photography being two elements of this wonderful and many-sided way of living. Since the golden school years, I have played drums in various rock bands, e.g. Kamikaze Pilots (1987-1990), Slumber (1991-1992), Zuliman Child (Slight Return) (1993-2002), Celestial Bodies (2000-2001) and Bigbangbaby (2001-2002). The current project is Pinned (formerly known as Colin Bergeron All Stars). I like different kinds of music: classic, Irish, jazz-rock, rock. My favourites are the Ramones, the Police, the Presidents of the U.S.A., the Pogues, Jethro Tull, Big Star, Bob Mould (sensu lato) and Neil Young. My favourite Finnish acts are CMX, YUP, Nylon Beat, Tuomari Nurmio, Dave Lindholm, Wigwam and (of course) Hurriganes.
List of peer-reviewed publications
If you would like to get a reprint or a PDF copy of (some of) these papers, please send a request as an e-mail or write to my address above.
Vepsäläinen, K., Ikonen, H. & Koivula, M. 2008: The structure of ant assemblages in an urban area of Helsinki, southern Finland. -- Annales Zoologici Fennici (in press).
Matveinen-Huju, K. & Koivula, M. 2008: Boreal early-summer spiders and alternative logging methods. -- Canadian Journal of forest Research (in press).
Hartley, D. J., Koivula, M., Spence, J. R., Pelletier, R. & Ball, G. E. 2007: Effects of urbanization on ground beetle assemblages (Coleoptera, Carabidae) of grassland habitats in western Canada. -- Ecography 30: 673-684.
Koivula, M. & Sshmiegelow, F. K. A. 2007: Boreal woodpecker assemblages in recently burned forested landscapes in Alberta, Canada: effects of post-fire harvesting and burn severity. -- Forest Ecology and Management 242: 606-618.
Koivula, M. & Spence, J. R. 2006: Effects of post-fire salvage logging on boreal mixed-wood ground beetle assemblages (Coleoptera, Carabidae). -- Forest Ecology and Management 236: 102-112.
Koivula, M., Cobb, T., Dechene, A., Jacobs, J. & Spence, J. R. 2006: Two Sericoda Kirby, 1837 species in the boreal mixed-wood post-fire environment. -- Entomologica Fennica 17: 315-324.
Niemelä, J., Koivula, M. & Kotze, D. J. 2006: The effects of forestry on carabid assemblages in boreal forests. -- Journal of Insect Conservation 11 (2007): 5-18.
Schmiegelow, F. K. A., Stepnisky, D. P., Stambaugh, C. A. & Koivula, M. 2006: Reconciling salvage logging of boreal forests with a natural disturbance management model. -- Conservation Biology 20: 971-983.
Koivula, M. 2006: Effects of forest roads on spatial distribution of boreal carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). -- Coleopterists Bulletin 59 (4/2005): 465-487.
Pihlaja, M., Koivula, M. & Niemelä, J. 2006: Boreal carabid beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae) responses to clear-cutting and top-soil preparation. -- Forest Ecology and Management 222: 182-190.
Koivula, M. & Vermeulen, H. J. W. 2005: Highways and forest fragmentation - effects on carabid beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae). -- Landscape Ecology 20: 911-926.
Koivula, M., Kotze, D. J. & Salokannel, J. 2005: Beetles (Coleoptera) in central reservations of three highway roads around the city of Helsinki, Finland. -- Annales Zoologici Fennici 42: 615-626.
Koivula, M. & Kotze, D. J. 2005: Carabid beetles in median strips of three highways around the city of Helsinki, Finland. -- In: Lövei, G. & Toft, S. (eds.): European Carabidology 2003. Proceedings of the 11th European Carabidologists' Meeting, University of Århus, Denmark. Pp. 151-161.
Koivula, M., Hyyryläinen, V. & Soininen, E. 2004: Carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) across forest-farmland edges in southern Finland. -- Journal of Insect Conservation 8: 297-309.
Lehvävirta, S., Rita, H. & Koivula, M. 2004: Wear affects the spatial distribution of tree saplings in urban woodlands. -- Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 3: 3-17.
Koivula, M. 2003: The forest road network - a landscape element affecting the spatial distribution of boreal carabid beetles. -- In: Szyszko, J., Den Boer, P. J. & Bauer, T. (eds.): How to protect or What we know about Carabid Beetles. Proceedings of X European Carabidologists Meeting, Warsaw Agricultural University Press, Warsaw. Pp. 287-299.
Koivula, M. & Niemelä, J. 2003: Gap felling as a forest harvesting method in boreal spruce forests - responses of carabid beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae). -- Ecography 26: 179-187.
Koivula, M., Kotze, D. J., Hiisivuori, L. & Rita, H. 2003: Pitfall trap efficiency: do trap size, collecting fluid and vegetation structure matter? -- Entomologica Fennica 14: 1-16.
Koivula, M. 2002: Carabid beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in thinned uneven-aged and clear-cut spruce stands. -- Annales Zoologici Fennici 39: 131-149.
Koivula, M. & Niemelä, J. 2002: Boreal carabid beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in managed spruce forests - a summary of Finnish case studies. -- Silva Fennica 36: 423-436.
Koivula, M. 2002: Alternative harvesting methods and boreal carabid beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae). -- Forest Ecology and Management 167: 103-121.
Koivula, M., Kukkonen, J. & Niemelä, J. 2002: Carabid-beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae) assemblages in the boreal forest succession. -- Biodiversity and Conservation 11: 1269-1288.
Heliölä, J., Koivula, M. & Niemelä, J. 2001: Distribution of carabid beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) across boreal forest-clearcut ecotone. -- Conservation Biology 15: 370-377.
Koivula, M., Punttila, P., Haila, Y. & Niemelä, J. 1999: Leaf litter and the small-scale distribution of carabid beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in the boreal forest. -- Ecography 22: 424-435.