The University of Oxford and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) announced a new global initiative during the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal on 8 December 2022. The University of Turku is one of the founding universities of the Alliance.
Researchers at the Universities of Turku and Oulu, Finland, found out how Roundup, a herbicide containing glyphosate, affects the learning and memory of bumblebees. Already a small dose affected their ability to learn and memorise connections between colours and taste. The weakened fine colour vision can severely impair bumblebees’ foraging and nesting success.
Researchers from the University of Turku have described seven new fern species from the rainforests of tropical America. Many of the species were uncovered as the by-product of ecological research: the species diversity in tropical forests is still so poorly known that field trips and herbarium work keep discovering previously unknown species.