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Article
Open AccessExposure of cleaning workers to chemical agents and physical conditions in swimming pools and spas
Swimming pools and spas require a high hygiene level, and therefore constant cleaning. In this study, cleaning workers’ exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), trichloramine (TCA), and particulate matte...
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Article
Open AccessToxicity of Tire Rubber Microplastics to Freshwater Sediment Organisms
High emission of tire rubber particles to the surrounding environment is an inevitable consequence of the current habits of transportation. Although most of the emissions stay within a close range of the sourc...
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Article
Open AccessBenefits of insect colours: a review from social insect studies
Insect colours assist in body protection, signalling, and physiological adaptations. Colours also convey multiple channels of information. These channels are valuable for species identification, distinguishing...
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Article
Open AccessFacing the threat: common yellowjacket wasps as indicators of heavy metal pollution
We investigated the common wasp, Vespula vulgaris as a bioindicator and biomonitor of metals in the industrial area. Using traps, we collected 257 yellowjackets along a pollution gradient in the Harjavalta Cu-Ni ...
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Article
Open AccessUnravelling the functions of biogenic volatiles in boreal and temperate forest ecosystems
Living trees are the main source of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) in forest ecosystems, but substantial emissions originate from leaf and wood litter, the rhizosphere and from microorganisms. Thi...
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Ecotoxicological Effects of Heavy Metal Pollution on Economically Important Terrestrial Insects
Pollution is among the major anthropogenically induced drivers of environmental change. Heavy metals, released from industry and transport, can contaminate aquatic and terrestrial environments, inducing furthe...
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Article
The invasive herb Lupinus polyphyllus attracts bumblebees but reduces total arthropod abundance
Invasive plant species generally reduce the abundance and diversity of local plant species, which may translate into alterations at higher tropic levels, such as arthropods. Due to the diverse functional roles...
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Article
Effect of host species, host nest density and nest size on the occurrence of the shining guest ant Formicoxenus nitidulus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Understanding habitat requirements of species is important in conservation. As an obligate ant nest associate, the survival of the globally vulnerable shining guest ant, Formicoxenus nitidulus, is strictly tied t...
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Chapter
Biomarkers of Ecotoxicological Effects in Social Insects
Complementing ecotoxicity testing, a biomarker approach is widely used in ecological risk assessment programs. Biomarkers provide information about early warning biological responses to one or several chemical...
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Article
Combined effects of overwintering temperature and habitat degradation on the survival of boreal wood ant
The survival of insects during diapause may be affected by overwintering temperature and other environmental stress, such as anthropogenic habitat degradation. We experimentally studied the effects of overwint...
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Article
Forest clearing and sex ratio in forest-dwelling wood ant Formica aquilonia
Sex ratios of ants have been shown to vary with food resource levels in several studies, but it is not known whether forest clear-cutting has any effect on sex ratio of aphid-tending forest-dwelling ants. We i...
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Article
Individual variation in immune function in the ant Formica exsecta; effects of the nest, body size and sex
It has been generally thought that sex differences in the immune system are the result of the differing life history strategies of the sexes, although the available data are not entirely consistent with the hy...