Satu Ramula
PhD, adjunct professor
satu.ramula@utu.fi +358 29 450 4227 +358 50 465 3149 Vesilinnantie 5 Turku ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/IDorcid.org/0000-0001-7795-0352 |
Demographic methods; invasive species; plant ecology; population ecology; soil microbiota; structured population models
2020- University lecturer in plant ecology, University of Turku
2015-2020 Academy of Finland research fellow, University of Turku
2013-2015 Researcher, Novia University of Applied Sciences & Åbo Akademi University
2011-2013 Associate Senior Lecturer, Lund University
2009-2011 Researcher/University lecturer, Turku University
2007-2009 Postdoc, University of Queensland
2006 PhD, Stockholm University
My research focuses on population ecology and invasive species. I am broadly interested in population-level ecological, evolutionary and methodological questions, including drivers of plant invasions, species interactions, and data quality issues. I often apply structured population models to understand spatial and temporal variation in wild populations, and to produce management recommendations.
I am a member of the science committee for the COMPADRE & COMADRE database (https://www.compadre-db.org) project to create an open-access database of matrix population models for both animals and plants from all over the world to facilitate its usage for scientific and teaching purposes. These databases are a repository of demographic data from (mostly) published literature. As the number of published matrix population models (MPMs) grows, so do the opportunities to ask exciting questions about plant and animal demography, ecology, and evolution at a global and cross-taxonomic scale. The underlying motivation behind COMPADRE and COMADRE is to facilitate this research by collecting, digitising, and archiving MPMs at a central repository in a standardised format.
Publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=JecNUpoAAAAJ&hl=en
- Current courses:
- BIOL1007 Structure and function of plants
- BIOL4220 Biological data analysis: multivariate methods
- EKOL2110 Populations, communities, and ecosystems
- EKOL2111 Practical exercises in ecology
- EKOL2354 Identification of vascular plants in Finland
- EKOL2302 Terrestrial plant ecology, field course
- MAAN6154 Biogeography
- Population Genomics of a Cosmopolitan Weed Provides Insights Into Its Local Adaptation and Recent Demographic History (2026)
- Molecular Ecology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Soil microbiota promote the success of the perennial legume Lupinus polyphyllus more strongly in invasive than in native populations (2026)
- Annals of Botany
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) forage on plants treated with glyphosate-based herbicides despite potential behavioral consequences (2025)
- Environmental Research
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Glyphosate-based herbicide increases the number of foraging trips but does not affect the homing of Bombus terrestris (2025)
- Apidologie
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Several candidate size metrics explain vital rates across multiple populations throughout a widespread species' range (2025)
- Journal of Ecology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Soil microbiota enhance the population growth rate of a nitrogen-fixing herbaceous legume (2025)
- AoB PLANTS
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Time since invasion is not associated with the competitive effects of an alien herb (2025)
- Biological Invasions
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Effects of glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicide on learning and memory of the buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) (2024)
- Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Neglected puzzle pieces of urban green infrastructure: richness, cover, and composition of insect-pollinated plants in traffic-related green spaces (2024)
- Landscape Ecology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Root, Nodule and Soil Bacterial Communities Associated With the Invasive Nitrogen-Fixing Lupinus polyphyllus (2024)
- Ecology and Evolution
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)



