Suvi Ruuskanen
PhD, adjunct professor
skruus@utu.fi Vesilinnantie 5 Turku Office: 042 ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5582-9455 |
Areas of expertise
Evolutionary ecology; physiological ecology; ecotoxicology and environmental ecology; behavioral ecology;epigenetics; avian ecology
Evolutionary ecology; physiological ecology; ecotoxicology and environmental ecology; behavioral ecology;epigenetics; avian ecology
Biography
2015-2020 Academy of Finland research fellow, Univ Turku
2012-2015 Academy of Finland postdoc researcher, Netherlands Institute of ecology/University of Groningen, NL
2010-2012 Post-doctoral researcher, Univ Turku
2007-2010 PhD, Univ Turku
Research
My research fields are at the intersection of evolutionary ecology, ecophysiology and behavioral and environmental ecology. I am broadly interested in the proximate physiological mechanisms underlying variation in phenotypic, behavioral and fitness traits and their plasticity. I want to understand how physiologically-regulated traits enable organismal adaptation to changing environmental conditions and play a part in species interactions, potentially even affecting population processes. I am also interested in how interactions with microbes (gut microbiome) relate to phenotypic variation in wild populations. I further want to understand more broadly how various early-life environmental conditions affects offspring development and fitness with a specific interest in non-genetic inheritance, such as maternal effects and epigenetics
Current group members:
Post-docs: Bin-Yan Hsu (UTU), Antoine Stier (UTU)
PhD students: Tom Sarraude (UTU/University of Gronigen), Nina Cossin-Sevrin (UTU)
MSc students: Lotta Holmen (UTU), Mark Verschuuren (NIOO, NL), Lyydia Leino (UTU)
BSc students: Mikaela Hukkanen (UTU)
Visiting: Coline Marciau
Interns:
Research group pages: https://sites.utu.fi/ruuskanengroup/
Teaching
Ecology, evolutionary biology, physiology:
2018-2019-2020
Vertebrate ecology research (BIOL2204)
Seminars in Biology (BIOL5200)
Ecotoxicology (FYGE2060)
Presenting and Publishing Data (BIOL5201)
Publications 
1 of 4
- DNA Methylation Associates With Sex‐Specific Effects of Experimentally Increased Yolk Testosterone in Wild Nestlings (2025)
- Molecular Ecology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Does colour-morph variation in metabolic physiology and oxidative stress match morph-specific life–history strategies? (2025)
- Oecologia
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Early-life environmental effects on birds: epigenetics and microbiome as mechanisms underlying long-lasting phenotypic changes (2024)
- Journal of Experimental Biology
(A2 Refereed review article in a scientific journal ) - Seasonal and environmental factors contribute to the variation in the gut microbiome : A large-scale study of a small bird (2024)
- Journal of Animal Ecology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Early-life environmental effects on mitochondrial aerobic metabolism: a brood size manipulation in wild great tits (2023)
- Journal of Experimental Biology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Ecosystem consequences of herbicides: the role of microbiome (2023)
- Trends in Ecology and Evolution
(A2 Refereed review article in a scientific journal ) - Effects of incubation temperature and maternal phenotype on Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras) eggs and larvae: An experimental study (2023)
- Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - From maternal glucocorticoid and thyroid hormones to epigenetic regulation of offspring gene expression: An experimental study in a wild bird species (2023)
- Evolutionary Applications
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - No evidence for associations between brood size, gut microbiome diversity and survival in great tit (Parus major) nestlings (2023)
- Animal microbiome
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Population divergence in maternal investment and embryo energy use and allocation suggests adaptive responses to cool climates (2023)
- Journal of Animal Ecology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Prenatal thyroid hormones accelerate postnatal growth and telomere shortening in wild great tits (2023)
- Journal of Experimental Biology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Stress in the social context: a behavioural and eco-evolutionary perspective (2023)
- Journal of Experimental Biology
(A2 Refereed review article in a scientific journal ) - Altricial Bird Early-Stage Embryos Express the Molecular "Machinery" to Respond to and Modulate Maternal Thyroid Hormone Cues (2022)
- Physiological and Biochemical Zoology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - An ecologist's guide for studying DNA methylation variation in wild vertebrates (2022)
- Molecular Ecology Resources
(A2 Refereed review article in a scientific journal ) - Maternally transferred thyroid hormones and life-history variation in birds (2022)
- Journal of Animal Ecology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - The effect of experimental lead pollution on DNA methylation in a wild bird population (2022)
- Epigenetics
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Adaptation of bacteria to glyphosate: a microevolutionary perspective of the enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (2021)
- Environmental Microbiology Reports
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Author Correction: Testing for context-dependent effects of prenatal thyroid hormones on offspring survival and physiology: an experimental temperature manipulation (Scientific Reports, (2020), 10, 1, (14563), 10.1038/s41598-020-71511-y) (2021)
- Scientific Reports
(Other publication) - Classification of the glyphosate target enzyme (5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase) for assessing sensitivity of organisms to the herbicide (2021)
- Journal of Hazardous Materials
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Does Arsenic Contamination Affect DNA Methylation Patterns in a Wild Bird Population? An Experimental Approach (2021)
- Environmental Science and Technology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
UTU Research Portal