This dataset contains the core metadata used in the research project “Disappeared, Endangered and Newly Arrived Species: The Human Relationship with the Changing Biodiversity of the Baltic Sea (HumBio)”, funded by the Academy of Finland in 2021–2025. The project examined people’s relationships with marine animals and plants in Finland that have disappeared, are endangered, or are defined as newly arrived or invasive species. The starting point of the research was that these species and changes in species abundance have previously been studied almost exclusively within the natural sciences. In this project, the human relationship with changing marine biodiversity was examined from the perspectives of the humanities. In this way, the project aimed to generate new knowledge for other researchers, decision-makers, and wider audiences about how changes in Baltic Sea biodiversity have been understood and perceived in Finnish culture and society over the long term, and how these changes have influenced Finnish perceptions of marine and archipelago environments. The project also produced knowledge that supports cultural adaptation to newly arrived species and a changed marine environment, and it offered new perspectives for understanding the Anthropocene as a global phenomenon. The project was led by Docent Otto Latva at the University of Turku, Finland.

The project’s research materials consisted primarily of digitised newspaper and magazine materials from the National Library of Finland and of interview and survey materials collected by the project. In addition, discussions from the Suomi24 online forum were used as research material.

Digitised newspapers and magazines from the National Library of Finland

The digitised newspapers and magazines used as materials in the HumBio project are described in detail in the reference lists of the project’s open-access publications. However, we also compiled newspaper and magazine corpora on two topics addressed in the project. These corpora cover mentions of blue-green algae and bird feeders in the Finnish press.

• The corpus concerning blue-green algae was compiled by Aino Jämsä, and its metadata file is included in this dataset as an attachment titled “HumBio_lehdistometadata_press_metadata_Sinilevä_Blue_green_algae”.
• The corpus concerning bird feeders was compiled by Heta Lähdesmäki, and its metadata file is included in this dataset as an attachment titled “HumBio_lehdistometadata_press_metadata_Lintulauta_Birdfeeder”.

The metadata files created for the newspaper and magazine corpora contain six columns: 1) the name of the newspaper or magazine, 2) the ISSN number, 3) the publication date, 4) the issue number, 5) the page, and 6) the URL or archive name.

Surveys and interview materials collected and used by the HumBio project

Several interviews and surveys were conducted as part of the the project, all of which have been deposited in the archives of the Department of History, Culture and Arts Studies at the University of Turku (https://www.utu.fi/en/university/faculty-of-humanities/shcas-archives). We have produced the following metadata files for these materials:

• In 2022, Cultural Studies students at the University of Turku, together with their teacher Jere Kyyrö, conducted interviews for the HumBio project by interviewing various maritime stakeholders about their observations in the marine environment as related to the themes of the HumBio project. The metadata of these interviews are included in this dataset as an attachment titled “HumBio_haastattelumetadata_interviewmetadata_Itameren_lajit_ja_ympariston_muutos_Baltic_sea_species_and_environmental”.
• A survey on bird feeding was conducted by Heta Lähdesmäki, and its metadata file is included in this dataset as an attachment titled “HumBio_kyselymetadata_surveymetadata_Lintujenruokintakysely_Bird_feeding_survey”.
• A survey on birdwatching in Finland was prepared by Otto Latva, Jere Kyyrö, Heta Lähdesmäki, and Hannu Salmi, and its metadata file is included in this dataset as an attachment titled “HumBio_kyselymetadata_surveymetadata_Lintuharrastuskysely_Birdwatching_survey”.
• A metadata file covering the interview and survey materials used in the project’s publications was compiled by Kirsi Sonck-Rautio and is included in this dataset as an attachment titled “HumBio_kysely_ja_haastattelu_metadata_tutkimuksissa_survey_and_interview_data_in_research”.

The metadata files concerning interview and survey materials contain five columns: 1) archive identifier, 2) type of material in Finnish, 3) type of material in English, 4) keywords in Finnish, and 5) keywords in English. An exception is the metadata file that contains information on the interviews and survey responses used in the project’s publications. This file includes only three categories: 1) archive identifier, 2) keywords in Finnish, and 3) keywords in English.

Suomi24 forum materials used in the HumBio project

The researcher of the HumBio project, Harri Uusitalo, used material collected from the Suomi24 forum in an article on invasive species discourses co-authored with Karita Suomalainen. Uusitalo has produced a metadata file for the material titled “HumBio_Suomi24_forum_metadata_vieraslajikeskustelu_invasive_species_discussion”.

The metadata file concerning the Suomi24 forum materials contains four columns: 1) corpus ID, 2) link to the original post, 3) date of the text, and 4) URN.