EU-funded scientist wins prestigious prize
Ilkka Hanski, an EU-funded ecologist working at the University of Helsinki in Finland, has been awarded the Crafoord Prize in Biosciences for 2011 'for his pioneering studies on how spatial variation affects the dynamics of animal and plant populations'. The SEK 4 million (approximately EUR 446,000) Crafoord Prize is handed out annually to scientists working in fields not covered by the Nobel prizes, e.g. astronomy and mathematics, the geosciences and the biosciences. Professor Hanski's pioneering work receives EU funding via a EUR 2.5 million Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for his SPATIALDYNAMICS ('Ecological, molecular, and evolutionary spatial dynamics') project. Born in Lempäälä, Finland in 1953, Ilkka Hanski obtained his PhD from Oxford University in the UK for a detailed study of dung-beetle ecology in Madagascar. Since then, he has established himself as one of the world's leading ecologists, developing novel analytical and mathematical models that are now widely used by researchers studying how species are affected when their habitats are split into pieces by human activities. Over the years, Professor Hanski's work has taken him to far-flung corners of the world including Borneo and Greenland. However, his most groundbreaking work has been carried out largely on the Finnish Åland islands, which lie in the Baltic Sea. Here, his work focuses on the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia), whose range traditionally covers the whole of Europe, northern Africa, Russia and the Middle East. Although this butterfly has largely disappeared from northern Europe (including the Finnish mainland) as modern agriculture has wiped out its habitat, small populations remain on the Åland islands. Professor Hanski's large-scale field studies on the islands led to the acceptance among ecologists of the concept of metapopulation, i.e. a network of local populations which are partially isolated from one another, but do exchange individuals (and genes) to a certain degree. Crucially, Professor Hanski's work has shed new light on the extent to which species can survive (or not) when their habitats are fragmented. In addition, his research has highlighted the issue of 'extinction debt', which refers to the fact that although a small, isolated population of a species may persist in a given area, habitat changes may mean it is ultimately doomed to die out. The Glanville fritillaries offer an example of this; Professor Hanski and his team have observed how over time, sub-populations that have shrunk beyond a certain point become weakened by inbreeding and their flying ability deteriorates. The ecologist's work, therefore, has important practical implications for conservation efforts, as it highlights the fact that populations do not decline steadily towards zero. Rather, populations that fall below a certain level may collapse suddenly. Reversing this collapse is likely to be difficult, if not impossible. Professor Hanski goes to great lengths to communicate his findings to the public and decision-makers. The ERC grant, which was awarded to Professor Hanski in 2008, is helping the researcher continue his studies into the Åland Islands' Glanville fritillaries. Professor Hanski will receive the Crafoord Prize from the king of Sweden at a ceremony in Stockholm in May of this year. The money for the prize comes from the Crafoord's Fund, which was set up by Anna-Greta and Holger Crafoord in 1980. For more information, please visit: Crafoord Prize: http://www.crafoordprize.se Ilkka Hanski's website: http://www.helsinki.fi/~ihanski/ SPATIALDYNAMICS project page on CORDIS - click: here European Research Council (ERC): http://erc.europa.eu/
Countries
Finland, Sweden