Biodiversity Unit

The Biodiversity Unit consists of the Zoological Museum, Botanical Museum, Botanical Gardens and Bothnian Bay Research Station.

The unit curates, maintains and augments the biodiversity collections of the University of Oulu. The collections include c. 2.5 million museum specimens and 5500 plant taxa in the botanical gardens. The unit also maintains the Krunnit field station at the archipelago of the Bothnian Bay, and maintains field equipment Including boats, snow scooters, etc of the Department of Biology.

The Botanical Museum of Oulu (OULU) is a part of the Biodiversity unit The mission of the unit is to maintain and augment the botanical collections of the University of Oulu. The collections include c. 0.5 million dried herbarium specimens of vascular plants, bryophytes and fungi. The collections include c. 10000 plant records on red listed or near threatened species. Rest of the collections are about to be digitized and these data are distributed via Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). The museum has been actively developing means to restore historic records of biodiversity and foster their use for research.

Botanical garden is a collection of living plants, which is maintained for research and teaching purposes, as well as for general public.The collections mainly consist of plants from northern areas. To the international seed exchange between botanical gardens, our garden provides seeds and other propagules of wild plant taxa collected from northern Finland.

The Zoological Museum. Due to its geographic location and area of operation, the Museum’s activities center around northern issues. For this purpose, the Museum develops, manages and preserves its collections, conducts zoological research and maintains a public exhibition gallery. The museum forms an integral part of an international network of natural science museums functioning as a repository of knowledge and an expert body on biodiversity-related issues.

Bothnian Bay Research Station on kenttäasema Iin Ulkokrunnissa.  Perämeren tutkimusasema kuuluu Suomen biologisten tutkimusasemien verkostoon: www.researchstations.fi

Institution University of Oulu
Country Finland
Infrastructure type Museum/Science Centre
Disciplines Biology and biochemistry
Environmental sciences
Agriculture
forestry and fishery
Natural environments and wildlife
Language of operation Finnish
English
Keywords botanical gardenmuseumbiologybiodiversityarctic biology

Availability

The Botanical Museum is located at the Botanical Gardens and it has modern research and teaching facilities. These include, e.g., classroom for 30 students equipped with computer and video projector, laboratory space, dissecting and compound microscopes, UV-room and thin-layer chromatography. In the nearby Biology Department, DNA-extraction. PCR equipment and capillary- and pyrosequencing facilities are available.

Botanical Gardens: For research and teaching purposes, garden can provide three experimental fields. One of them is equipped with open-top chambers. There are also greenhouses and varius germination and propagation facilities. Collections of the garden are also available for research purposes.

The Zoological Museum forms an integral part of an international network of natural science museums functioning as a repository of knowledge and an expert body on biodiversity-related issues. Other activities include advisory, instructional and publishing services.

Bothnian Bay Research Station. See the contact info below.

Contact information

Botanical Museum
Kaitoväylä 5
PO Box 3000
90014 University of Oulu
Director Jouni Aspi, Dr., +358-294 48 1571
e-mail firstname.surname(at)oulu.fi  


Botanical Garden
University of Oulu
POB 3000, FI-90014 University of Oulu
Director Jouni Aspi, Dr., +358-294 48 1571
e-mail firstname.surname(at)oulu.fi  

Zoological Museum
University of Oulu
PO. Box 3000
FIN-90014 University of Oulu
E-mail: zoological.museum(at)oulu.fi
Director Jouni Aspi, Dr., +358-294 48 1571
e-mail firstname.surname(at)oulu.fi  

Bothnian Bay Research Station
Director Jouni Aspi, Dr., +358-294 48 1571
e-mail firstname.surname(at)oulu.fi  

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