Peer-reviewed publications

2025

Lehtonen TK & Helanterä H (2025) The role of neighbours in aggressive defence of territories in mixed-species breeding aggregations of cichlid fish. Hydrobiologia 852: 3873–3883. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-024-05749-2 - pdf

Kivelä L, Elgert C, Lehtonen TK & Candolin U (2025) Mitigating the light pollution problem via spectral adjustment: color-biased phototaxis in male glow-worms. Oecologia 207: 133. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-025-05768-3 - pdf

2024

Lehtonen TK & Veneranta L (2024) Gone with the flow: Whitefish egg drift in relation to substrate coarseness under a range of flow velocities. Journal of Fish Biology 105: 147–154. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15923 - pdf

Veneranta L, Lehtonen TK, Lehtonen E & Suuronen P (2024) Acoustic seal deterrents in mitigation of human–wildlife conflicts in the whitefish fishery of the River Iijoki in the northern Baltic Sea area. Fisheries Management and Ecology 31: e12680.  https://doi.org/10.1111/fme.12680 - pdf

Lehtonen TK, Hirvonen E, Kolari I, Ropponen J, Nyholm K, Keskinen T & Vehanen T (2024) Lakeshore areas of conservation interest: Characteristics of nursery areas of the threatened lake-dwelling grayling, Thymallus thymallus. Aquaculture, Fish and Fisheries 4: e158.  https://doi.org/10.1002/aff2.158 - pdf

Polverino G, Lehtonen TK, Geschke A, Gallahan T, Urbancic J & Wong BBM (2024) Size dependent antipredator responses in a fish–shrimp mutualism. Biology Letters 20: 20230285.  https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0285 - pdf

Sutela T, Vehanen T, Jounela P, Aroviita J & Lehtonen TK (2024) Species–environment relationships, clusters, and thermal ranges of fish species inhabiting boreal rivers. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 81: 52–62.  https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2023-0016 - pdf

2023

Lehtonen TK, Gilljam D, Veneranta L, Keskinen T & Bergenius Nord M (2023) The ecology and fishery of the vendace (Coregonus albula) in the Baltic Sea. Journal of Fish Biology 103: 1463–1475.  https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15542 - pdf

Olin M, Heikinheimo O, Lehtonen TK & Raitaniemi J (2023) Long-term monitoring of pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) populations under increasing temperatures and predator abundances in the Finnish coastal waters of the Baltic Sea. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 32: 750–764.  https://doi.org/10.1111/eff.12721 - pdf

Lehtonen TK, Helanterä H, Solvi C, Wong BBM & Loukola OJ (2023) The role of cognition in nesting. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B - Biological Sciences 378: 20220142.  https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2022.0142 - pdf

Lehtonen TK, Candolin U & Wong BBM (2023) Environmental variation promotes colour morph specific behavioural differences in a cichlid fish. Animal Behaviour 197: 123–130.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.01.005 - pdf

Kivelä L, Elgert C, Lehtonen TK & Candolin U (2023) The color of artificial light affects mate attraction in the common glow-worm. Science of the Total Environment 857: 159451.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159451 - pdf

Helander M, Lehtonen TK, Saikkonen K, Despains L, Nyckees D, Antinoja A, Solvi C & Loukola OJ (2023) Field-realistic acute exposure to glyphosate-based herbicide impairs fine-color discrimination in bumblebees. Science of the Total Environment 857: 159298.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159298 - pdf

2022

Chow PKY, Lehtonen TK, Näreaho V & Loukola OJ (2022) Prior associations affect bumblebees’ generalization performance in a tool-selection task. iScience 25: 105466. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.105466 - pdf

Lehtonen TK, Nagarajan-Radha V, Dowling DK & Wong BBM (2022) Size, more than colour, drives dyadic interactions in sub-adults of a colour polymorphic cichlid. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 136: 111–119. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blac014 - pdf 

2021

Gravolin I, Lehtonen TK, Deal NDS, Candolin U & Wong BBM (2021) Male reproductive adjustments to an introduced nest predator. Behavioral Ecology 32: 1163–1170.  https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arab079 - pdf

Sowersby W, Cerca J, Wong BBM, Lehtonen TK, Chapple DG, Leal-Cardín M, Barluenga M & Ravinet M (2021) Pervasive admixture and the spread of a large-lipped form in a cichlid fish radiation. Molecular Ecology 30: 5551–5571.  https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16139 - pdf

Elgert C, Lehtonen TK, Kaitala A  & Candolin U (2021) The duration of artifcial light defines sexual signalling in the common glow‑worm. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 75: 154.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-021-03093-2 - pdf

Hopkins J, Lehtonen TK, Baudry G & Kaitala A (2021) Costly mating delays drive female ornamentation in a capital breeder. Ecology and Evolution 11: 8863–8868.  https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7719 - pdf

Elgert C, Lehtonen TK, Kaitala A  & Candolin U (2021) Sexual selection for bright females prevails under light pollution. Current Zoology, 67: 329–331.  https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoaa071 - pdf

Lehtonen TK, Babic NL, Piepponen T, Valkeeniemi O, Borshagovski A-M & Kaitala A (2021) High road mortality during female-biased larval dispersal in an iconic beetle. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 75: 26.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-020-02962-6 - pdf

2020

Borshagovski A-M, Saari P, Lehtonen TK & Kaitala A (2020) When night never falls: female sexual signalling in a nocturnal insect along a latitudinal gradient. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 74: 153.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-020-02927-9 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK & Wong BBM (2020) Context-dependent resource choice in a nest-building fish. Animal Behaviour 166: 297–303.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.06.007 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK & Wong BBM (2020) Male phenotype and resource type influence nesting behaviour in a fish. Animal Behaviour 166: 289–296.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.06.001 - Abstract & pdf

Sowersby W, Lehtonen TK, Ravinet M, Barluenga M & Wong BBM (2020) Resource trait specialisation in an introduced fish population with reduced genetic diversity. Biological Invasions 22: 2447–2460.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-020-02264-y - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK & Kaitala A (2020) Leave me alone: solitary females attract more mates in a nocturnal insect. Behavioral Ecology 31: 1040–1045.  https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/araa049 - Abstract & pdf

Wiles SC, Bertram MG, Martin JM, Hung T, Lehtonen TK & Wong BBM (2020) Long-term pharmaceutical contamination and temperature stress disrupt fish behavior. Environmental Science and Technology 54: 8072–8082.  https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c01625 - Abstract & pdf

2019

Lehtonen TK (2019) Aggression towards shared enemies by heterospecific and conspecific cichlid fish neighbours. Oecologia 191: 359–368.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-019-04483-0 - Abstract & pdf

Fursdon JB, Martin JM, Bertram MG, Lehtonen TK & Wong BBM (2019) The pharmaceutical pollutant fluoxetine alters reproductive behaviour in a fish independent of predation risk. Science of the Total Environment 650: 642–652.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.046 - Abstract & pdf

2018

Wong BBM, Lehtonen TK & Lindström K (2018) Spatial and temporal patterns of nest distribution influence sexual selection in a marine fish. Oikos 127: 1104–1112.  https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.05058 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK (2018) What is the role of competition among pairs is speciation?: a comment on Tinghitella et al. Behavioral Ecology 29: 799.  https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arx175 - Pdf

Lehtonen TK, Svensson PA & Wong BBM (2018) Aggressive desert goby males also court more, independent of the physiological demands of salinity. Scientific Reports 8: 9352.  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-27651-3 - Abstract & pdf

Sowersby W, Lehtonen TK & Wong BBM (2018) Threat sensitive adjustment of aggression by males and females in a biparental cichlid. Behavioral Ecology 29: 761–768.  https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/ary037 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK, Vesakoski O, Yli-Rosti J, Saarinen A & Lindström K (2018) The impact of an invasive mud crab on brood success of nest-building fish in the Northern Baltic Sea. Biological Invasions 20: 981–993.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-017-1605-z - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK*, Elmer KR*, Lappalainen M & Meyer A (2018) Genetic evidence for panmixia in a colony-breeding crater lake cichlid fish. Scientific Reports 8: 1166.  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-19266-5 - Abstract & pdf    *equal contributors

2017

Deal NDS, Lehtonen TK, Lindström K & Wong BBM (2017) Paternal investment with an uncertain future: effects of predator exposure on filial cannibalism and nesting behaviour. Animal Behaviour 132: 81–90.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.07.024 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK (2017) Parental coordination with respect to color polymorphism in a crater lake fish. Behavioral Ecology 28: 925–933.  https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arx052 - Abstract & pdf

Sowersby W, Lehtonen TK & Wong BBM (2017) Temporal and sex-specific patterns of breeding territory defense in a color-polymorphic cichlid fish. Hydrobiologia 791: 237–245.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-016-2889-1 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK & Wong BBM (2017) Males are quicker to adjust aggression towards heterospecific intruders in a cichlid fish. Animal Behaviour 124: 145–151.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.12.013 - Abstract & pdf

2016

Lehtonen TK, Wong BBM & Kvarnemo C (2016) Effects of salinity on nest-building behaviour in a marine fish. BMC Ecology 16: 7.  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12898-016-0067-y - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK, Svensson PA & Wong BBM (2016) The influence of recent social experience and physical environment on courtship and male aggression. BMC Evolutionary Biology 16: 18.  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-016-0584-5 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK, Gagnon K, Sowersby W & Wong BBM (2016) Allopatry, competitor recognition and heterospecific aggression in crater lake cichlids. BMC Evolutionary Biology 16: 3.  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-015-0569-9 - Abstract & pdf 

2015

Lehtonen TK & Kvarnemo C (2015) Density effects on fish egg survival and infections depend on salinity. Marine Ecology Progress Series 540: 183–191.  https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11517 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK, Sowersby W, Gagnon K & Wong BBM (2015) Cichlid fish use coloration as a cue to assess the threat status of heterospecific intruders. The American Naturalist 186: 547–552.  https://doi.org/10.1086/682711 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK, Sowersby W & Wong BBM (2015) Heterospecific aggression towards a rarer colour morph. Proceedings of the Royal Society B - Biological Sciences 282: 20151551.  https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.1551 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK, Lindström K & Wong BBM (2015) Body size mediates social and environmental effects on nest building behaviour in a fish with paternal care. Oecologia 178: 699–706.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3264-z - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK & Kvarnemo C (2015) Infections may select for filial cannibalism by impacting egg survival in interactions with water salinity and egg density. Oecologia 178: 673–683.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3246-1 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK & Kvarnemo C (2015) Odour cues from suitors' nests determine mating success in a fish. Biology Letters 11: 20150021.  https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2015.0021 - Abstract & pdf

Sowersby W, Lehtonen TK & Wong BBM (2015) Background matching ability and the maintenance of a colour polymorphism in the red devil cichlid. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 28: 395–402.  https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.12572 - Abstract & pdf

2014

Lehtonen TK (2014) Colour biases in territorial aggression in a Neotropical cichlid fish. Oecologia 175: 85–93.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-013-2879-1 - Abstract & pdf

2013

Lehtonen TK, Lindström K & Wong BBM (2013) Effects of egg predator on nest choice and nest construction in sand gobies. Animal Behaviour 86: 867–871.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.08.005 - Abstract & pdf

Lindström K & Lehtonen TK (2013) Mate sampling and choosiness in the sand goby. Proceedings of the Royal Society B - Biological Sciences 280: 20130983.  https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.0983 - Abstract & pdf

Elmer KR, Lehtonen TK, Fan S & Meyer A (2013) Crater lake colonization by Neotropical cichlid fishes. Evolution 67: 281–288.  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2012.01755.x - Abstract & pdf

2012

Japoshvili B, Lehtonen TK, Wong BBM & Lindström K (2012) Repeatability of nest size choice and nest building in sand gobies. Animal Behaviour 84: 913–917.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.07.015 - Abstract & pdf

Svensson PA, Lehtonen TK & Wong BBM (2012) A high aggression strategy for smaller males. PLoS ONE 7: e43121.  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0043121 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK (2012) Signal value of male courtship effort in a fish with paternal care. Animal Behaviour 83: 1153–1161.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.01.040 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK, McCrary JK & Meyer A (2012) Introduced predator elicits deficient brood defence behaviour in a crater lake fish. PLoS ONE 7: e30064.  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0030064 - Abstract & pdf

2011

Lehtonen TK, Svensson PA & Wong BBM (2011) Both male and female identity influence variation in male signalling effort. BMC Evolutionary Biology 11: 233.  https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-11-233 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK & Meyer A (2011) Heritability and adaptive significance of the number of egg-dummies in the cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni. Proceedings ofthe Royal Society B - Biological Sciences 278: 2318–2324.  https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.2483 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK, Wong BBM, Svensson PA & Meyer A (2011) Adjustment of brood care behaviour in the absence of a mate in two species of Nicaraguan crater lake cichlids. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 65: 613–619.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-010-1062-5 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK, Wong BBM, Lindström K & Meyer A (2011) Species divergence and seasonal succession in rates of mate desertion in closely related Neotropical cichlid fishes. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 65: 607–612.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-010-1061-6 - Abstract & pdf

2010

Svensson PA, Lehtonen TK & Wong BBM (2010) The interval between sexual encounters affects male courtship tactics in a desert-dwelling fish. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 64: 1967–1970.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-010-1007-z - Abstract & pdf

Elmer KR, Lehtonen TK, Kautt AF, Harrod C & Meyer A (2010) Rapid sympatric ecological differentiation of crater lake cichlid fishes within historic times. BMC Biology 8: 60.  https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7007-8-60 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK, McCrary JK & Meyer A (2010) Territorial aggression can be sensitive to the status of heterospecific intruders. Behavioural Processes 84: 598–601.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2010.02.021 - Abstract & pdf

Elmer KR, Kusche H, Lehtonen TK & Meyer A (2010) Local variation and parallel evolution: morphological and genetic diversity across a species complex of neotropical crater lake cichlid fishes. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B - Biological Sciences 365: 1763–1782.  https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2009.0271 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK, Wong BBM & Lindström K (2010) Fluctuating mate preferences in a marine fish. Biology Letters 6: 21–23.  https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0558 - Abstract & pdf

2009

Elmer KR*, Lehtonen TK* & Meyer A (2009) Color assortative mating contributes to sympatric divergence of neotropical cichlid fish. Evolution 63: 2750–2757.  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2009.00736.x - Abstract & pdf  *equal contributors

Lehtonen TK & Wong BBM (2009) Should females prefer males with elaborate nests? Behavioral Ecology 20: 1015–1019.  https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arp091 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK & Lindström K (2009) Females decide whether size matters: plastic mate preferences tuned to the intensity of male–male competition. Behavioral Ecology 20: 195–199.  https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arn134 - Abstract & pdf

2008

Lehtonen TK (2008) Convict cichlids benefit from close proximity to another species of cichlid fish. Biology Letters 4: 610–612.  https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2008.0378 - Abstract & pdf

Wong BBM, Lehtonen TK & Lindström K (2008) Male nest choice in sand gobies, Pomatoschistus minutus. Ethology 114: 575–581.  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.2008.01500.x - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK & Lindström K (2008) Density-dependent sexual selection in the monogamous fish Archocentrus nigrofasciatus. Oikos 117: 867–874.  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2008.16677.x - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK & Lindström K (2008) Repeatability of mating preferences in the sand goby. Animal Behaviour 75: 55–61.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.04.011 - Abstract & pdf

Järvi-Laturi M, Lehtonen TK, Pampoulie C & Lindström K (2008) Paternal care behaviour of sand gobies is determined by habitat related nest structure. Behaviour 145: 39–50.  https://doi.org/10.1163/156853908782687197 - Abstract & pdf

2007

Lehtonen TK, Rintakoski S & Lindström K (2007) Mate preference for multiple cues: interplay between male and nest size in the sand goby, Pomatoschistus minutus. Behavioral Ecology 18: 696–700.  https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arm032 - Abstract & pdf

Lehtonen TK & Lindström K (2007) Mate compatibility, parental allocation and fitness consequences of mate choice in Pomatoschistus minutus. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 61: 1581–1588.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-007-0390-6 - Abstract & pdf

2004

Lehtonen T & Lindström K (2004) Changes in sexual selection resulting from novel habitat use in the sand goby. Oikos 104: 327–335.  https://doi.org/j.0030-1299.2004.12489.x - Abstract & pdf