biology

Hanna Kokko

Hanna Kokko is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hanna Kokko rather than just read about it. In short: Hanna Kokko (born 1971) is a scientist and full professor at the University of Mainz . She works in the fields of evolution and ecology and is known for her research on the evolution and maintenance of sex, the feedback between ecology and evolution, and the evolutionary ecology of cancer.

Key takeaways

Hanna Kokko belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hanna Kokko to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hanna Kokko from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Hanna Kokko (born 1971) is a scientist and full professor at the University of Mainz . She works in the fields of evolution and ecology and is known for her research on the evolution and maintenance of sex, the feedback between ecology and evolution, and the evolutionary ecology of cancer.

Career Kokko attended the Helsinki University of Technology for her undergraduate engineering degree. While there, she became interested in biology and decided to complete a one-year biology research Master's degree. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Helsinki on the topic of sexual selection and the evolution of mate choice in 1997. During this time, she was mentored by William Sutherland. Kokko has since held positions at the University of Cambridge, the University of Glasgow, the University of Jyväskylä, the University of Helsinki, the Australian National University, University of Zürich and she is currently a professor in evolutionary ecology at the University of Mainz supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. From 2008 to 2009 she served as co-chair of fi:Vanamo-seura.

Awards and honors Kokko's book Kutistuva turska (Shrinking Cod) was awarded the Finnish State Award for Public Information (fi:Tiedonjulkistamisen valtionpalkinto) in 2009. She received the 2010 sv:Per Brinck Oikos Award and the British Ecological Society's Founder's Prize. In 2010, she was awarded an Australian Laureate Fellowship. She became a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2014 and won the Finnish Cultural Foundation's outstanding cultural achievement award in 2016. In 2020, she became an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2025 she was elected to the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in recognition of her scientific achievements.

Selected publications Bargum, K. & Kokko, H. (2008). fi:Kutistuva turska ja muita evoluution ihmeitä, WSOY (fi). ISBN 978-951-0-34020-2 Kokko, H. (2007). Modelling for Field Biologists (and Other Interesting People), Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521831321.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hanna Kokko

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hanna Kokko claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hanna Kokko before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hanna Kokko ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hanna Kokko

In research: Hanna Kokko appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hanna Kokko in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hanna Kokko is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1971 births, 20th-century Finnish biologists, 20th-century women biologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hanna Kokko outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Hanna Kokko in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hanna Kokko means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hanna Kokko out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hanna Kokko in simple terms?

Why does Hanna Kokko matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hanna Kokko?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hanna Kokko.