Archipelago’s Terrestrial Conservation Team is carrying out extensive field research on Ikaria Island on the existing flora and fauna in order to investigate the biodiversity. The first monitoring assessment took place at the beginning of the summer.

The team’s main activities consisted of carrying out inventories of reptiles, night birds, and mammals and identifying all other species encountered (such as diurnal birds and insects). Additionally, the team investigated the habitats in the south of the Island to assess slopes, erosion, and overgrazing phenomena.

The overall aim of the project was to determine the biological diversity of different habitat types on Ikaria Island, continuing the work carried out during previous seasons, and to compare the findings with data acquired from previous surveys of the island.

OTTERS

One of the aims of the Terrestrial Team was to investigate the presence of otters (Lutra lutra) living on Ikaria. The team set up camera traps and scanned the riverbeds looking for tracks (such as footprints and scats). Potential otter habitats in the southwest of the city of Christos were also investigated. The general dryness of the riverbeds probably makes finding otters more difficult; however, during the winter the volume of the river increases, creating a habitat that could be suitable for otters. Camera traps were therefore placed along larger areas of the riverbeds. As for other otter habitats, previous studies point towards the presence of otters in the natural region of Halari Gorge near Nas beach. Future studies on otters will be focused on that area as well.

REPTILES

Archipelagos Institute leads various population assessments projects of the Aegean islands fauna. The Terrestrial Conservation Team is in charge of recording individuals using the line transect method in different habitats.

Several reptile surveys were performed on Ikaria following transects in different habitats. Due to the strikingly high abundance of certain reptile species, in order to closely analyze the presence of the individuals, reptile traps were made after identifying ideal places to find them, based on sun exposure and substrate preferences.

OWLS

In order to assess the presence of Scops owls (family Strigidae) on Ikaria, audio recordings were conducted during night surveys. The surveys are conducted by listening to the birds’ response after playing recordings of owls calling out.

The Archipelagos Terrestrial Conservation Team was able to confirm the presence of various reptiles, mammals, and insects inhabiting the island. Many breeding bird species were observed, such as the Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), Tawny Pipit (Anthus campestris), and Eleonora’s falcon (Falco eleonorae). The presence of breeding Tawny and Little owls was recorded as well. Moreover, two species of bat were recognized with the bat detector, and juvenile Nightjars (Caprimulgus europaeus) were also spotted on the territory.

In the coming months, Archipelagos will continue placing camera traps, collecting new data, and working on analyzing Ikaria Island’s biodiversity.