Archipelagos Intern Experience

An insight into conservation at Archipelagos

The Mediterranean Sea has one of the highest concentrations of marine plastic debris. As it is a semi-closed sea, dispersion of plastics is limited due to water circulation and tidal flow. Through mechanical degradation of wave action and abrasion by sand, this plastic debris is broken down in to microplastics (<5mm). Additional processes that enhance
The Terrestrial Team from the Archipelagos Institute has focused on a project about the distribution and habitat preferences of Mediterranean chameleons on Samos Island. The aim is to collect as much data as possible about the habitat use of the Mediterranean chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon). In order to conserve the species, it is necessary to understand their
The Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) is the rarest species of marine mammal in Europe with only around 500 individuals surviving in the world. They are currently listed as “endangered” on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List. With such a small remaining population, the actions for their monitoring and conservation are
The Marine Conservation Team of Archipelagos Institute has started to use marine bioindicator species to monitor ecosystems of the littoral zone. Bioindicator species are species which only can sustain within high quality environmental conditions. The use of Bioindicator Species is becoming of increasing importance as they can tell us more about the cumulative effects of
The long-term macroplastic monitoring project began in early June 2017 and has since been carried out almost daily in two beaches of SE Samos. Every weekday, two members of the research team go to the sites to collect all the debris left by the public and washed in by the sea. All the collected debris
Due to the large biodiversity of cetacean species inhabiting its waters, the Aegean Sea is considered an incredibly important marine area. Archipelagos Institute is conducting a study about the influence of environmental factors on the spatial distribution of dolphins. In particular, this study is focused on two dolphin species that are facing a dramatic population
Posidonia oceanica is an endemic seagrass species in the Mediterranean Sea. It has a key ecological role and many impacts on its ecosystem. Its role in fisheries production and in sediment stabilization are well-known. In fact, seagrass meadows provide habitats for a number of threatened species. However, throughout the Mediterranean these meadows are declining at
The golden jackal Canis aureus Linnaeus is the rarest canid species in Greece. The species has experienced a population decline over the past three decades on both Samos and in Greece in general. It is protected under Annex V of the EU Habitats Directive. The European Conservation Status however for the golden jackal in Greece
The Ocean Acidification (OA) problem is referred to a reduction of the sea water pH caused primarily by the anthropogenic increasing uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere. There is a direct relationship between atmospheric CO2 and ocean pH: as CO2[atm]-uptake increases, the pH drops. Industrial activities have resulted in an increase in atmospheric CO2 concentrations
Numerous reasons are known as to why marine mammals strand, however, unfortunately it would seem the case that human activity is be a key contributor to these deaths. Data has been collected by the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation ranging from 1994 to the present day, incorporating factors such as seasonality, cause of death, condition
The Psili Ammos wetland on Samos is a very valuable habitat for many different bird species, including breeding, migratory, endemic, and threatened species. However, for the past five years or so, there have been increasing human impacts including illegal bird hunting, illegal joyriding with quad bikes within the dry wetland in the summer months and
Eco-Navigation is a key action developed by Archipelagos Institute, aiming to increase awareness but also public engagement on the biodiversity and conservation of the Mediterranean Sea. Eco-Navigation aims to record valuable data, through reported sightings by sailors and sea enthusiasts on their observations of rare and protected animals such as marine mammals and turtles,  or
With climate change and ocean acidification of the seas, more alien species are spreading in our seas. The green macroalgae, Caulerpa cylindracea, is considered an invasive species native from Australia that has rapidly spread across the Mediterranean since 1926. C. cylindracea colonises a variety of substrata, and its dominating presence has been found to alter
With the worldwide increase in the production of plastics over the last century, in combination with the overall lack of plastic waste management, the impact of plastics on marine environments has become a critical concern. Microplastics develop from the degradation of larger plastics, such as plastic bottles, bags, and many other improperly discarded objects, that
Since the opening of the Suez Canal between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea there has been a steady flow of invasive species entering the Aegean Sea out of which there are over 32 established fish species. At Archipelagos Institute we are monitoring the spread of these species in the region of the NE
The macro-plastic project primarily focuses on measuring the influx of waste items into the Aegean Sea onto specified beaches at the main Archipelagos Base. It is a renowned fact that human activity has had, an is continuing to have, a significant impact on the health of the environment and functioning of both marine and terrestrial
Among the numerous awareness-raising activities we carry out year-round, Archipelagos was happy to host a group of 33 scouts ages 7-11 from Samos, Chios and Leros islands on Tuesday, June 20th. In the morning, they all attended a lesson on the wildlife of the Aegean and watched animations on the Aegean wildlife, all produced by
The island of Samos is prone to wildfires during the summer months due to its hot, arid climate and dry landscape. A crew of workers inadvertently ignited a small fire on July 7th 2016, which quickly spread across the island, claiming nearly 780 hectares of pine forest as it moved southeast from Kamara to Mesokampos.
Coupling our research and conservation actions, Archipelagos Institute aims to also raise awareness about the unique nature and biodiversity of the Aegean Sea and islands. In regards to this, Archipelagos’ Media Team has been hard at work creating three large posters which were installed this week in Samos International Airport. The purpose is to provide
Ship traffic has been increasing in the oceans in recent decades, especially in the northern hemisphere, and very likely will increase exponentially in the future. Anthropic activities  produce diffuse and almost continuous noise that may affect very wide areas. Low-frequency (below 1,000Hz) ambient noise levels generated by ship traffic have increased in the northern hemisphere
Posidonia oceanica is an endemic seagrass species of the Mediterranean Sea. Research in other areas of the Mediterranean Sea has shown that P. oceanica meadows provide habitats for a diverse fish community and they have an especially important role as breeding and nursing areas. Variety of fish species, including numerous species of conservational or commercial
The Mediterranean Chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon) is one of only two existent species of Chamaleonidae in Europe. It can be found in the southern part of Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. Until a few decades ago, only a few parts of Greece supported populations of this species; namely the islands of Samos, Chios and Crete. Today
Archipelagos’ Eco-navigation project focuses on creating a citizen-science platform about observations of marine mammals (dolphins, whales, seals), sea turtles, invasive species and jellyfish blooms, as well as pollution incidents (plastic debris, oil slicks, etc.) or other unusual sightings. In this way we are in the process of forming a network of sailors, divers, fishermen and
Sea urchins are herbivorous animals that live on rocky substrate and graze on macroalgae. Pollution and overfishing of their predators, led to massive increase of the sea urchin population across the Mediterranean. As a consequence, macroalgae forests has tended to disappear, causing cascades effects on other organisms that rely on this source of food and
Megan J. Kelly, University of Salford Lauren .J. Kageler, Dickinson College   The pollutions of the oceans is a rising concern of environmentalists and researchers worldwide. Plastic production and its usage in several fields, from food packaging over water bottling to clothing, increased in the last years. Being cheap in production and durable over a
The GIS (Geographic Information Systems) team of Archipelagos Institute is spread out over Samos and Lipsi islands. They work in collaboration with other teams to create tools that facilitate better research, field work and communication of data. This means that GIS projects encompass smaller, more supportive tasks in addition to their own major projects. The
The Archipelagos Marine Mammal Research Team has collected for over 15 years, data from stranded marine animals including sea turtles (Caretta caretta), dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba, Delphinus delphis, Tursiops truncatus), and monk seals (Monachus monachus) from various areas of Greece. The aim of this work is to determine potential hotspots in the Greek Sea and then
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