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περιβαλλοντική εκπαίδευση

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Designating an area as protected is only the first step to protecting these valuable cradles of biodiversity. An integrated and functional national protected areas system that ensures their protection, management and safeguarding is necessary, and such a system should be part of an overall nature conservation system.

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Theme 1 - Step 3 / Greece's 5 sleeping volcanoes

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Theme 1 - Step 3 / Greece's 5 sleeping volcanoes

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Greece was a land that was shifted and shaped by its many volcanoes raising islands in the sea and carving off cliffs into the mainland. It's been a while since any of the volcanoes in Greece were last active, but if you want to visit somewhere to experience the dramatic remnants ofsuch explosive forces, then these destinations are perfect for you.

1. Santorini

Any list of Greece's volcanic island would naturally have to be topped by Santorini.This island is gifted with a natural beauty and a wild scenery created by the eruptions that happened between 1613-1614 BC. The force of such discharge resulted in the collapse of the mouth of the volcano, resulting in the formation of the iconic caldera we know and love today.

In the last 400,000 years, the volcano has erupted and been reborn from its ashes 12 times, causing dramatic changes to the archipelago's morphology.

The area has been calm since 1950, when the last lava outflow was recorded, with the hot springs bubbling up from the sea and the vapors around Nea Kameni being the only evidence of activity. Visitors can take ferry rides out to the caldera to experience the dormant volcano's hot springs and hissing sulphur vents. The legacy of Santorini's creative force has been the volcanic soil which lends a particularly sharp and strong flavor to anything that grows on the island, as well as the gorgeous, multicolored volcanic beaches which hug its shores.

2. Nisyros

Nisyros, the remote beauty of the Dodecanese, has always been shrouded with mystique because of its volcano which has not erupted since 1888, but remains quietly active. The entire island is in fact a volcano, with a 4 km caldera at its center and five smaller craters, the most imposing of which is the 3,000 to 4,000-year-old Stefanos.

With a depth of 27m and a 330m diameter, it is considered the largest and most well preserved hydrothermal crater in the world. Like a sleeping beast, it'sstill puffing sulphuric fumes from its many fumaroles, making it hard for some people to visit the area.

Last summer, Stefanos hosted an enchanting concert right inside the crater that played improvised classical music for over 10 hours under the August moon.

3. Milos

Milos is home to a dormant volcano which hasn't erupted since 90,000 BC. Kalamos is at the heart of one of the island's oldest volcanic centers. The volcanic steam and gases emitted into the atmosphere reach temperatures of 100 degrees Celsius, and the volcano has left its mark on the island through the rich minerals deposits and unusual geological formations it created. Milos offers over 70 beaches ideal for swimming and discovering the island's volcanic legacy , including Sarakiniko beach for its smooth white rocks or Papafragkas with its ochre rocks.

For a moreextensive experience involving the volcano, begin with the Milos Mining Museum and then select and explore one of the marked routes, an initiative organized by the Miloterranean group.

The result of the volcano's presence on the island's geology has made Milos rich in minerals. A significant proportion of the island's population works at the mines, which make up a large part of Milos. The Aggeria mine is Europe's largest bentonite mine. Bentonite clay is used as a detoxification aid. Kaolin is also widely present and ideal for homemade beauty treatments. Grab a bag to make your own face masks.

4. Kos

Smaller and less well-known than the other volcanoes on Greek islands, Kos ' volcano hasn't created the same dramatic landscapes as those elsewhere, but can still be observed in other ways.

Near Psalidi beach, close to the main town, you'll find the beach of Therma, also known as Bubble beach. Here, warm springs from under the sands heat the water andrelease it to the surfacewith streams of bubbles.The hot springs are full of beneficial minerals for a relaxing soak, and kids love the phenomenon of the bubbling waters. Because of the thermal springs, the beach stays active even in the winter.

5. Methana

Not an island but a peninsula on the Peloponnese, Methana owes its existence to the volcano that still bubbles beneath it. The volcano has created a stunning landscape with rich flora and and fauna for those who love the outdoors. A spa complex harnessing the volcanoes hot springs also operates here, turning the destination into a popular spa town.

Other effects of the volcano can be seen in Paleokastro, where the remains of the ancient walls and gates of an acropolis which fell into the sea after a volcanic eruption still stand.You can stand on top of old, solidified lava flows and see their wild beauty for yourself. After a day exploring the various volcanic features dotted around Methana, unwind in the gorgeous volcanic beaches of Nissaki Ayion Anaryiron, Limniónas and Vathý.

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Greece was a land that was shifted and shaped by its many volcanoes raising islands in the sea and carving off cliffs into the mainland. It's been a while since any of the volcanoes in Greece were last active, but if you want to visit somewhere to experience the dramatic remnants ofsuch explosive forces, then these destinations are perfect for you.

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Theme 1 - Step 3 / Greek endemic species

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Theme 1 - Step 3 / Greek endemic species

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Animals endemic to Greece

Author: newsroom | Published: September 28, 2014

Travel to Greece's ecoregions and discover these amazing creatures

Greece's rich flora and fauna make it an ideal destination for nature lovers, who travel from all over the world to explore the important ecoregions of the Greek land, such as the Crete Mediterranean Forests and the Pindus Mountains Mixed Forests.
The kri-kri (Capra aegagrus cretica)
Greece is home to several animal species found nowhere else, including mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish and insects.

These are some of the most beautiful endemic species that are found exclusively in Greece:

Sometimes called the Cretan goat, Agrimi, or Cretan Ibex, the kri-kri is a feral goat inhabiting the Eastern Mediterranean, previously considered a subspecies of wild goat. The Kri-kri is now found only on the island of Crete, Greece and three small islands just offshore (Dia, Thodorou and Agii Pantes).
The Peloponnese wall lizard (Podarcis peloponnesiacus)

The Cretan shrew (Crocidura zimmermanni)
The Karpathos Lycian salamander (Lyciasalamandra helverseni)
The Cretan shrew is a species of mammal in the Soricidae family. It is endemic and exclusive to the island of Crete, Greece. Its natural habitat is temperate shrubland, and the animal is threatened by habitat loss.
The Aristotle's catfish (Silurus aristotelis)
The Peloponnese wall lizard is a species of lizard in the Lacertidae family. It is endemic to Greece. Its natural habitats are Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rocky areas, arable land, pastureland, plantations, and rural gardens.

The Karpathos Lycian salamander is a species of salamander in the Salamandridae family found only in Greece. Its natural habitats are Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation and rocky areas.

Aristotle's catfish is a species of fish in the Siluridae family. It is endemic to Greece, where it occurs in the Acheloos River drainage. Its natural habitat is freshwater lakes.

The Cretan Spectre dragonfly (Boyeria cretensis)

The Cretan Spectre dragonfly is endemic to Crete, where it lives - relatively free from competition - in many of the island's permanent rivers and streams.

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Animals endemic to Greece Author: newsroom | Published: September 28, 2014 Travel to Greece's ecoregions and discover these amazing creatures Greece's rich flora and fauna make it an ideal destination for nature lovers, who travel from all over the world to explore the important ecoregions of the Greek land, such as the Crete Mediterranean Forests and the Pindus Mountains Mixed Forests.

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Theme 1 - Step 3 / Urban biodiversity hotspots wait to get discovered: The example of the city of Ioannina, NW Greece

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Theme 1 - Step 3 / Urban biodiversity hotspots wait to get discovered: The example of the city of Ioannina, NW Greece

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JavaScript is disabled on your browser. Please enable JavaScript to use all the features on this page.

Highlights

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Can Mediterranean cities become hotspots for in situ urban conservation?

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We assessed the floristic richness in a montane city in the Mediterranean Basin.

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Plants of conservation interest equally inhabit anthropogenic and seminatural habitats.

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The highest proportion of endemic taxa among Mediterranean cities is reported.

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Typical urban habitats reveal their wildlife refuge character.

Abstract

Given the global urban sprawl that runs in favor of the anthropogenic habitats, cities that naturally encompass wildlife will set a future paradigm. Montane Mediterranean cities have been understudied in terms of biodiversity, although they are often embedded in biodiversity hotspots. It therefore remains an open question, to which extent they may harbor species of special conservation interest and if the latter can be incorporated in urban planning. In this context, we assessed the urban flora of urban habitats in Ioannina (NW Greece), a city located in a highly valued region in terms of biological conservation. In four study areas, 16 ha each, we recorded 379 spontaneous taxa of vascular plants and assessed their abundance by a semi-quantitative approach. The representation of alien plants is low, compared to other Mediterranean cities (2.1% archaeophytes, 9.0% neophytes). Furthermore, the low archaeophyte to neophyte ratios in all habitats and the very small absolute numbers of archaeophytes indicate an urban environment submitted to a low rate of alien introduction. Endemics and taxa included in Greek and international conservation lists comprise 7.1% of the total city flora and occur both in indiscriminately inhabit all eleven habitats studied of both seminatural and anthropogenic type, forming medium to large populations in at least one study area. Ioannina displays the highest proportion of endemic taxa (4.8%) among the Mediterranean cities surveyed to date. Our findings illustrate the potential refuge function of urban habitats within Mediterranean cities, which should be strengthened in the further urban development.

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Urban biodiversity hotspots wait to get discovered: The example of the city of Ioannina, NW Greece

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JavaScript is disabled on your browser. Please enable JavaScript to use all the features on this page. * Can Mediterranean cities become hotspots for in situ urban conservation? * We assessed the floristic richness in a montane city in the Mediterranean Basin. * Plants of conservation interest equally inhabit anthropogenic and seminatural habitats.

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Theme 1 - Step 3 / Animals and Plants Unique to Greece

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Theme 1 - Step 3 / Animals and Plants Unique to Greece

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Greece is home to several mammals found nowhere else including the Cretan Spiny Mouse the Cretan Shrew (((( flickr), and an endemic subspecies: the Cretan Wild Goat or Kri-kri ( Wikipedia). Amphibians restricted to Greece include the Karpathos Salamander ( ARKive).

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3. The wolves were brought in because the increased elk population was overgrazing the deciduous, woody species such as aspen and cottonwood.

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Theme 2 - Step 3 / Competition between lions and hyenas

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Theme 2 - Step 3 / Competition between lions and hyenas

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For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

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Theme 2 - Step 3 / Examples of parasitic organisms

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Theme 2 - Step 3 / Examples of parasitic organisms

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A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food from or at the expense of its host. There are three main classes of parasites that can cause disease in humans: protozoa, helminths, and ectoparasites.

Protozoa are microscopic, one-celled organisms that can be free-living or parasitic in nature. They are able to multiply in humans, which contributes to their survival and also permits serious infections to develop from just a single organism. Transmission of protozoa that live in a human's intestine to another human typically occurs through a fecal-oral route (for example, contaminated food or water or person-to-person contact). Protozoa that live in the blood or tissue of humans are transmitted to other humans by an arthropod vector (for example, through the bite of a mosquito or sand fly).

The protozoa that are infectious to humans can be classified into four groups based on their mode of movement:

Helminths are large, multicellular organisms that are generally visible to the naked eye in their adult stages. Like protozoa, helminths can be either free-living or parasitic in nature. In their adult form, helminths cannot multiply in humans. There are three main groups of helminths (derived from the Greek word for worms) that are human parasites:

Flatworms (platyhelminths) - these include the trematodes (flukes) and cestodes (tapeworms).

Thorny-headed worms (acanthocephalins) - the adult forms of these worms reside in the gastrointestinal tract. The acanthocephala are thought to be intermediate between the cestodes and nematodes.

Roundworms (nematodes) - the adult forms of these worms can reside in the gastrointestinal tract, blood, lymphatic system or subcutaneous tissues. Alternatively, the immature (larval) states can cause disease through their infection of various body tissues. Some consider the helminths to also include the segmented worms (annelids)-the only ones important medically are the leeches. Of note, these organisms are not typically considered parasites.

Although the term ectoparasites can broadly include blood-sucking arthropods such as mosquitoes (because they are dependent on a blood meal from a human host for their survival), this term is generally used more narrowly to refer to organisms such as ticks, fleas, lice, and mites that attach or burrow into the skin and remain there for relatively long periods of time (e.g., weeks to months). Arthropods are important in causing diseases in their own right, but are even more important as vectors, or transmitters, of many different pathogens that in turn cause tremendous morbidity and mortality from the diseases they cause.

Parasitic infections cause a tremendous burden of disease in both the tropics and subtropics as well as in more temperate climates. Of all parasitic diseases, malaria causes the most deaths globally. Malaria kills more than 400,000 people each year, most of them young children in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), which have suffered from a lack of attention by the public health community, include parasitic diseases such as lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and Guinea worm disease. The NTDs affect more than 1 billion people worldwide, largely in rural areas of low-income countries. These diseases extract a large toll on endemic populations, including lost ability to attend school or work, stunting of growth in children, impairment of cognitive skills and development in young children, and the serious economic burden placed on entire countries.

However, parasitic infections also affect persons living in developed countries, including the United States.

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A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food from or at the expense of its host. There are three main classes of parasites that can cause disease in humans: protozoa, helminths, and ectoparasites. Protozoa are microscopic, one-celled organisms that can be free-living or parasitic in nature.

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Lampenflora - Caves
Mangrove - Mangrove Plants

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Ecological Niche - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics

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Ecological niche is a term for the position of a species within an ecosystem, describing both the range of conditions necessary for persistence of the species, and its ecological role in the ecosystem. Ecological niche subsumes all of the interactions between a species and the biotic and abiotic environment, and thus represents a very basic and fundamental ecological concept.

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Theme 2 - Step 3 / Predator-prey examples

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Theme 2 - Step 3 / Predator-prey examples

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Galapagos islands. On one of the islands, where long-necked tortoises live, the branches are higher off the ground. On another island, where short-necked tortoises live, the branches are lower down. The cactuses, the prey, may have evolved high branches so that the tortoises, the predators, can't reach them.

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The meteorological service of the National Observatory of Athens announced the record of the temperature, rainfall and wind speed recorded during 2017 in Greece.

According to the NOA's automatic weather station network, the temperature of 45.9 degrees Celsius recorded at Mires Heraklion on July 17, 2017, was the absolute maximum temperature of last year, but also the highest maximum temperature recorded in nearly 13 years its operation.

Also, the absolute minimum temperature in residential areas was -18.8 degrees Celsius in Florina on January 12, 2017, while the maximum wind gust was recorded in Paxi and was 133.6 km / h.

The maximum daily rainfall was in Platanias, Crete, on 26/10/2017, reaching 242mm. On an annual basis, the maximum rainfall occurred last year in Zagora Pelion, which received a total of 2,068 millimeters of rain. The minimum annual rainfall was recorded in Mykonos (242 mm throughout 2017),

The most notable finding was the temperature of 40.2 degrees Celsius recorded in Argos on 13/5/2017, which is the highest temperature ever recorded for the month of May.

Source: Meteo.gr

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The extreme weather events of 2017 in Greece

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The meteorological service of the National Observatory of Athens announced the record of the temperature, rainfall and wind speed recorded during 2017 in Greece. According to the NOA's automatic weather station network, the temperature of 45.9 degrees Celsius recorded at Mires Heraklion on July 17, 2017, was the absolute maximum temperature of last year, but also the highest maximum temperature recorded in nearly 13 years its operation.

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Theme 3 - Step 3 / Climate change in Greece

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Theme 3 - Step 3 / Climate change in Greece

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In Greece, so the saying goes, they are blessed that summer lasts until the end of October. But is this true? Sure, most years the country's warm weather and summertime habits stretch further than they do in more northern European countries. But is this a blessing or a curse? Is it a cause for celebration or concern?

In 2015, summer in Greece arrived slightly later than normal but from July the temperatures topped 36 degrees almost every day. These are not heatwave conditions by local standards, but both its mainland and islands stayed consistently warm and, when combined with humidity, somewhat sticky.

According to both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Japan Meteo Agency, 2015 saw the hottest March ever recorded. For , it was the third warmest Greek March after 2010 and 2002.

It seems that 2015 will pip 2014 as the warmest year in history. Michalis Petrakis, Research Director of National Observatory of Athens says that climate change is making Greece more tropical. As he says in Greek newpaper Ta Nea "the sea is getting warmer and even warmer than the land, so we have evaporation which gives us more humidity and this causes us more discomfort."

In the last report of the International Panel on Climate Change it mentions that the temperature of the Aegean Sea will rise between 1.2 and 2.5 degrees Celsius, which means that 'October summers' will be something that Greeks won't necessarily be feeling particularly proud nor happy about. There are also further consequences of climate change that are already starting to affect the everyday lives of Greeks.

WWW Hellas, with the National Observatory of Athens, forecasts in its research on climate change in Greece from 2021-2050 a bleak future for Greece. ( Read more about the research in greek). They warn that if the objective of keeping the rise in temperature to below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels is not achieved, then the consequences will be serious and multifaceted: people in cities like Thessaloniki, Patra, Lamia and Larissa will feel more discomfort, with an extra 20 days of 'heatwave' conditions per year. Also Lamia, Volos, Thessaloniki and Athens will experience fewer rainy days globally but 10% more thunderstorms. This means more danger of floods and forest fires.

Climate change in Greece will also impact negatively the already-damaged economy of the country as the weather there is a key to the success of the Greek tourist industry.

According to the WWF, climate change will definitely "change" the tourist "wave" towards Greece. More heatwaves and more sticky, sleepless nights with temperatures higher than 20 degrees will become features of the Greek holiday experience, especially in the islands. While tourists appreciate warmth in the day, visitors - particularly those from Scandinavian countries, Russia and the UK - who are not used to these conditions will start to find Greece a turn-off and book elsewhere.

Then there's agriculture. The same research from the WWF says that less winter rain will increase incidents of drought, turning Greek fields to desert.

The same goes for the fisheries: warm sea waters could seriously damage fish populations and thus affect the entire food chain.

A report from the National Bank of Greece, concludes that if climate change continues as expected until 2050 and 2100 without a global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, then this will cause huge damage to the Greek economy, or 701 billion euros by 2100 to be precise.

It seems obvious that more measures are needed not only in Greece but also across Europe and beyond. Even if Greece is not as much of an 'industrial' country anymore, if it doesn't pollute as much as other European countries, it will not be immune to the consequences.

The cost of the measures that Greece has promised to undertake by 2100 amounts to 142 billion euros, according to National Bank of Greece. So Greece must do whatever it can to reduce even her own damage to the country.

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Climate change in Greece: More visible than we think - Negative future ahead

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In Greece, so the saying goes, they are blessed that summer lasts until the end of October. But is this true? Sure, most years the country's warm weather and summertime habits stretch further than they do in more northern European countries. But is this a blessing or a curse?

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Theme 3 - Step 3 / Marine alien species in Greece

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Theme 3 - Step 3 / Marine alien species in Greece

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Greece hosts some 6,600 taxa of vascular plants with the highest number of endemics in Europe (approximately 1,450 taxa, which are 22% of the total indigenous flora).

The fauna comprises 115 mammal species, 12 of which are marine, 446 bird, 22 amphibian and 64 reptile species. Moreover, 162 freshwater and 476 marine fish species are hosted in Greece's waters. Some 30,000-50,000 invertebrates are also present, exhibiting a very high degree of endemism, exceeding 50% in some groups.

At present, the Natura 2000 network consists of 425 sites, covering around 4,200,000 hectares, which represent 27.2% of the total land and 6.1% of the total marine area of the country.

There are seven IUCN Members in Greece: the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature (HSPN), the Hellenic Botanical Soicety, the Elliniki Etairia for the Environment and Cultural Heritage, the Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal (MOm), WWF Greece, the Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Climatic Change, and the Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP).

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Greece hosts some 6,600 taxa of vascular plants with the highest number of endemics in Europe (approximately 1,450 taxa, which are 22% of the total indigenous flora). The fauna comprises 115 mammal species, 12 of which are marine, 446 bird, 22 amphibian and 64 reptile species.