Biodiversity AUTh

Biodiversity AUTh Group was created due to the increasing interest of Biology students from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki towards nature and towards a more hands-on experience during their studies. Our aim has always been to help promote and to make field biology and surveying more accessible to natural/biological sciences students of all levels; offering opportunities to engage with nature, especially through biodiversity monitoring projects. We have also put great effort into combining field work with nature photography, trying to represent individual species, inter-species relations and habitats that we come across which are usually hard to reproduce, especially among rarer endemic species of both fauna and flora. Our fieldwork consists of surveying and photographing biodiversity while collecting samples for a variety of projects. Since mid 2022, we have exceeded 53.000km worth of driving for such purposes from the Pindus mountains, to the Ionian, Aegean and Dodecanese islands and all the way back up to the Rhodope mountains. It is our hope that all of our work will be useful in a broader context of biodiversity conservation. 

Some of the Group’s most favored habitats are the alpine lakes of the Pindus mountain range - and for good reason. The alpine and sub-alpine ecosystems are very unique in terms of the organisms adapted to them, from invertebrates and bigger-sized animal species. Most of these expeditions have been coupled with herpetofauna monitoring and DNA sampling for specific amphibian (Ichthyosaura alpestris) an reptile species (Vipera graeca). Despite a high degree of difficulty due to the long driving and trekking hours, so far we have managed to visit 9 such lakes and have still got a few more to complete the project.

Since early 2023 we have also participated in a Biodiversity Monitoring project “Restoring key landscape values in the Dadia National Park”, focusing on monitoring Reptile, Amphibian and Arthropod biodiversity markers. This project has offered the opportunity to undergraduate students that have exhibited exceptional skills in field biology to get their first paid work experience in a time when biologists find it tough to get contracts even with a masters degree. The project is ongoing until late 2025 and will hopefully yield some very interesting results that will assist in the proper utilization of areas through which new firebreak zones should be established. Unfortunately, in August 2023 the forest of Dadia suffered major wildfires that ended up burning the majority of the National Park. During the Autumn and Winter of 2023 we will be returning to the forest so that we can assess the damage done to the forest’s biodiversity before amending our new priorities. 

Worth mentioning is the participation of our Group to the International Waterbird Census through the Hellenic Ornithological Society. The IWC is a monitoring programme operating in 143 countries to collect information on the numbers of waterbirds at wetland sites. We participated in the programme in the sites of Volvi lake, Kalochori lagoon, Axios Delta and Thermi reservoir. During the surveys we usually catalogue over 150 birds species. 

The most important project that we have to come to participate in this far is the first ex situ conservation project in Greece. The project is named “Save Ithaca’s Green Toad” and its aim is to help the last diminishing green toad population (Bufotes viridis) on the island of Ithaca to survive. The project is ongoing and is aimed to last until well within 2026 when hopefully the population density will reach a desired level. 

A big part of our work focuses on snake venom research. Through extracting venom from various species of vipers (all five viper species within Greece, as well viper species from the Americas, Africa, Middle East and Asia) we participate in research that focuses on the proteomic analysis of the venoms (“Venomics”) as well as on antivenom analysis (“Antivenomics”) under the guidance and with the cooperation of Professor Juan José Calvete from the Biomedical Institute of Valencia (CSIC), Spain and Vasiliki Moulasioti from the University of Ioannina. Currently we are working on venom variability within the Vipera ammodytes populations in Greece, the proteomic analysis of the Milos viper (Macrovipera schweizeri) within the West Cyclades Archipelago (Milos, Kimolos, Polyaigos & Sifnos) as well as analyzing venom from species whose venom composition has yet to be studied (Vipera berus bosniensis and Vipera graeca). It is worth mentioning that no one person or group of people can decide to extract venom from any of the Greek viper species or collect specimens from the wild unless in possession of a permit. All of our work is done in accordance to the legal standards and protocols through a special permit that we have been given from the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINEN/DDD/101652/3333). As of 2024 our project’s scope has expanded and now includes the combination of both venomics and genomics for all five viper species within Greece. The M.schweizeri reference genome is already under way. 

Within our group there is an ever increasing interest for uninhabited islands within the Aegean sea and at the same time for Marine Biology. However, limited resources and the inherent restriction of snorkeling or diving mainly during the summer season has lead to limited content. We do everything we can to increase the number of expeditions focused in marine biology and our exposure to the captivating underwater world. 

Except for the expeditions, which normally take place on a weekly basis, our group also organizes online seminars with specific subject matter that is both scientifically interesting and professionally promising. Webinars that have been executed in the past have revolved around subjects like “Venom and its Biological Roles“, “Antivenom Production“, “Snakebite from International & European perspectives“, “Bioinformatics: Overcoming Disease with antibodies and AI Technology”, “Marine Biology: professional and research opportunities” "Alpine ecosystems of Greece: biodiversity and climate challenges". Additionally, we often organize actions like cleanups within the urban web of Thessaloniki that happen to host a variety of animal species and we give talks to schools on biodiversity.