Biological Conservation & Marine Protected Areas

After the successful completion of the course students are expected to:

• Have a good knowledge of the basic principles underlying conservation biology,

• Understand the basic parameters that contribute to the successful long-term establishment of an efficient Marine Protected Area.

• Know the basic methods of biological data collection for conservation purposes.

• Understand the basic principles underlying the development and application of ecological indices for the evaluation of the health status of marine species and habitats.

• Be able to prepare and present a scientific poster

• Be able to search and compile scientific information through the internet.

• Understand different types of sampling design and fieldwork preparation.

• Be familiar with basic sampling equipment (with a special focus in visual census techniques through diving).

• Be familiar with specialized software for image processing and analyses.

• Have a basic knowledge of data management and statistical analyses software (e.g. Excel, Primer)

• Search for, analysis and synthesis of data and information, with the use of the necessary technology

• Adapting to new situations

• Decision-making

• Working independently

• Working in an international environment

• Working in an interdisciplinary environment

• Respect for difference and multiculturalism

• Respect for the natural environment

• Showing social, professional and ethical responsibility and sensitivity to gender issues

• Criticism and self-criticism

• Production of free, creative and inductive thinking

A) Theory Lectures

Lectures cover the following topics corresponding to specific teaching hours. Thematic lectures are dedicated to an overview of the scope, methods and outcomes of national and international research projects, so that students can develop an integrated knowledge of the basic theoretical concepts and their actual application at a national, Mediterranean and international level.

• Introduction to biological conservation (3 hours)

• Marine biodiversity in the Mediterranean: value, pressures and threats (3 hours)

• Legal tools of nature conservation (3 hours)

• Tools for evaluating the ecological health status of marine species and habitats (6 hours)

• Marine Protected Areas (MPAs): ecological and socio-economic benefits, design approaches, management and monitoring, ecological criteria and socio-economic parameters (6 hours)

• Non-destructive sampling methods for the monitoring of abiotic parameters, species and habitats within MPAs (3 hours)

• Sampling methods at coastal marine habitats through scientific diving (hard substrates, seagrass meadows) (3 hours)

• Analyses of hard substrate communities through visual census and statistical tools (3 hours).

• Ecological status indices for the evaluation of good environmental status (6 hours).

• Case studies (6 hours)

B) Laboratory exercises

At the same time, a series of laboratory exercises are realized which cover the following research subjects:

• Sampling design and use of non-destructive methods at benthic coastal ecosystems.

• Sample processing and analyses.

• Introduction to the image analyses software photoQuad.

• Basic descriptive and quantitative statistics.

C) Final assignment

The design and production of a scientific poster, and a short 5-minutes oral presentation oral presentation of the poster through digital audiovisual material (e.g. PowerPoint). The topic will be decided by each student in collaboration with the lecturer, it must be unique (i.e. never presented before as an assignment in the specific course), and must be relevant to the course content (Biological conservation and Marine Protected Areas).  

Suggested bibliography:

• Gubbay G, Sanders N, Haynes T, Janssen JAM, Rodwell JR, Nieto A, García Criado M, Beal S, Borg J, Kennedy M, Micu D, Otero M, Saunders G, Calix M (2016). European red list of habitats – Part 1. Marine habitats. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, p 52

• Katsanevakis S, Levin N, Coll M, Giakoumi S, Shkedi D, Mackelworth P, Levy R, Velegrakis A, Koutsoubas D, Caricm H, Brokovich E, Öztürk B, Kark S (2015). Marine conservation challenges in an era of economic crisis and geopolitical instability: The case of the Mediterranean Sea. Marine Policy 51: 31–39

• PISCO project – Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal (2011). The Science of Marine Protected Areas, 2nd edition, Mediterranean, p 22

• PISCO project – Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans and University of Nice Sophia Antipolis (2016). The Science of Marine Protected Areas, 3rd edition, Mediterranean, p 22

• Primack RB (2014). Essentials of Conservation Biology. 6th Edition, Sinauer Associates, Inc, p 603

• Reker J, Annunziatellis A, Mo G, Tunesi L, Globevnik L, Snoj L, Agnesi S, Korpinen S (2015). Marine Protected areas in Europe’s seas: An overview and perspectives for the future. European Environment Agency, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxemburg, p 40

• Βιολογία της Διατήρησης. Μία εισαγωγή (Εκδότης: University Studio Press, ISBN :978-960-12-2331-5, Κωδικός στον ΕΥΔΟΞΟ: 68369295)
  

Related academic journals:

• Conservation Biology

• Biological Conservation

• Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems

• Animal Conservation

• Biodiversity and Conservation

• Nature Conservation

• Animal Biodiversity and Conservation

• Endangered Species Research

• Journal of Wildlife Management