Search

Climate change is postulated to alter the distribution and abundance of species which serve as vectors for pathogens and is thus expected to affect the transmission of infectious, vector-borne diseases such as malaria. The ability to project and therefore, to mitigate the risk of potential expansion of infectious diseases requires an understanding of how vectors respond to environmental change. Here, we used an extensive dataset on the distribution of the mosquito Anopheles sacharovi, a vector of malaria parasites in Greece, southeast Europe, to build a modeling framework that allowed us to project the potential species range within the next decades. In order to account for model uncertainty, we employed a multi-model approach, combining an ensemble of diverse correlative niche models and a mechanistic model to project the potential expansion of species distribution and to delineate hotspots of potential malaria risk areas. The performance of the models was evaluated using official records on autochthonous malaria incidents. Our projections demonstrated a gradual increase in the potential range of the vector distribution and thus, in the malaria receptive areas over time. Linking the model outputs with human population inhabiting the study region, we found that population at risk increases, relative to the baseline period. The methodological framework proposed and applied here, offers a solid basis for a climate change impact assessment on malaria risk, facilitating informed decision making at national and regional scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the pelagic food web of lakes, zooplankton offers the linkage between phytoplankton and fish, greatly affecting but also mirroring the functionality and stability of the ecosystem. Despite the increased interest on the development of water quality indices, incorporating zooplankton data on metrics used for the assessment of natural lakes remains a challenge. Here, we used information of natural lakes hosted in Eastern Mediterranean on zooplankton abundance, biomass, body weight and cladocerans' ratio to develop a novel zooplanktonic index (Zoo-IQ). Α 5-grade classification scheme was generated (Bad ≤6, 6 < Poor ≤10, 10 < Moderate ≤14, 14 < Good ≤18, 18 < High) for water quality assessment. The Zoo-IQ was originally parametrized based on data collected from 13 natural lakes, located in Greece and successfully classified hypertrophic lakes with poor quality and deep lakes with good quality, while it identified lakes subjected to restoration actions. Using independent data from five lakes hosted in Greece, Turkey and Croatia, Zoo-IQ successfully assessed their water quality. Specifically, from the 25 sampling cases, used for the development and the evaluation of the index, Zoo-IQ identified 5 as good, 8 as moderate, 11 as poor and 1 as bad. Our results demonstrate the potential of using Zoo-IQ for the assessment of lakes water quality in the Mediterranean. The proposed index could serve as a first step towards the development of similar indices in other climatic zones. [Display omitted] • Zoo-IQ the first zooplanktonic quality index for natural Mediterranean lakes. • Metrics of abundance, biomass, body weight and cladocerans' ratio. • Zoo-IQ was validated using independent data from Croatia, Greece and Turkey. • Zoo-IQ successfully assessed eutrophication and fish predation pressures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human health and well-being presuppose environmental quality. Several studies have documented the indicative role of land use types in environmental quality. However, the exact role of land use composition on disease distribution has remained scientifically vague. We assessed the congruence of diseases’ distribution with land use composition, focusing on high environmental quality areas, defined as tranquil areas with view to indicating places offering well-being. Landscape composition is linked to the presence of diseases across 51 prefectures of Greece. Agricultural and natural land use types proved to be the main drivers of disease distribution. Tranquility demonstrated a strong negative correlation with population density, thus could be considered as a quantitative spatial index of life-quality. We concluded that the landscape context affects the dominance of diseases’ patterns. Special emphasis should be put on the role of tranquil areas in human health and the relative environmental health policies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Highlights: [•] We aimed to unravel the criteria used for prioritizing Greek Natura 2000 sites. [•] Management history criteria (e.g. management actions) were the critical components of the selection process. [•] The Greek prioritized sub-network was not considered as optimal based on ecological factors. [•] Socioeconomic drivers were undervalued in the prioritization process. [•] Conservation effort on sites consistently scoring high for all criteria is important. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The need to preserve natural quietness, as a resourceful land protection strategy, has increased with the need to implement the EU''s Environmental Noise Directive (END, 2002/49/EC) at a national level. We implemented distance-based criteria with view to defining potential Quiet Areas (QAs) in open country of Greece. Residential areas, industrial sites and traffic noise are the main environmental noise sources considered according to END''s prerequisites. Also following the particular characteristics of the country (e.g. leisure facilities) we considered recreational areas and construction sites for our analysis, as well as the cumulative effects of noise sources. The spatial analysis of QAs in open country indicated that the higher values of clustering are found in places of high biodiversity value (as these were characterized by the Habitat''s Directive 92/43/EEC), thus multiplying the need for QAs to be preserved. Although distance-based criteria are considerably less accurate than true noise levels calculations, our research serves as a first step for the estimation of QAs in open country at the national level, before moving on to on-site measurements for the complete definition of QAs (at the regional level), thus providing a rapid, comprehensible but above all a cost-effective solution for the assessment of QAs by management responsibles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Understanding how overall patterns of spatial variation in species richness are affected by distributional patterns of species has been an area of growing concern. In the present study, we investigated the relative importance of common and rare species as contributors in overall plant species richness. We further examined if the effects of common or rare species in richness patterns are affected by the size of the sampling units and if the observed patterns hold at different habitats. We used a dataset of 5,148 higher plant species distributed across 16,114 sampling plots located in 240 sites of the NATURA 2000 network of Greece. We ranked all species based on the number of sites they occupied and we developed a common to rare and a rare to common sequence. We correlated those sequences with cumulative species distributions. We performed this analysis in nine different sizes of sampling units and in three different datasets referring to (a) all habitat types together, (b) coniferous habitats only and (c) alpine habitats only. Our analysis showed that despite the proportionally higher numbers of restricted species, widespread species make a greater contribution to overall richness patterns and that this observed pattern does not depend on the size of the sampling units. Moreover, the observed pattern stands for different habitat types. Our findings support the generality of this pattern and highlight the importance of widespread species as adequate indicators of biodiversity patterns at various habitat types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an attempt to identify the critical threats to avian biodiversity in Greece we present and analyse a data set of the birds received at a rehabilitation centre, During a 10-year period (1996-2005) a total of 21,190 birds were admitted to the Hellenic Wildlife Hospital from through- out Greece. Our results indicate that shooting is by far the most important threat to birds in Greece, followed by accidents. Although greater numbers of shot birds were received during the autumn and winter months, when hunting is allowed, birds were received year-round. Birds were received from all areas of Greece, with the highest number received during the summer months. The high number of shot birds received during the months in which hunting is prohibited demonstrates the lack of law enforcement. We argue the need for direct political decisions concerning the enforcement of existing regulations on hunting. Decision makers and managers could use the findings of our study to re-evaluate and design conservation policy in Greece, including reduction of the hunting period and restriction on hunting activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The sandy beaches of Zakynthos Island support the largest single nesting aggregation in the Mediterranean Region of the endangered loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta. The present study attempts to determine possible correlations between a series of habitat variables and nest site selection. Nesting activities, including total and nesting emergences were examined in response to the recorded biotic and abiotic variables. The results of the analysis indicate that beach width is the most critical habitat variable affecting nest site selection. Further analysis of nesting performance implies that sea turtles use multiple environmental cues for nest site selection during the different steps of the nesting processes such as emergence from the surf and nesting. Nevertheless, we caution that a detailed study needs to be conducted over a more extensive period of time to verify these suggestions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the present study, a series of models have been developed in order to investigate the effect of sea water temperature upon the nesting activities of marine turtles. Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models, ARIMA models with transfer functions and regression models were developed for forecasting variations in the breeding activity of loggerheads, nesting at the island of Zakynthos, West Greece. Identification and development of the models was determined by the use of several statistical criteria. Weekly data series of sea turtles emerging attempts and number of nests laid were analyzed and compared with sea surface temperature (SST) data series. Our results indicate that whether SST data were included in the ARIMA models with transfer functions and the regression models that developed to describe both emergence data and number of nests, tended to improve fitting and forecasting accuracy. Data series of the number of nests laid was further correlated with observation of emergence data. Adding the effect of previous and current year nesting attempts and including SST data resulted to higher forecasting accuracy and fitting performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental policy integration is an acknowledged principle of sustainable development. Spatial planning may be a useful means of integrating two policies with differing objectives. The Birds and Habitats Directives of the European Union (EU) aim at preserving biodiversity through the conservation of the Natura 2000 protected areas network, while the EU's Environmental Noise Directive aims at improving human health and wellbeing by controlling environmental noise, through the preservation of Quiet Areas (QAs). Using Greece as an example, an integrated network of Natura 2000 sites and QAs permitted the identification of potential spatial overlaps. The established Natura 2000 network incorporates more than 30% of the QAs located in the open countryside of Greece, and the combined network includes 17 out of the 19 conservation priority habitat types. Flagship species (like bear, wolf and wild goat) show a preference for sites containing QAs. It may be possible to combine these two EU policies efficiently, as protected and quiet areas appear to be mutually beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: In this paper, we evaluate the effectiveness of different well-tested conservation techniques in an effort to successfully protect sea turtle nests. From an eight-year study on the island of Zakynthos, West Greece, we have experimentally investigated the effectiveness of two different conservation techniques applied to loggerhead sea turtle nests and provided statistical measures to evaluate their conservation value. The categories of nests evaluated include: (i) nests incubated in situ, (ii) translocated into a beach hatchery, or (iii) protected by metal cages. Results of the analysis showed significant interannual variations in hatching success as obtained for each one of the three groups of nests. Significant differences were also observed when comparing hatching success data among the three groups of nests during the eight-year period. Overall, our results indicate that relocation of nests laid at highly threatened locations and the placement of protective cages on nests in situ provide adequate conservation measures that could allow an increase in hatchling production; although their choice and application should be based on the specific conditions and threats of each nest. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]