PhD projects of the group

Sofia Terzopoulou

PhD project (2011-2017): Taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of Azorean Coleoptera: a holistic approach. (PhD Completed).

My PhD research focuses on the ecological and evolutionary forces that drive the species diversity patterns in isolated Archipelagos. To address this issue, I am studying the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of the beetle species (Coleoptera) of the Azorean island complex, aiming to a comprehensive approach of biodiversity. The Azorean Archipelago is one of the most isolated insular groups of the world which has also suffered a major destruction of native vegetation. As a result the Azorean beetle fauna is a mixture of endemic and invasive species, thus providing the grounds for a comparative approach of biodiversity.

In detail, this project aims to:

• collect the key ecological traits that link the beetle species to the ecosystem’s functions (body size, life history traits) 

• reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships of the beetle species of the Azores

• explore the connection between the different components of biodiversity (taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic)

• probe into the mechanisms underlying biological diversity by combining species functional traits and their evolutionary history

• assess the relatedness of endemic and invasive species in the view of their functional traits and evolutionary history.

Publications

05. Terzopoulou, S., Rigal, F., Whittaker, R.J., Borges, P.A.V., Triantis, K.A. 2015. Drivers of extinction: the case of Azorean beetles. Biology Letters. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.02732015. Abstract.

04. Whittaker, R.J., Rigal, F., Borges, P.A.V., Cardoso, P., Terzopoulou, S., Casanoves, F., Pla, L., Guilhaumon, F., Ladle, R.J., Triantis, K.A. 2014. Functional biogeography of oceanic islands and the scaling of functional diversity in the Azores.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2014, 111: 13709-13714. Abstract.

03. Cardoso, P., Rigal, F., Fattorini, S., Terzopoulou, S., Borges, P.A.V. 2013. Integrating Landscape disturbance and Indicator Species in Conservation Studies. PLoS ONE8(5): e63294. Abstract and full text. 

02. Parmakelis, A., Balanika, K., Terzopoulou, S., Rigal, F.,Crespo, L., Beasley, R.R., Jones, K.L., Lance, S.L., Whittaker, R.J., Triantis,K.A. & Borges, P.A.V. 2013. Development of 28 polymorphic microsatellite markers for the endemic Azorean spider Sancus acoreensis (Araneae, Tetragnathidae). Conservation Genetics, 5: 1133-1134. Abstract.

01. Papadopoulou, A., Anastasiou, I., Spagopoulou, F., Stalimerou, M., Terzopoulou, S., Legakis, A., Vogler, A.P. 2011. Testing the species - genetic diversity correlation in the Aegean archipelago: towards a haplotype-based macroecology? American Naturalist, 178: 241–255. Abstract.

Penny Lampri

PhD project (2015-present): Gastropod biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems of the Aegean Archipelago: Patterns, Processes & Threats. (PhD Completed). 

My PhD research is focused on the phylogeny, ecology and population genetics of gastropod taxa inhabiting insular aquatic systems, and especially those taxa that have been assigned a threatened status in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The population trends and dynamics of the targeted taxa will be investigated within a phylogenetic and population genetics framework while taking into account the prevailing climatic change scenarios that have been put forward. For these purposes, during the course of my PhD, I will use species distribution modelling techniques to re-construct the targeted species’ niches. Based on these reconstructions and using the temporal frame guided by the phylogenetic analyses, I will try to disentangle the effect of history and ecology on the distributional patterns recorded for the species targeted. Following that, I will evaluate the effect that the global change scenarios are going to exert on the distributional trends and the population dynamics of the taxa studied.

Publications

06. Lampri P-N, Bouranta C, Radea C, Parmakelis A (2021). Hidden diversity revealed in the freshwater snails, Bythinella and Pseudamnicola, in the Island of Crete. Integrative Zoology 1– 21. https://doi.org/10.1111/1749-4877.12594.

05. Radea C, Lampri P-N, Bakolitsas K, Parmakelis A (2021). A new hydrobiid species (Caenogastropoda, Truncatelloidea) from insular Greece. Zoosystematics and Evolution 97(1): 111-119.  https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.97.60254

04. Chatzispyrou A, Lampri P-N, Fytilakos I, Kapiris K (2018). Morphological study of the deep-water rose shrimp Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas, 1846) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Dendrobranchiata: Penaeidae) in the eastern Ionian and Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean Sea). https://dx.doi.org/10.21411/CBM.A.58D791E5

03. Kapiris K, Anastasopoulou A, Kousteni V, Lampri P-N, Minos G, Mytilineou Ch, Oikonomidis G (2017). Collective Article B. New Fisheries-related data from the Mediterranean Sea. Marine Mediterranean Science 18: 557-563. http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/mms.15824

02. Lampri, P-N., Chatzispyrou, A., Kapiris, K. 2016. The growth of appendix masculina of the Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) in the central Aegean Sea (e. Mediterranean). Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 15: doi: 10.4194/1303-2712-v15_3_19. 

01. Christodoulakis, N.S,, Lampri, P-N., Fasseas, C. 2009. Structural and cytochemical investigation on the leaf of silver leaf nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium), a drought resistant alien weed of the Greek flora. Australian Journal of Botany 57: 432-438.

Aikaterini Vourka

PhD project (2022-present): Ecological monitoring and assessment of rivers using benthic invertebrate environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding.

My PhD research is focused on the ecological monitoring and assessment of rivers through the application of environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding of benthic invertebrates, with the aim of establishing a reliable and non-invasive alternative to traditional morphology-based methods used under the Water Framework Directive. By integrating high-throughput sequencing techniques with ecological and genetic analyses, I will investigate the reliability of eDNA-based assessments in capturing ecological quality gradients and biodiversity patterns in freshwater systems.

For these purposes, during the course of my PhD, I will compare ecological quality indices and biodiversity estimates obtained through eDNA metabarcoding with those derived from conventional approaches.

Following this, bioinformatic and statistical analyses will be applied to disentangle the effects of environmental drivers on the observed patterns, while predictive models will assess how ecological pressures influence riverine biodiversity. Ultimately, this research aims to establish eDNA metabarcoding as a robust tool for river bioassessment in Greece, supporting more accurate management and restoration measures.

Publications

12. Karaouzas, I., Vourka A., Sperelakis E., Lampou A. (2025). First record of the humpless casemaker Brachycentrus maculatus (Fourcroy, 1785) in Greece. Zootaxa, 5642(4):386– 388.

https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5642.4.5

11. Vourka, A., Karaouzas I., Parmakelis A. (2023). River benthic macroinvertebrates and environmental DNA metabarcoding: a scoping review of eDNA sampling, extraction, amplification and sequencing methods. Biodiversity and Conservation 4221–4238.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-023-02710-y

10. Stefanidis, K., Karaouzas I., Oikonomou A., Smeti E., Kouvarda T., Latsiou A., Vourka A., Dimitriou E. (2023) Geodiversity as a potential indicator of stream health in ecological quality assessment systems. Ecohydrology 16:1–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2551

09. Stefanidis, K., Varlas G., Vourka A., Papadopoulos A., Dimitriou E. (2021). Delineating the relative contribution of climate related variables to chlorophyll-a and phytoplankton biomass in lakes using the ERA5-Land climate reanalysis data. Water Research 196, 117053. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2021.117053

08. Kalogianni, E., Vardakas L., Vourka A., Koutsikos N., Theodoropoulos C., Galia T., Skoulikidis N. (2020). Wood availability and habitat heterogeneity drive spatiotemporal habitat use by riverine cyprinids under flow intermittence. River Research and Applications 36 (5): 819–827. https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3601

07. Theodoropoulos, C., Karaouzas I., Vourka A., Skoulikidis N. (2020). ELF–A benthic macroinvertebrate multi-metric index for the assessment and classification of hydrological alteration in rivers. Ecological indicators 108, 105713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105713

06. Glarou, M., Vourka A., Vardakas L., Andriopoulou A., Skoulikidis N., Kalogianni E. (2019). Plasticity in life history traits of a cyprinid fish in an intermittent river. Knowledge & Management of Aquatic Ecosystems, 420, 25. https://doi.org/10.1051/kmae/2019015

05. Karaouzas, I., Theodoropoulos C., Vourka A., Gritzalis K., Skoulikidis N.Th. (2019). Stream invertebrate communities are primarily shaped by hydrological factors and ultimately fine-tuned by local habitat conditions. Science of the Total Environment, 665: 290–299.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.134

04. Theodoropoulos, C., Vourka A., Skoulikidis N., Rutschmann P. & Stamou A. (2018). Evaluating the performance of habitat models for predicting the environmental flow requirements of benthic macroinvertebrates. Journal of Ecohydraulics, 3(1): 30–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/24705357.2018.1440360

03. Karaouzas, I., Smeti E., Vourka A., Vardakas L., Mentzafou A., Tornés E., Sabater S., Muñoz I., Skoulikidis N.Th. & Kalogianni Ε. (2018). Assessing the ecological effects of water stress and pollution in a temporary river - Implications for water management. Science of the Total Environment, 618: 1591–1604.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.09.323

02. Kalogianni, Ε., Vourka A., Karaouzas I., Vardakas L., Laschou S., Skoulikidis N.Th. (2017). Combined effects of water stress and pollution on macroinvertebrate and fish assemblages in a Mediterranean intermittent river. Science of the Total Environment, 603–604: 639–650. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.06.078

01. Theodoropoulos C., Vourka A., Stamou A., Rutschmann P. & Skoulikidis N. (2017). Response of freshwater macroinvertebrates to rainfall-induced highflows: A hydroecological approach. Ecological Indicators, 73: 432–442.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.10.011