terrasolutions m.e.r.

Seagrass meadows and rocky outcrops in Afrata area / Image by Kostas Mylonakis - terraSolutions m.e.r.

Coastal habitat mapping in the Natura 2000 site GR4340003 in support of conservation activities for the loggerhead Caretta caretta

Since 2000, when the first Natura 2000 sites have been established in Greece, there has not been any activity related to the mapping and monitoring of several sites across the Greek territorial sites, including the site GR4340003. This site is located at the prefecture of Chania and included several locations which are preferred sites for leisure and tourism during the summer period. The aim of the project is the collection of knowledge on the spatial distribution of the coastal marine habitats with emphasis to the seagrass meadows (habitat 1120*) the rocky reefs (1170).

The activities foreseen in the project includes:

the collection of field data using hydroacoustics and scientific diving.
the collection of data for the assessment of the ecological status of the seagrass meadows and rocky reefs using simple yet efficient approaches.
the use fo Earth Observation for the mapping of the coastal seacape.
the calculation of the coastal bathymetry using field data and earth observations.

All that aiming at the results to a management plan related to the loggerhead.

Output: Mind the gap in data poor Natura 2000 sites and how to tackle them using Earth Observation and scientific diving surveys

Funding: The MEDPAN call for Small Projects and the Samaria National Park.

Mapping and monitoring the Quirimbas National Park Seascape

Blending modern tools with traditional science we can create important data for use in real conservation and management of protected areas.

Fusion of scientific domains, here earth observation with marine ecology, is the only way to create scientific products that can be useful for the local societies.

Here we present he first wall-to-wall assessment of seascape habitats in Quirimbas using mobile phones, drone and satellite data.

A collaborative work with WWF DE, WWF MOZ, DLR and terraSolutions m.e.r.

Below you can fine the project report, the scientific publication and the storymap (it end to the finalist of the ESRI 2020 competition on storylines!) we design as a team to reach our work different audience:

Outputs:

Funding: WWF Oceans Practice and Conservation X Labs for innovation funds.

Strengthening Angel Shark Conservation in the Southern Aegean Sea

iSea, an Environmental Organisation based in Greece, ask to support their project regarding the conservation of the Critically Endangered angel sharks in the Aegean Sea.

Species Distribution Modelling for the three species, named Sawback Angelshark (Squatina aculeata), Smoothback Angelshark (S. oculata), and Angelshark (S. squatina) has been developed in order to support the Spatial Prioritization Modelling for the identification of areas to target conservation activities.

Since the species are rare, few data where available. For that and following the literature, we end up developing a well tuned MaxEnt model using the Wallace R package for each species. Other approaches provide worst results in terms of model accuracy (i.e. ESMs).

The results where used in Zonations, a decision support software tool for ecologically based land and seascape use planning.