genetic variability of the wall lizard Podarcis erhardii in Crete

For my Master thesis (UoC in collaboration with NHMC) I studied the morphological and genetic variability of the wall lizard Podarcis erhardii in western Crete. The study included field work for lizard sampling, use of keys for sorting, cataloguing and storing museum samples, and measuring morphological characters. It also included use of molecular techniques for DNA extraction, amplification, and sequencing of partial cytochrome b mtDNA sequences for sample haplotyping, population clustering, and phylogenetic inference. The sequence data we collected revealed two distinct phylogenetic clusters among the sampled populations, the “continental” and the “insular”. The resulting phylogenetic trees, the current distribution of the populations, and the geological history of the island led us to form a phylogeographic hypothesis for the expansion of P. erhardii in southern Greece. It also allowed us to revisit the topic of typological versus population thinking, and suggest that the numerous defined P. erhardii subspecies in the island of Crete could very well represent the result of natural variability, and therefore their distinction in subspecies should be reconsidered.

pelagic variables in two contrasting coastal ecosystems

As a rotation-M.Sc. student at the Oceanography department of IMBC (now Institute of Oceanography at HCMR) and under the mentorship of Paraskevi Pitta, we sought to reveal biotic and abiotic differences between two close yet different coastal ecosystems. For this, we sampled water column for nutrients, chlorophyll-a, and bacteria at different time scales at two stations on the north coast of Crete (eastern Mediterranean), one at a “closed” port and a second at an “exposed” coastal area. We found that all variables measured were significantly higher in the "closed" port area, and that variation of all parameters was higher at the "exposed" coastal environment. Our findings led us to suggest caution when decisions on sampling strategies are made due to the large variability of certain planktonic variables in small timescales.