Sperchios River: KRIPIS Project begins!

Alburnoides sp. Sperchios - A local endemic to the river, now being described! (Photo by D. Koutsogiannopoulos).

February 2014

David Koutsogiannopoulos and I did some electrofishing in the Sperchios river basin - a river basin about 2 and something hours north of Athens. This was practically one of the first field reconnaissance trips for a new ambitious project initiated by HCMR on the Sperchios (the KRIPIS project). The river basin, its delta and the marine waters of the Gulf will be the object of an in depth study for the next one-and-a-half years. The area is worth it: A hive of biodiversity richness and a biogeographical crossroads - its waters are still poorly studied. And it is in need of careful monitoring and conservation management too. Good luck to the project! And good luck to the fish!

All photos taken by David Koutsogiannopoulos on February 21st 2014, at one tiny spot in the lower Sperchios Drainage.

Barbus sperchiensis - a small barbel distantly related to Barbus cyclolepis - unique to Thessaly and the Northern Euboicos drainages. (Photo by D. Koutsogiannopoulos).

Pungitius hellenicus - one of the words most range restricted fishes - found only within 4 sq. km. in the lower Sperchios wetlands. (Photo by D. Koutsogiannopoulos).

Pelasgus marathonicus- a species originally restricted to the Western Aegean drainages. (Photo by D. Koutsogiannopoulos).

Rutilus sp. Sperchios. Yet another unique fish of the drainage - related to Rutilus ylikiensis. (Photo by D. Koutsogiannopoulos).

Squalius vardarensis - an element of the Vardar ecoregion in the Western Aegean drainage of the Sperchios. (Photo by D. Koutsogiannopoulos).

Center for Environmental Education - Karpenisi in February

22 February 2014

With my friend the great naturalist, David Koutsogiannopoulos, we ascended to Karpenisi in Central Greece's mountainous backbone. Again treated wonderfully by the teachers of the Center for Environmental Education here. I conducted an educational seminar for the teachers and we sampled for fishes in the Karpenisiotis river: at Gavros and Dipotama. We visited the village of Tornos and were led by Panayotis Palaios who has done a magnificent job at fixing up the trail through the hamlet and on to the gorge of Tornos. Wonderful waters and life everywhere.  Thanks to Panos, Manolis and all the team at Karpenisi - we'll be back for wild trout studies soon!


The following photos are all David's.

Vancouver in Winter: Urban nature highlights

Winter 2014

Winter in Vancouver in late January - February 2014 was unusual; it rained only a three or four days in 21 days!

Vancouver is an interesting and beautiful Canadian city where more than 60 % of the local population do not have English as their first language. So the cultural mix is quite amazing. Also the city is beautiful because of its remarkable landscapes and seascapes and the care given to its structure (lots of parks).

I share some photos from the City with very brief comments on location.


CROSSING BURRARD INLET ON THE SMALL PASSENGER FERRY CALLED THE SEABUS

SEABIRDS INCLUDE PIGEON GUILLEMOTS (ABOVE) AND PELAGIC CORMORANT.

THE NEWLY DEVELOPED DISTRICT OF FALSE CREEK AND THE CITY SKYLINE.

EXCELLENT ART-PIECE IN PARK NEXT TO 'SCIENCE WORLD' NEAR FALSE CREEK. THIS PLACE WAS A MARSH WITH VACANT LOTS WHEN I WAS A KID.

VERY FEW BIRDS IN THE URBAN CORE ARE: AMERICAN ROBIN, STARLING, HOUSE FINCH. LAWNS ARE SO BORING.

THE EDGE OF SKID ROW: MAIN AND HASTINGS. MANY NATIVE FIRST NATIONS PEOPLES ARE AMONG THE HOMELESS HERE.

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA HAS A NEW 'BIODIVERSITY MUSEUM'.

ONE OF THE BEST 'SIGNATURE PARKS' IN THE CITY IS JERICHO PARK AT KITSILANO IN THE WEST PART OF THE CITY.

 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS WERE SINGING AND DISPLAYING - FANTASTIC VIEWS.

 JERICHO PARK HAS SOME FANTASTIC SEMI-ARTIFICIAL PONDS PERFECTLY LANDSCAPED FOR WILDLIFE.

RING-NECKED DUCK A RATHER UNCOMMON SPECIES FREQUENTS THE PONDS.

THE BEACHES OF JERICHO LOOKING TOWARDS SPANISH BANK WITH WINTER FOG.

MOUNT SEYMOUR IS ONLY 20 MIN. AWAY FROM THE CITY - A LOW-KEY SKI AREA.

THE RAVEN - A SACRED BIRD FOR THE NATIVE PEOPLES OF THE COAST

AMAZING OLD GROWTH FORESTS OF MOUNTAIN HEMLOCK, YELLOW CYPRESS, WESTERN HEMLOCK, WESTERN RED-CEDER ON THE UPPER SLOPES.

ALL THE NORTHERN SLOPES OF NORTH VANCOUVER A FULL OF MAGNIFICENT FORESTS AND RIVER VALLEYS.

AT THE END OF THE TRIP IN THE AIRPORT - A REMARKABLE AQUARIUM WITH LOCAL FISHES AND BULL KELP: ONE OF THE BEST NATURE DISPLAYS IN A PUBLIC SPACE I HAVE EVER SEEN.