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https://olympias.lib.uoi.gr/jspui/handle/123456789/39934Full metadata record
| DC Field | Value | Language |
|---|---|---|
| dc.contributor.author | Stefanidis, Apostolos | en |
| dc.contributor.author | Στεφανίδης, Απόστολος | el |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-03-30T06:26:45Z | - |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://olympias.lib.uoi.gr/jspui/handle/123456789/39934 | - |
| dc.rights | CC0 1.0 Universal | * |
| dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ | * |
| dc.subject | Orthoptera | el |
| dc.subject | Mountain ecosystems | en |
| dc.subject | Ορθόπτερα | el |
| dc.subject | Ορεινά οικοσυστήματα | el |
| dc.title | Ecology and conservation of mountainous Orthoptera communities, with emphasis on endemic and threatened species (Greece) | en |
| dc.title | Οικολογία και διατήρηση των ορεινών βιοκοινοτήτων των Ορθοπτέρων, με έμφαση στα ενδημικά και απειλούμενα είδη (Ελλάδα) | el |
| dc.type | doctoralThesis | en |
| heal.type | doctoralThesis | el |
| heal.type.en | Doctoral thesis | en |
| heal.type.el | Διδακτορική διατριβή | el |
| heal.classification | Ecology and Conservation | en |
| heal.classification | Οικολογία και Διατήρηση | el |
| heal.dateAvailable | 2029-03-29T21:00:00Z | - |
| heal.language | en | el |
| heal.access | embargo | el |
| heal.recordProvider | Πανεπιστήμιο Ιωαννίνων. Σχολή Επιστημών Υγείας. Τμήμα Βιολογικών Εφαρμογών και Τεχνολογιών | el |
| heal.recordProvider | University of ioannina. School of Health Sciences. Department of Biological Applications and Technology | en |
| heal.publicationDate | 2026-02 | - |
| heal.bibliographicCitation | Stefanidis A. 2026. Ecology and conservation of mountainous Orthoptera communities, with emphasis on endemic and threatened species (Greece). Doctoral dissertation. Department of Biological Applications and Technology. University of Ioannina | en |
| heal.abstract | Orthoptera constitute an ecologically significant group of insects that play key roles in trophic networks and serve as indicators of habitat quality. Greece is one of Europe’s major hotspots for Orthoptera diversity, hosting nearly 400 species, of which over one third are endemic or threatened. Yet, this fauna remains poorly studied, particularly in mountain ecosystems that act as refugia for many range-restricted taxa. This doctoral dissertation explores the ecology, distribution, and conservation of Orthoptera in mountainous ecosystems of Greece, with a focus on two threatened and endemic genera, Parnassiana and Oropodisma. By integrating extensive field sampling, ecological modelling, and spatial analyses, this work advances our understanding of the drivers shaping montane Orthoptera diversity and offers concrete conservation insights for endemic and threatened species under the ongoing global change. To establish a community-level baseline, we first examined the diversity patterns of Orthoptera communities and the ecological mechanisms shaping them across five habitat types on Mount Mitsikeli, a Natura 2000 site in northwestern Greece. Sampling 30 plots, we recorded 34 species, including Paracaloptenus caloptenoides, a species of European conservation interest. The beech–fir forests’ openings and the agricultural landscapes supported the highest diversity, whereas mountain grasslands hosted lower species richness but greater abundance. Grass height, woody vegetation cover, and bare ground cover were identified as the three main environmental factors shaping the diversity patterns, jointly explaining over half of the observed variation. Beta diversity was high among habitats (Bray–Curtis index 0.45), with species turnover dominating in most habitats, while nestedness prevailed in grasslands and thermophilous forests. These findings underline that both traditional grazing systems and landscape heterogeneity are essential for maintaining high Orthoptera diversity in mountain regions. Conservation actions should therefore focus on preserving heterogeneous, moderately grazed habitats and restoring overgrazed grasslands. Building on this foundation, the research then focused on the ecology and conservation of two narrowly endemic and threatened montane Orthoptera: Parnassiana parnassica and Oropodisma parnassica. Field surveys across 103 sites on Mts Parnassos and Elikonas revealed that both species are confined to high altitudes (1,527–2,320 m), occupying two isolated populations with extremely restricted ranges. Species distribution models (SDMs) identified slope, topographic position, annual temperature range, and vegetation greenness as key predictors of habitat suitability, while connectivity analysis revealed contrasting landscape patterns: P. parnassica inhabits few, large, well-connected patches, whereas O. parnassica occupies numerous, smaller, and fragmented ones. Generalized linear models (GLMs) indicated that the population density of P. parnassica declines with increasing vegetation height, whereas O. parnassica density increases with altitude. Major threats include land take, wildfires, and global warming, while mild grazing exerts a beneficial influence by maintaining open habitats. Both species were assessed as Endangered under IUCN criteria, and targeted measures were proposed to safeguard their populations. Expanding this work to a broader biogeographic scale, we assessed the distribution and habitat preferences of five Parnassiana and Oropodisma species across central Greece. Surveys conducted from 2021 to 2024 in 174 sites on seven mountains, we found that both genera are strongly associated with elevations above 1,500 m, though they exhibit species-specific microhabitat preferences. Parnassiana species favored moderate slopes with dense shrub cover, while Oropodisma species preferred stony substrates and relatively higher vegetation cover. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and potential evapotranspiration emerged as the most influential environmental drivers of their distribution, while altitude strongly affected population densities, particularly Parnassiana, which peaked near 2,200 m. The estimated total areas of suitable habitat were alarmingly small, underscoring their vulnerability. These results highlight the exceptional conservation importance of high-altitude ecosystems, which host small, specialized, and spatially isolated populations. Given the increasing human pressures on Greece’s mountains, the dissertation also assessed the impact of renewable energy expansion on endemic Orthoptera. Using geospatial and connectivity analyses, we quantified the impacts of wind power stations on three globally threatened Orthoptera species: Parnassiana tymphrestos, Parnassiana coracis, and Oropodisma willemsei. The results revealed total habitat losses ranging from 4.3% to 9.1%, but much higher local declines of suitable mountains in each mountain (11–49%), with connectivity reductions of up to 99%. In certain sites, such as Mt Oxia, there is imminent extinction risk. Currently, 62% of the distribution of Greece’s threatened Orthoptera already overlaps with renewable energy infrastructure, a figure projected to rise to nearly 80% as new projects develop. Mountains and islands, key centers of endemism, are disproportionately affected, hosting most planned facilities. To address this, we developed a sustainable spatial planning scenario that excludes Natura 2000 sites, low-fragmentation zones, and large roadless areas (>5 km²). This scenario meets and exceeds the 2050 national renewable energy target, while fully safeguarding the habitats of the three target species and reducing biodiversity overlap by 0.9%. These findings demonstrate that biodiversity-inclusive renewable energy planning is feasible and essential for balancing climate mitigation with species conservation. Finally, we integrated climate and land-use projections to forecast future range dynamics for the seven Parnassiana and Oropodisma species under combined global change scenarios. By coupling dynamic land-cover change with CMIP6 climate projections, we revealed severe synergistic impacts: narrow endemics (P. coracis, P. gionica) are projected to lose their entire range, while O. willemsei, with its broader distribution, is slightly more resilient. Across species, the number of months with mean temperature above 10 °C was the most influential climatic variable, while shrub cover was the dominant land-cover predictor. All target species are projected to lose the mid elevations of their suitable habitats, reflecting the progressive thermal isolation of mountaintop populations. The major future threats include land take from wind energy installations and afforestation due to land abandonment. The results emphasize that maintaining open grasslands and shrublands through controlled grazing and preventing renewable energy expansion in refugial zones are urgent conservation priorities for mountain Orthoptera. Overall, this dissertation provides the first integrated ecological, biogeographic, and conservation assessment of Greece’s endemic genera Parnassiana and Oropodisma, combining field data, statistical modelling, and spatial planning. It highlights the critical role of montane grasslands and shrublands as refuges for Orthoptera, reveals the vulnerability of narrow endemics to global change, and offers actionable strategies for reconciling renewable energy development with species conservation. By addressing both ecological mechanisms and applied solutions, this work presents a comprehensive framework for the conservation of mountain insects in Mediterranean biodiversity hotspots. | en |
| heal.sponsor | Ελληνικό Ίδρυμα Έρευνας και Καινοτομίας (ΕΛ.ΙΔ.Ε.Κ.) | el |
| heal.advisorName | Κατή, Βασιλική | el |
| heal.committeeMemberName | Φωτιάδης, Γεώργιος | el |
| heal.committeeMemberName | Γκιώκας, Σίνος | el |
| heal.committeeMemberName | Halley, John | en |
| heal.committeeMemberName | Σωτηρόπουλος, Κωνσταντίνος | el |
| heal.committeeMemberName | Γιώτης, Χαρίλαος | el |
| heal.committeeMemberName | Ortego, Joaquín | en |
| heal.academicPublisher | Πανεπιστήμιο Ιωαννίνων. Σχολή Επιστημών Υγείας. Τμήμα Βιολογικών Εφαρμογών και Τεχνολογιών | el |
| heal.academicPublisherID | uoi | el |
| heal.numberOfPages | 242 σ. | el |
| heal.fullTextAvailability | true | - |
| Appears in Collections: | Διδακτορικές Διατριβές - ΒΕΤ | |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D.D. Stefanidis Apostolis (2026).pdf | 9.76 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open Request a copy |
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