Stamatis Zogaris

Dr. Zogaris works at HCMR since April 2002. He is a researcher and educator; an expert in biodiversity conservation and applied ecology in river basin areas. He has taught in various Study Abroad programs and summer schools and at the MSc level at Inter-University Programmes at the University of Ioannina and at the National Technical University of Athens. During 1997-2000, he was research contractor to the Zoological Museum of the National University of Athens.

Dr. Zogaris has broad interests in natural history with experience in many Temperate, Mediterranean and Tropical inland, coastal and marine ecosystems. He is particularly well versed in fish, bird, and habitat studies and associated research techniques.

His research interests include:

• Fish ecology and taxonomy and inland waters biogeography
• Faunal and habitat survey and monitoring methodology; particularly bioassessment and indices using fishes, birds, and riparian vegetation
• River, wetland, riparian habitat and coastal zone assessments
• Ecological restoration in aquatic and riparian areas (applications in temporary rivers, environmental flow regulation, urban wetlands, coastal zone management, and within hydro-electric dams and reservoirs)
• Alien and translocated fish species ecology and their ecosystem impacts
• Protected Area creation, management, assessment, promotion and sustainability
• Natural history interpretation, conservation education, ecotourism, public awareness.
• Tropical coastal zone and coral reef ecosystems
• Mediterranean and tropical areas landscape-scale conservation

Dr. Zogaris has worked in collaboration with many research organizations at the international level in more than 20 countries (including Portugal, Austria, Spain, Montenegro, Poland, Bulgaria, Turkey, Cyprus, UK, USA, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Albania, Kosovo, Costa Rica and Canada). He has participated in more than 30 national and international projects at HCMR. He was a member of the EU intercallibration process for the Water Framework Directive (representing Greece for river fishes) and led the drafting of the WFD intercallibration report on river fishes for the Republic of Cyprus.

He has participated in the Steering Committees of several high-level initiatives including Greece’s master plan for protected areas (2000), endangered bird species conservation action plans, the Cyprus Biodiversity Strategy (2012), IUCN Key Biodiversity Areas, IUCN threatened species red listing, national red data book, the Euboea Protected Area Management Agency (from 2017), and electrofishing sampling technical method training. He has designed and led many educational field trips for several conferences (e.g. IAVS Crete) and other educational and ecotourism initiatives (CYA Study Abroad Program, sampling methods training, etc.).

Dr. Zogaris has contributed more than 90 scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals, 16 book chapters, 8 books (as co-author and editor), as well as more than 180 other publications (i.e., conference proceedings, magazine articles, published technical reports). He has a deep love for photography and film and associated knowledge products. He has helped develop 11 natural history exhibits and 7 documentary films and has designed environmental interpretation and visitor management schemes in many protected areas.

He is curator of Athens Nature Journal his personal blog, and has worked for many years to disseminate and popularize conservation science initiatives, and citizen science in Greece and abroad.