The University of the Aegean is a very young regional University operating on five islands of the Aegean, Greece (Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Rhodes and Syros).
Apart from offering modern education, the University of the Aegean places emphasis in the promotion of basic and applied research based on equipped laboratories, high quality scientific personnel, and facilitated by well developed communication and information networks, as well as by the co-operation with Greek and foreign Universities and research centres. Regional development and environment (biodiversity, environmental impact of human activities, environmental quality, environmental engineering) constitute some of the principal research areas that the University of the Aegean is active in, especially on the island of Lesvos. Research projects are administered through the University Research Unit, whose annual turnover is approximately 14.5 M EURO.
The Department of Geography is located in Mytilini, the capital of the island of Lesvos. It is the first department of Geography in modern Greece, which developed rapidly since 1994. It offers a complete curriculum of undergraduate and postgraduate studies, emphasizing on the environment, particularly its Mediterranean features. Several scientific laboratories support teaching and research activities at the Department. Apart from those covering thematic areas in the field of Human Geography, there are the Laboratory of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Thematic Mapping, Management of Natural hazards, Biogeography and Cultural Ecology, as well as Physical Geography (Applied Geomorphology, Meteorology-Climatology).
The major research topics of the Laboratory of Biogeography and Cultural Ecology include: plant and insect biogeography in the Mediterranean area, pollination ecology, structure and function of Mediterranean scrub communities, biodiversity conservation, species rarity and isolation, life strategies of Mediterranean plants, habitat fragmentation, study and sustainable land use of Mediterranean landscapes (e.g. terraced lands, salinas etc.). The last three years the Laboratory has run two projects financed by the EU.

RESEARCH TEAM: Theodora Petanidou, Ellen Lamborn, Anastasia Dalaka, Maria Celeste Pérez Bañón