Floating creatures on insular landmasses: the shape of contemporary biodiversity in the Aegean archipelago

The Greek Islands, located on the continental shelf of Europe and connected with continental masses during past glacial periods, constitute a case study area due to topographic, palaeogeographic, and environmental complexity. Throughout their history, successive cycles of connection and isolation from adjacent mainlands have occurred driven by tectonic and volcanic activity as well as eustatic seal level changesIn the current project, our focus is on two model island systems that provide opportunities for biogeographic research: (1) The Hellenic Island Arc, a non-volcanic arc that extents for almost 1200 km from Peloponnese in the west to the island of Rhodos in the east and comprises the islands of Kythira, Antikythira, Crete, Kasos, Karpathos, Rhodos and their satellite islets, and, (2) the South Aegean Volcanic Arc (SAVA), an active-volcanic zone that extents for about 500 km from Sousaki in mainland Greece in the west to the island of Nisyros in the east, including the islands of Aegina, Poros, Milos, Kimolos, Polyaegos, Thira (Santorini), Anafi, Kos and Nisyros. Using various arachnid and myriapod taxa as exemplar taxa, we are testing several biogeographic hypotheses for the Aegean Islands in a number of lineages that differ in ecological characteristics and evolutionary history.

Team: Dr. Stelios Simaiakis (UHH), Dr. Danilo Harms (UHH).

Funding Body: Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation.