About us

This site is maintained by the Myrmecology Lab at the University of Athens, Greece and uses data available from the Zoological Museum of the University of Athens (ZMUA).

Lab Members

	Dr. Christos Georgiadis My main interests are the taxonomy, biogeography and ecology of the Greek myrmecofauna. The habitat complexity of the Mediterranean region has promoted speciation in various forms and has created multifaceted ecological dynamics. I am intrigued by how ants evolved into different forms, managing to occupy almost available niches and resources. Moreover, these relationships between ants and their habitats can be decoded in order to scribble a canvas that can be potentially implemented in portraying conservation and management schemes. In addition, I act as the curator for the Entomological Collection of the Zoological Museum of the University of Athens.
	Khalil Geballa-Koukoulas, (Ph.D, M.Sc) Bioinformatician - (M.Eng) Environmental Engineer.  My mottos are “life is recycling” & “environment is equilibrium” which I verified during my undergraduate studies. Also, I felt the importance of insects’ existence and environmental sustainability which are vital for our being. Moreover, during my thesis, in which I characterized Wolbachia’s strains infection on Bactrocera and Cataglyphis sp., I realized how informatics, ecology, biology and environment overlap which triggered me to contribute to the creation of the AOG website.  My main interests are "natural resources management", "renewable energy sources", "study of  SymBioKosmos" and "bioinformatics".
	Lila Derougeri. Final-year student working with the ant fauna of Kalymnos, Milos and Patmos islands as well as Attiki. This effort is supported by Prof. Evan Economo and the Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Japan.
	Thanos Tsiatouras. Final-year student working on the myrmecofauna of Samos island and the adjacent islands. He also worked with the ant fauna of Milos, especially in and around the quarries there. Finally, he is working on the ant fauna of islands and islets from the Aegean archipelago in collaboration with Dr. Yuval Itescu and Rachel Schwarz (Prof. Shai Meiri lab - University of Tel Aviv, Israel).
	Dionysios "Dennis" Krifos. Final-year student working with the myrmecofauna of the central Aegean archipelagos islets. In collaboration with Prof. Johannes Foufopoulos (University of Michigan). He is also working on the ant fauna of islands and islets from the Aegean archipelago in collaboration with Dr. Yuval Itescu and Rachel Schwarz (Prof. Shai Meiri lab - University of Tel Aviv, Israel).
	Nikoleta Stylianidi, MSc Nature Management, BSc Biology. My studies in Greece and Denmark on the ecology and biogeography of Greek ants have helped me understand certain aspects of ant biology and natural history, but at the same time raised a lot of questions..! These question are the drive of further research on the interesting and elusive ant biology in Greece.
	Giota Kozompoli is a final year student at the Department of Biology. Her research interest is the taxonomy and biogeography of the myrmecofauna of Kos.
	Anastasis Vaiou BSc Biology. My research and academic interests focus on the evolutionary and ecological processes of biodiversity patterns in Hymenoptera: Formicidae, as well as the role of eusociality and social behavior in the success of ants.
	FORMER MEMBERS
	Maria Bibika, BSc Biology. She worked on the taxonomy and biogeography of the myrmecofauna of Andros.
	Christina Saligina, BSc Biology. She worked the taxonomic revision of the Aenictinae of Europe. She has also been digitizing specimens for the Zoological Museum.
	Katerina Leonidou, BSc Biology. She worked with the ant fauna of eastern Cyprus.
	Charoula Tsiouridou, BSc Biology. She worked with the ant fauna of western Cyprus.
	Eftychia Sakellariou, BSc Biology. She worked with the ant fauna of urban Athens using an island biogeography approach.
	Christina Sachinoglou, BSc Biology. She worked on the effects of wild mediterranean fires on Aranae asseblages in mountainous ecosystems.
	Spyros Spyropoulos, BSc Biology. He worked on the establishment of the first electronic tool for Greece of compiling available information on the Greek ant fauna.
	Katerina Fostini, BSc Biology. She worked with the phenology of sexually mature male and female ants of Kriti.
	Miltiadis Georgatzoglou, BSc Biology. He worked with the ant fauna of the protected area of Strofylia (Achaia, Peloponnisos).
	Christos Leriadis, BSc Biology. He worked with aspects of feeding strategies of Messor harvester ants.
	Maria Mavrika, BSc Biology. She worked with morphometric variation and carrying capacity of Messor harvester ants.