After the return from the Sunday excursion
to Papigo, the week started somewhat sluggishly.
The second week had more theory than field
work. The topics covered included phylogenetic methods and their
interpretations, given by Martin Wiemers (UWZ Halle, Germany), general database
structure and querying databases using a biodiversity database of Greek plants
(Stephanos Sgardelis, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki), and further details
on biodiversity theory by John Halley (Univ. Ioannina). An evening lecture by
Despoina Vokou (Aristotle University, Thessaloniki) introduced the participants
to the world of policy and legal biodiversity protection tools.
On Tuesday, the document transferring
ownership of the station from the Labriadeio Foundation to the University of
Ioannina, something that John Halley has worked for over some years, was
ceremmonially signed. We hope this opens more possibilities to use this
splendid location for more international courses. In the evening, the Rector of
the University of Ioannina, Triantaphyllos Albanis visited the course, and
greeted the students.
The weather continued to be sunny and warm,
but many of the days were actually spent inside, and the participants’
attention gradually turned to the evaluation of their project data. On the
lighter side, I gave an evening slide show on the biodiversity of Madagascar,
based on my experience at another field school, that of the Tropical Biology
Association. The ping-pong table was put into use, and the smile on the owner
of the cafe/restaurant frequented by the course participants in the evenings is
wider and wider as time goes by. The bird song slowly subsides – the
nightingale sings shorter, and the scops owl sparsely announces its residence
now. There are still fireflies, but their number is also decreasing. Later
today is the exam and tomorrow, on the last day, we will have the student
presentations.
Ano Pedina, 3 July 2014
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