BIOLOGIST / MARINE BIODIVERSIY & CONSERVATION / OCEANOGRAPHER

Qualifications:
BSc (Hons) Biology, Cardiff University, Wales, United kingdom, 2010-2013
MSc Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Universidade do Algarve, Portugal; Universite Pierre et Marie CURIE, France; Universiteit Gent, Belgium, 2014-2016
MSc Oceanography and Marine Environments, Universite Pierre et Marie CURIE, France, 2015-2016

 

He is an enthusiastic Biologist always seeking to deepen his knowledge on environmental issues concerning marine coastal systems at local scales for the implementation of rigorous conservation actions through appropriate methodological approaches.

During his undergraduate program, he volunteered in cetacean research in Conservación Información y Estudio sobre Cetáceos in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain and Cetacean Research and Rescue Unit in Moray Firth, Scotland. After completing his bachelor’s degree, he worked in Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation, Samos Island, where he carried out a preliminary assessment of Lipsi Island’s fish stocks (Dodecanese), as well as undertaking research on the impact of alien (lessepsian) marine flora on the seagrass Posidonia oceanica and

associated fish assemblages.

As part of his master’s degree, he worked in Tjärnö Marine Biological Laboratory (Sweden), CCMAR (Portugal) and IMEDEA (Mallorca) on research that examined the long-term changes in soft-bottom communities in Idefjord, the ocean acidification effects on the seagrass Cymodocea nodosa, and the impacts of seawater warming on the ecophysiology of Mediterranean marine flora, respectively.

Since 2016, Ioannis is part of the Marine and Environmental Research (MER) Lab team in Cyprus and worked on different projects relevant to habitat mapping, marine biodiversity assessment, bioinvasions (e.g. monitoring of invasive species, Lionfish invasion in Cypriot waters), offshore drilling and sensitivity assessments of deep-sea ecosystems, seagrass research, mariculture and Environmental Impact Assessments.

Ioannis owns three scuba diving certificates (Open Water – PADI, Advanced Adventurer – SSI, and GUE Fundamentals – Global Underwater Explorers), a BOSIET certification and acquired a MicroMasters in Bioinformatics from the University of Maryland University College in US.

Contact at isavva@merresearch.com