Ανδρέας Χατζηδαυίδ - Απίστευτη συλλογή Κυπριακών πετρωμάτων - Amazing collection of Cypriot rock

Photos 3/8/2016 by George Konstantinou

6th WORLD CONGRESS ON MOUNTAIN UNGULATES and 5th INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON MOUFLON - FOX PREDATION ON CYPRUS MOUFLON AND MARINE TURTLES ON CYPRUS

Organized by the Ministry of Interior with the cooperation of Frederick University and the Caprinae Specialist Group of the Species Survival Commission of IUCN

AUGUST 28 - SEPTEMBER 1, 2016, Nicosia, Cyprus 
http://www.mountainungulates.gov.cy/moa/symposium/symposium.nsf/index_en/index_en?opendocument

FW: first and second edition of the book of Abstracts

Book of Abstracts which was given to the participants of the congress:

 http://www.mountainungulates.gov.cy/moa/symposium/symposium.nsf/All/666648E569C033A7C225804C00335066/$file/Abstract%20book%20WCMU%202006%20%20-%202nd%20edition.pdf

http://www.mountainungulates.gov.cy/moa/symposium/symposium.nsf/All/FF7D5EA2540A0AF1C225804C0033343B/$file/Abstract%20book%20WCMU%202006%20%20-%20first%20edition.pdf

Under the Auspices of the Minister of the Interior, Mr. Socrates Hasikos

VIth World Congress on Mountain Ungulates and Vth International Symposium on Mouflon. Nicosia, Lefkosia, Cyprus, 28 August -1 September 2016 68

FOX PREDATION ON CYPRIAN MOUFLON AND MARINE TURTLES ON CYPRUS 

Constantinou G 1 and Hadjisterkotis Ε 2

 1Association of Protection of Natural Ηeritage and Biodiversity of Cyprus, 2Ministry of the Interior, Nicosia, 1453,

 Cyprus Mouflon. The only wild predator on the island of Cyprus is the red fox (Vulpes vulpes). The predatory effect of red fox on Cyprus mouflon, particularly at lambing sites when the lambs were small and vulnerable to predation, were studied by Hadjisterkotis (1993, 1996). In 140 days of observations at two lambing grounds (areas with sharp cliffs) red fox made five attempts to capture lambs. All attempts failed because the ewes protected their lambs by moving them to steeper parts of the cliffs, and defending the lambs by standing between the lambs and the fox, defending the lamb. Four other cases were reported by foresters who observed foxes entering lambing grounds but in all cases the foxes failed to capture lambs. There are no direct observations of foxes killing adult mouflon, although there are observations of foxes following mouflon from safe distance, as well as a report of a ram fatally injuring a fox. Foxes are the major scavenger of dead mouflon. More direct killings were reported by stray dogs than foxes (Hadjisterkotis and Bider 1992; Toumazos and Hadjisterkotis 1997; Hadjisterkotis 2002). A mouflon carcass can provide a fox with food for several days. Hadjisterkotis also reported two cases where foxes were observed killing juvenile mouflon away from cliffs. Turtles. Observations by C.G. on marine turtles during the nesting season at Lara Beach in Pafos district, revealed that a considerable number of nests were depredated by foxes. During the night, foxes were able to dig underneath the wire baskets which were placed over the nest by the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research or volunteers to protect the nest from predators, and to dig out the eggs. We recommend a new design of basket which can be inserted partly in the sand, to prevent foxes from digging under the baskets. 

References
 Hadjisterkotis E (1993) The Cyprus mouflon Ovis gmelini ophion Management, conservation and evolution. Ph.D. thesis, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, 1993: 385 pp
 Hadjisterkotis E (1996) Fox and avian predation on Cyprus mouflon Ovis gmelini ophion. Abstracts of the 2nd International Symposium on Mediterranean mouflon. 17-20 April 1996, page 33.
 Hadjisterkotis E, Bider RJ (1992) Dog predation on Cyprus mouflon. Caprinae News 6:17-20.
 Hadjisterkotis E (2002) Seasonal and monthly distribution of deaths of Cyprus mouflon Ovis gmelini ophion. Pirineos, 157: 81 a 88, JACA; 2002:81-88.
 Toumazos P, Hadjisterkotis E (1997) Diseases of the Cyprus mouflon as determined by standard gross and histopathological methods. Pages 150-161 in E. Hadjisterkotis (ed.). Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Mediterranean Mouflon. Game Fund, Nicosia, Cyprus.

A ten minute documentary (in wild) about endemic Cyprus Mouflon by George Konstantinou 

 for the 6th WORLD CONGRESS ON MOUNTAIN UNGULATES and 5th INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON MOUFLON

Hyaline Scallop - Flexopecten hyalinus (Poli, 1795) - Cyprus

Family Pectinidae
Flexopecten hyalinus, the Hyaline Scallop, is a species of saltwater clams, a scallop, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Pectinidae, the scallops.
The shell of an adult Flexopecten hyalinus can be as large as 20–30 millimetres (0.79–1.18 in). This shell is delicate, with a brown or pale brown surface, almost translucent and has quite flat ribs.
This species can be found in the Mediterranean Sea, from Italy and Croatia to Greece, under rocks or dead leaves of algue, usually at depths of about 10 m.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Protaras-25mts deep 7/8/2016 Photos by Costas Constantinou

Mediterranean feather star - Antedon mediterranea (Lamarck, 1816) - Cyprus

Antedon mediterranea is a species of stalkless crinoid in the family Antedonidae, commonly known as the Mediterranean feather star. It is found on the seabed at moderate depths in the Mediterranean Sea. It is a filter feeder and captures plankton with its long feathery arms.

Antedon mediterranea has a vestigial stalk, the base of which bears up to forty grasping cirri, articulated prehensile structures with which it can cling to a hard surface. Above this is the calyx, a small, cup-shaped structure, which is surrounded by five pairs of arms which bear feathery pinnules. The arms can be rolled up if danger threatens, but when they are extended to feed, they are about 10 cm (4 in) long. They are fragile but if one gets broken off, the animal can regenerate it. The colour of this crinoid is quite variable and ranges from white, yellow, orange or red to brown and dark purple, sometimes with bands of contrasting colour

Antedon mediterranea is found in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and westward to the south coast of Spain and Cape St. Vincent. It is found at depths down to about 80 metres (260 ft) and favours areas with strong currents which bring plenty of food within reach. It is found on rocky or sandy seabeds rich in algae including encrusting algae, or among sea grasses (Posidonia oceanica). It hides during the day in concealed locations emerging at night into more exposed areas. It is gregarious and is often found clinging to sea whips, bryozoans, algae or sea grasses

Antedon mediterranea feeds by filtering out plankton and other small particles from the passing sea water. The food is then wrapped in mucus and passed by the tube feet down the ambulacral grooves on the arms to the central mouth which is on the upper side of the calyx. Antedon mediterranea can move around to a limited extent by creeping on its cirri, by "swimming", alternately raising and lowering its ten arms five at a time, or by "walking" along the seabed by propping itself up on its arm tips and heaving itself along.

The sexes are separate in Antedon mediterranea and the gonads are located in the pinnules of the lower part of the arms. Spawning takes place annually, mainly in the spring and is believed to be triggered by the production of testosterone in the male and 17β-estradiol in the female. Fertilisation takes place in the water and the embryos are cemented to the pinnules. They hatch into free-swimming, barrel-shaped doliolaria larvae which can move around using synchronized movements of their bands of cilia. The production of serotonin stimulates them to settle on the seabed, anchor themselves by temporary stalks, and undergo metamorphosis into juveniles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Protaras-25mts deep 7/8/2016 Photos by Costas Constantinou

EcoNature Productions - To be or not to be a poacher - Documentary by Ran Levy-Yamamori

Poaching is a huge problem throughtout the Mediterranean. Often it is linked with "culture", "tradition" or with "sports".
Here is a true life story of Savvas Iezekiel, who like other children in his village in Cyprus, grew up in that environment. He became a hunter when he was 5-6 years old, BUT, when he studied ecology, he realized the the conflict: loving nature and at the same time destroying nature. He took a decision and changed. He is today a senior forested, involved in saving nature and is in love with Griffon Vultures. He is risking his life in forst fires, climbing cliffs and trees to save nature. A real ECONATURE PRODUCTION'S HERO!
Poaching, wildlife poisoning, lack of mangement and especially lack of environmental education still pause sever threaths to the Cypriot nature. Cyprus, and the world, need more and more of people like Savvas.
I would like to thank two people who kindly helped: George Konstantinou

Pointed-snout wrasse - Symphodus rostratus (Bloch, 1791) - Cyprus

The pointed-snout wrasse, Symphodus rostratus, is a species of wrasse native to coastal waters of the Mediterranean Sea to the western part of the Black Sea. This species lives near rocks usually in eelgrass beds at depths from 1 to 50 m (3.3 to 164.0 ft). It can reach 13 cm (5.1 in) in standard length. This species can also be found in the aquarium trade. It is occasionally taken in artisanal fisheries.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Underwater photos at Akrotiri by Kostas Aristeidou

Pistacia lentiscus L. - Σχινιά - Σσινιά - Cyprus

Pistacia lentiscus (also mastic; Greek: μαστίχα mastíkha ) is a dioecious evergreen shrub or small tree of the pistacio genus growing up to 4 m (13 ft) tall which is cultivated for its aromatic resin, mainly on the Greek island of Chios.

Pistacia lentiscus is a shrub or dioecious tree, with separate male and female plants, evergreen from 1 to 5 m high, with a strong smell of resin, growing in dry and rocky areas in Mediterranean Europe. It resists heavy frosts and grows on all types of soils, and can grow well in limestone areas and even in salty or saline environments, making it more abundant near the sea. It is also found in woodlands, dehesas (almost deforested pasture areas), Kermes oak wood, oaks wood, garrigue, maquis, hills, gorges, canyons, and rocky hillsides of the entire Mediterranean area. It is a very typical species that grows in Mediterranean mixed communities of myrtle, Kermes oak, Mediterranean dwarf palm, buckthorn, sarsaparilla, etc. and serves as protection and food for birds and other fauna in this ecosystem. It is a very hardy pioneer species dispersed by birds. When older, it develops some large trunks and numerous thicker and longer branches. In appropriate areas, when allowed to grow freely and age, it often becomes a tree of up to 7 m. However, logging, grazing, and fires often prevent its development.

The leaves are alternate, leathery, and compound paripinnate (no terminal leaflet) with five or six pairs of deep-green leaflets. It presents very small flowers, the male with five stamens, the female trifid style. The fruit is a drupe, first red and then black when ripe, about 4 mm in diameter.[dubious – discuss]

In tourist areas, with palmitos or Mediterranean dwarf palm, and exotic plants, it is often chosen to repopulate gardens and resorts, because of its strength and attractive appearance. Unlike other species of Pistacia, it retains its leaves throughout the year. It has been introduced as an ornamental shrub in Mexico, where it has naturalized and is often seen primarily in suburban and semiarid areas where the summer rainfall climate, contrary to the Mediterranean, does not hurt it.

A related species, P. saportae, has been shown by DNA analysis to be a hybrid between maternal P. lentiscus and paternal P. terebinthus (terebinth or turpentine). The hybrid has imparipinnate leaves, with leaflets semipersistent, subsessile terminal, and sometimes reduced. Usually, P. terebinthus and P. lentiscus occupy different biotopes and barely overlap: Mastic appears at lower elevations and near the sea, while the P. terebinthus most frequently inhabits inland and mountainous areas such as the Iberian System.

Pistacia lentiscus is native throughout the Mediterranean region, from Morocco and Iberian peninsula in the west through southern France and Turkey to Iraq and Iran in the east. It is also native to the Canary Islands. The word mastic derives either from the Greek verb mastichein ("to gnash the teeth", origin of the English word masticate) or massein

Within the European Union, mastic production in Chios is granted protected designation of origin and protected geographical indication names. Although the tree is native to all of the Mediterranean region, only on southern Chios is the mastic trees' bark scored to "weep" the masticha resin. The island's mastic production is controlled by a co-operative of medieval villages, collectively known as the 'Mastichochoria' (Μαστιχοχώρια), which are also located in the southern part of Chios.

The aromatic, ivory-coloured resin, also known as mastic, is harvested as a spice from the cultivated mastic trees grown in the south of the Greek island of Chios in the Aegean Sea, where it is also known by the name "Chios tears". Originally liquid, it is hardened, when the weather turns cold, into drops or patties of hard, brittle, translucent resin. When chewed, the resin softens and becomes a bright white and opaque gum.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos 24/8/2014 by George Konstantinou

Pistacia terebinthus L. - Τερέβινθος - Τρεμιθκιά - Τρεμιθιά - Cyprus

See also
Αιωνόβια Τρεμιθκιά ή Τρέμιθθος (Pistacia terebinthus) στο χωριό Αγία Τριάδα (Γιαλούσας) Καρπασίας - Centuries old Pistacia terebinthus at Ayia Trias, Karpasias Cyprus

Baizongia pistaciae (Linnaeus) - Aphids

Pistacia terebinthus, known commonly as terebinth and turpentine tree, is a species of Pistacia, native to the Canary Islands, and the Mediterranean region from the western regions of Morocco, and Portugal to Greece, western and southeast Turkey. In the eastern shores of the Mediterranean sea – Syria, Lebanon and Israel – a similar species, Pistacia palaestina, fills the same ecological niche as this species and is also known as terebinth.

It is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Anacardiaceae (the cashew family). It is a small deciduous tree or large shrub growing to 10 m tall. The leaves are compound, 10–20 cm long, odd pinnate with five to eleven opposite glossy oval leaflets, the leaflets 2–6 cm long and 1–3 cm broad. The flowers are reddish-purple, appearing with the new leaves in early spring. The fruit consists of small, globular drupes 5–7 mm long, red to black when ripe. All parts of the plant have a strong resinous smell.

It is a dioecious tree, i.e. exists as male and female specimens. For a viable population both genders must be present. The oblong leaf is bright green, leathery, with 10 cm long or more with 3-9 leaflets. Leaves alternate, leathery and compound paripinnate (no terminal leaflet) with 3 or 6 deep green leaflets. They are generally larger and rounder than the leaves of the mastic, reminiscent of the leaves of carob tree. The flowers range from purple to green, the fruit is the size of a pea and turns from red to brown, depending on the degree of maturation. The whole plant emits a strong smell: bitter, resinous or medicinal. In the vegetative period they develop "galls" in a goat's horn shaped (from which the plant gets the name cornicabra, the common name in Spanish), that occur on the leaves and leaflets which have been bitten by insects. The species propagates by seeds and shoots. Although marred by the presence of galls, is a very strong and resistant tree which survives in degraded areas where other species have been eliminated. Pistacia terebinthus is a plant related to Pistacia lentiscus, with which hybridizes frequently in contact zones. The cornicabra is more abundant in the mountains and inland and the mastic is usually found more frequently in areas where the Mediterranean influence of the sea moderates the climate. Mastic tree does not reach the size of the Pistacia terebinthus, but the hybrids are very difficult to distinguish. The mastic has winged stalks to its leaflets, i.e., they are flattened and side fins, whereas these stems in Cornicabra are simple. In the Eastern Mediterranean Coast, Syria, Lebanon and Israel, a similar species, Pistacia palaestina, fills the same ecological niche of this species and is also known as turpentine. On the west coast of the Mediterranean, Canary Islands and Middle East, Pistacia terebinthus can be confused with Pistacia atlantica.

It prefers relatively moist areas, up to 600 m in height. Supports Mediterranean summer drought and frost more intense than mastic. The plant is common in the garrigue and maquis. Appears in deciduous and oak. It has a gray trunk very aromatic, may have multiple trunks or stems when grown as a shrub. Usually reached 5 m. in height, although in rare cases can reach 10 m. Pistacia terebinthus is one of the Anacardiaceae species present in Europe, it is a family of about 600 tropical species. Can be found in meso-and Thermo floors to 1,500 meters above sea level. Pistacia terebinthus is more moisture demanding than the mastic and more resistant to cold. Requires a sunny exposure and average soils, tolerating lime and some salt, often grows near the sea, deep ravines and near salt lakes and streams.

Historian of Mycenae John Chadwick believes that the terebinth is the plant called ki-ta-no in some of the Linear B tablets. He cites the work of a Spanish scholar, J.L. Melena, who had found "an ancient lexicon which showed that kritanos was another name for the turpentine tree, and that the Mycenaean spelling could represent a variant form of this word."

The word "terebinth" is used (at least in some translations) for a tree mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures (or Old Testament), where the Hebrew word "elah" (plural "elim") is used. This probably refers to Pistacia palaestina which is common in the area. The Latin name is underlain by the Ancient Greek name τερέβινθος, which, in turn, is underlain by a pre-Greek Pelasgian word, marked by the characteristic consonant complex νθ.

Terebinth from Oricum is referred to in Virgil's Aeneid, Book 10, line 136, where Ascanius in battle is compared to "ivory skilfully inlaid in  Orician terebinth" ("inclusum[...] Oricia terebintho  ebur").

Terebinth is referred to by Robin Lane Fox in Alexander the Great: "When a Persian king took the throne, he attended Pasargadae, site of King Cyrus's tomb, and dressed in a rough leather uniform to eat a ritual meal of figs, sour milk and leaves of terebinth

It is used as a source for turpentine, possibly the earliest known source. The turpentine of the terebinth is now called Chian, Scio, or Cyprian turpentine.

The fruits are used in Cyprus for baking of a specialty village bread. In Crete, where the plant is called tsikoudia, it is used to flavor the local variety of pomace brandy, also called tsikoudia. In the Northern Sporades the shoots are used as a vegetable (called tsitsíravla).The plant is rich in tannin and resinous substances and was used for its aromatic and medicinal properties in classical Greece. A mild sweet scented gum can be produced from the bark, and galls often found on the plant are used for tanning leather. Recently an anti-inflammatory triterpene has been extracted from these galls. In Turkey, where it is known as menengiç or bıttım, a coffee-like beverage known as menengiç kahvesi is made from the roasted fruit and a soap[6] is made from the oil. Terebinth resin was used as a wine preservative in ancient Israel  and the ancient Near East
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos 13/9/2014 by George Konstantinou