Faculty Staff / Section of Animal Biology
Assistant Professor of Physiology / Neurobiology
Office location: 3rd Floor
Email: abounas@upatras.gr
Telephone: +30 2610 969216

Curriculum Vitae

Education

  • BSc in Biology, Department of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (2012).
  • PhD, Department of Biological Applications and Technology, University of Ioannina (2018). Thesis research: premigratory ecology, phylogeography and conservation genetics of the Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) in the Balkans.

Educational activities

Undergraduate Courses:
  • Animal Biology II
  • Biodiversity & Conservation Biology
  • Population Ecology
  • Fauna of Greece

Postgraduate Courses:

  • Sampling, Data Analysis & Ecological Models
  • Biodiversity Assessment and Biomonitoring of Species & Habitats.

Research and other activities

His research focuses on the diversity, ecology and conservation of terrestrial animals, with particular emphasis on birds. He investigates migration and population ecology, animal movements and population connectivity, and the molecular and physiological mechanisms associated with fuel management and stopover refuelling decisions. His work combines field research, telemetry, citizen science data, molecular and genomic approaches, and quantitative modelling. He also studies genetic diversity, phylogeography and adaptive differentiation in birds, amphibians and other groups of terrestrial fauna.

His applied research addresses the impacts of wind energy development and illegal wildlife poisoning, population viability analysis, and the design and evaluation of conservation actions for threatened species. He has contributed to species assessments for the Greek Red List, national assessments of bird conservation status, and studies for Natura 2000 sites. He has served as Principal Investigator of the SKYSCAPE, ROUTES and WINGS projects and participates in international research collaborations and networks, including EUFLYNET, ERGA and the IUCN SSC Vulture Specialist Group. He is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Hellenic Ornithological Society.

Representative Publications

  • Bounas A, Baxevani K, Dimitrakopoulos I, et al. (2026). Safeguarding biodiversity through predictive modelling of illegal wildlife poisoning hotspots. Journal of Environmental Management. 414:130460.
  • Bounas A, Kret E, Sidiropoulos L, et al. (2026). Displacement effects on an endangered cinereous vulture population in a landscape of increasing wind power development. Biological Conservation. 315:111728.
  • Ferrer Obiol J, Bounas A, Brambilla M, et al. (2025). Evolutionarily distinct lineages of a migratory bird of prey show divergent responses to climate change. Nature Communications. 16(1):3503.
  • Demertzi A, Gerontidou C, Gogolos N, Bounas A (2025). Influence of Forest Structural Complexity and Management Intensity on Woodpecker Communities in Mediterranean Chestnut (Castanea sativa) Forests. Ecologies. 6(2):37.
  • Bounas A, Tsiopelas N, Evangelidis A, Barboutis C (2025). Migration phenology and spatial distribution of soaring birds in Greece: from citizen science data to implications for monitoring and conservation strategies. Birds. 6(1):6.
  • Kassara C, Barboutis C, Bounas A (2025). Favorable stopover sites and fuel load dynamics of spring bird migrants under a changing climate. Climatic Change. 178:3.
  • Bounas A, Vasilakis D, Kret E, et al. (2025). Cumulative collision risk and population-level consequences of industrial wind-power plant development for two vulture species: A quantitative warning. Environmental Impact Assessment Review. 110:107669.
  • Bounas A, Talioura A, Komini C, Toli EA, Sotiropoulos K, Barboutis C (2025). Molecular changes and physiological responses involved in migratory bird fuel management and stopover decisions. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology. 343(1):5-14.
  • Assandri G, Bazzi G, Bermejo-Bermejo A, et al. (2024). Assessing exposure to wind turbines of a migratory raptor through its annual life cycle across continents. Biological Conservation. 293:110592.
  • Toli EA, Kemppainen P, Bounas A, Sotiropoulos K (2024) Genetic insight into a polygenic trait using a novel genome‐wide association approach in a wild amphibian population. Molecular Ecology. 33(9):e17344.
  • Toli EA, Zacharopoulou P, Bounas A, Kati V, Sotiropoulos K (2023). Conservation genetics of the steno-endemic Chorthippus lacustris (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Journal of Insect Conservation, 27:907-916.
  • Danelis T, Theodoropoulos A, Toli EA, Bounas A, Korakis A, Sotiropoulos K (2023) Defining evolutionary conservation units in the Macedonian crested newt, Triturus macedonicus (Amphibia; Salamandridae) in a biodiversity hotspot. Diversity. 15(5):671
  • Bounas A, Komini C, Talioura A, Toli EA, Sotiropoulos K, Barboutis C (2023) Adaptive regulation of stopover refueling during bird migration: insights from whole blood transcriptomics. Genome Biology and Evolution. 15(4):evad061. Doi: 10.1093/gbe/evad061
  • Barboutis C, Bounas A, Navarrete E, Fransson T (2023) Stopover Ecology of the European Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur), a Threatened Migratory Bird Species, after the Crossing of an Extended Ecological Barrier. Birds. 4(2):202-12.
  • Bounas A, Saravia-Mullin V, Méndez M, et al. (2023). Assessing genetic diversity patterns at neutral and adaptive loci to inform population reinforcement of an endangered migratory vulture. Journal of Ornithology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-023-02048-w
  • Oppel S, Arkumarev V, Bakari S, et al. (2021) Major threats to a migratory raptor vary geographically along the eastern Mediterranean flyway. Biological Conservation. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109277
  • Oppel S, Saravia V, Bounas A, et al. (2021) Population reinforcement and demographic changes needed to stabilise the population of a migratory vulture. Journal of Applied Ecology. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.13958
  • Bounas A, Solanou M, Panuccio M, et al. (2020) Mining citizen-science data to explore stopover sites and spatiotemporal variation in migration patterns of the Red-footed Falcon. Current Zoology, 66(5):467-475
  • Bounas A, Keroglidou M, Toli EA, et al. (2020) Constrained by aliens, shifting landscape or poor water quality? Factors affecting the persistence of amphibians in an urban pond network. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 30(5):1037-1049
  • Bounas A, Tsaparis D, Gustin M, et al. (2018) Using genetic markers to unravel the origin of birds converging towards pre-migratory sites. Scientific Reports, 8(1):8326