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Constantinos Dounas

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Date of Birth : July 3, 1954
Nationality : Greek
Language : Greek:Native language
English: excellent knowledge of written and spoken English.
French: sufficient knowledge of written and spoken French

Education

• 1974-78: B.Sc. in Biology, Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Greece
• 1980-82: M.Sc. Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki - Biology Dept.
• 1982-1986: Ph.D., Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki - Biology Department: marine pollution research in the North Aegean with emphasis on the quantitative and qualitative distribution of macrofaunal benthic assemblages related with natural and anthopogenic disturbance.

Professional Experience

• March 1986 - September 1987: postdoctorate researcher in the Research Center of Crete (Institute of Molecular Biology)
• October 1987 - 1995: postdoctorate researcher in the IMBC.
• 1995 - 2001: Senior Researcher grade B'. Head of the Department
• 2001 to date: Research Director grade A' in IMBC. Department Head.

Honours

• Member of the Greek National Council of Research and Development (2001 to date).
• Member of the Greek Committee of Technology Transfer & Innovation (2001-2003).

Research interests

• Structure and dynamics of macrobenthic assemblages.
• Marine pollution monitoring, Water Quality.
• Coastal zone management, Marine protected zones
• Biology, Taxonomy, Ecology and Zoogeography of Mediterranean Crustacea and Polychaeta
• Marine Environmental Technology and innovation
• Artificial reef research and applications
• Fishing gear effects.
• Environmental impact assessment, oil pollution.

PATENTS

• Dounas C. & B. Lucet, 1994. A floating modular system to support oil absorbent booms that provide continuous protection for enclosed and semi-enclosed water bodies from floating hydrocarbons.
  -Greek Patent, Industrial Property Organization, No 1001607, 31-5-1994.
  -European Patent, European Patent Office, No EP 0707676, 13-01-1999.
  -Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), publ. No.: WO 94/29531. -Technical leaflet, December 1994.
• Dounas C. 1999. Integrated system for the automatic implantation of metal tubes in sedimentary seabeds
  -Greek Patent, Industrial Property Organization, No 1003157, 21-6-1999.
  -European Patent Application, European Patent Office, No EP 0897034, Date of publication 17-2-1999, EPO Bulletin 99/07.
  -Technical leaflet (in Greek), November 2001.
  -Greek National Award, 8-2-2002.
• Dounas C. 1999. System for the artificial removal of rich in nutrient waters from areas close to the seabed up to the euphotic zone.
  - Greek Patent, Industrial Property Organization, No 1003722, 13-11-2001.
• Dounas C. 2000. Protective – Productive Artificial Reef
  Greek Patent, Industrial Property Organization, No 2000100301, 5-9-2000.

Participation in recent and ongoing research projects

• Environmental and Economical Marine Pollution Project, Libya, General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL), chief researcher (2003 – 2004)
• Environmental impact asssessment of South Pars Gas Field Development Phase 9&10, Iran, Deutsche Bank, project consultant (2003)
• Development of marine protected zones in three coastal areas. Third National Operational Program, Greek Ministry of Agriculture, project coordinator (2002-2003).
• Development of an Underwater Technological Park in Crete. Third National Operational Program, Greek Ministry of Development, project coordinator (2002) .
• Interregional telematic network for the management of risks in the Balkan and South Mediterannean area: Albania, FYROM, Bulgaria, Regions of Central Macedonia and Crete (INTERISK). European Community, ECOS – OUVERTURE, ERDF art. 10, chief researcher ( 2000-2002) .
• Feasibility study for the development of marine protected zones in Greece. Greek Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries Directorate, project coordinator (2001)
• Development of a new method for the quantitative measurement of the effects of otter trawling on benthic nutrient fluxes and sediment biogeochemistry. Study Project 99/036, European Community DG-XIV, (1999-2002), project coordinator (1998-2001)
• Development of a marine protected zone with artificial reefs in the coasts of Thrace, North Greece. Second Operational Program. Greek Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Fisheries, project coordinator ( 1997-2002)
• Land-planning actions for the Management and Development of the Natural and Cultural Heritage of Southern-Central Crete. Coastal zone management plan. TERRA-DIAS, TERRA PROGRAMME, European Community, chief researcher (1998-2000).
• Data collection for the assessment of cephalopod fisheries. European Community, DG XIV Study Project, chief researcher (1999-2002) •  European Artificial Reefs Network (EARN), Concerted Action, MAST-III. European Community -DG XIV), chief researcher (1998)
• Implementation of Management Plans for Pylos Lagoon and Evrotas Delta, NATURA 2000 SITES, (European Community - LIFE NATURA PROJECT, chief researcher (1997-1999)
• Cephalopod Resources Dynamic: Patterns in Environmental and Genetic Variation. European Community, FAIR II program, chief researcher (1997-2000)
• Environmental Study of Ierapetra area. Technical specifications research for the construction of underwater sewage outfall. Ierapetra Municipality, project coordinator (1999-2000)
• Research for coastal sedimentary materials suitable for the construction of the oblique runway of Heraklion Airport Greek Ministry of Transportation, National Civil Aviation Service, project coordinator, (1998-1999)
• Development of the Regional Environmental Services Laboratory. Greek Ministry of Development, Second Operational Program, project coordinator (1998-2000)
• Quantitative estimation of oil pollution of the Cretan Sea (Operational Environmental Program, Ministry of Environment, project coordinator (1996-1999)
• European Bathing water quality program. Region of Crete, Greek Ministry of the Environment, project coordinator (1991-2002).

  (Previous participation from 1990 in 15 projects)

Selected recent publications

• DOUNAS C., DAVIES I., HAYES P., ARVANITIDIS C. & P. KOULOURI, 2003. The effect of different types of otter trawl groundrope on benthic nutrient fluxes and sediment biogeochemistry. American Fisheries Society Journal (accepted for publication).
• KOULOURI P., DOUNAS C. & A. A. ELFTHERIOU, 2003. Preliminary results on the effect of otter trawling on hyperbenthic communities in Heraklion Bay (Eastern Mediterranean, Cretan Sea). American Fisheries Society Journal (accepted for publication).
• KOULOURI P., DOUNAS C. & A. ELFTHERIOU, 2003. A new apparatus for the direct measurement of otter trawling effects on the epibenthic and hyperbenthic macrofauna. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , 83: 1363-1368.
• ARVANITIDIS C., BELLAN G., DRAKOPOULOS P., VALAVANIS V., DOUNAS C., KOUKOURAS A. & A. ELEFTHERIOU, 2002. Seascape biodiversity patterns along the Mediterranean and the Black Sea: Lessons from the biogeography of benthic polychaetes. Marine Ecology Progress Series , 244: 139-152.
• PETIHAKIS G., TRIANTAFYLLOU G., ALLEN J. I., HOTEIT I. & C. DOUNAS, 2002. Modeling the spatial and temporal variability of the Cretan Sea ecosystem. Journal of Marine Systems , 36 (3-4): 173-196.
• ANTONIADOU C., MANOUDIS G., DOUNAS C., KALLIANIOTIS A., VIDORIS P. & C. CHINTIROGLOU, 2001. The colonization of experimental artificial reefs, from the serpulids polychaetes, in the N. Aegean Sea (Greece). Preliminary results. Rapp. Comm. Int. Mer Médit. , 36: 352.
• POLLANI A., TRIANTAFYLLOU G., PETIHAKIS G., NITTIS K., DOUNAS C. & C. KOUTITAS, 2001. The Poseidon operational tool for the prediction of floating pollutant transport. Marine Pollution Bulletin , 43 (7-12): 270-278.
• TRIANTAFYLLOU G., PETIHAKIS G., DOUNAS C. & A. THEODOROU, 2001. Assessing marine ecosystem response to nutrient inputs. Marine Pollution Bulletin , 43 (7-12): 175-186.
• KOUKOURAS A. & C. DOUNAS, 2000. Decapod Crustaceans new to the fauna of the Aegean Sea. Crustaceana , 73(4): 497-502.
• TRIANTAFYLLOU G., PETIHAKIS G., DOUNAS C., KOUTSOUBAS D., ARVANITIDIS C. & A. ELEFTHERIOU, 2000. Temporal variations in benthic communities and their response to physicochemical forcing. A numerical approach. ICES Journal of Marine Science , 57: 1507-1516.
• KOUTSOUBAS D., ARVANITIDIS C., DOUNAS C. & L. DRUMMOND, 2000. Community structure and dynamics of the molluscan fauna in a Mediterranean lagoon (Gialova lagoon, SW Greece). Belgian Journal of Zoology, 130 (suppl.): 135-142.
• KOUTSOUBAS D., DOUNAS C., ARVANITIDIS C., KORNILIOS S., PETIHAKIS G., TRIANTAFYLLOU G., & A. ELEFTHERIOU, 2000. Macrobenthic community structure and disturbance assessment in Gialova Lagoon, Ionian Sea. ICES Journal of Marine Science , 57: 1472-1480.
• McARTHUR V., KOUTSOUBAS D., LAMBADARIOU N. & C. DOUNAS, 2000. The meiofaunal community structure of a Mediterranean lagoon (Gialova lagoon, Ionian Sea). Helgölander Marine Research, 54(1): 7-17.
• ARVANITIDIS C., KOUTSOUBAS D., DOUNAS C. & A. ELEFTHERIOU, 1999. Annelid fauna of a Mediterranean lagoon (Gialova lagoon, South-West Greece): Community structure in a severely fluctuating environment. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , 79: 849-856.
• KORNILIOS S., DRAKOPOULOS P.G. & C. DOUNAS, 1998. Pelagic tar, dissolved/dispersed petroleum hydrocarbons and plastic distribution in the Cretan Sea, Greece. Marine Pollution Bulletin , 36(12): 989-993.
• DOUNAS C., KOUTSOUBAS D., ARVANITIDIS C., PETIHAKIS G. & L. DRUMMOND, 1998. Biodiversity and the impact of anthropogenic activities in Mediterranean lagoons: The case of Gialova lagoon, SW Greece. Oebalia , 24: 77-91.
• KOUKOURAS A., KUHLMANN D., VOULTSIADOU-KOUKOURA E., VAFIDIS D., DOUNAS C., CHINTIROGLOU C. & D. KOUTSOUBAS, 1998. The macrofaunal assemblage associated with the Scleractinian coral Cladocora caespitosa (Linnaeus) in the Mediterranean Sea. Annales de l' Instintute Oceanographique, Paris 74 (2): 97-114.
• PETIHAKIS G., TRIANTAFYLLOU G., KOUTSOUBAS D., ALLEN I. & C. DOUNAS,
  1999. Modeling the annual cycles of nutrients and phytoplankton in a
  Mediterranean lagoon (Gialova, Greece). Marine Environmental Research,
  48: 37-58.