SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

Cells found in the roots of bear hair contain enough DNA for genetic analysis, and processing of the genetic material of the brown bear shows great promise for helping to understand its behaviour and its link to human ecology. In 2003, ARCTUROS launched the first genetic study of its kind in Greece, to assess the small population of brown bears in Greece. This research, which is now included in the 'Register of brown bears in Greece” was supported by Vodafone, the Forestry Department of the Ministry for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, and other research institutions from Canada and Slovakia. It has already borne fruit - so far they have identified and systematically monitored 250 bears in Greece!

The collaboration between Vodafone and ARCTUROS will continue, in order to expand the existing programme in the study of movement patterns of small and large carnivores, and also to create a Wildlife Accident Database on the roads of our country.

Telemetry is one of the most widely used animal study methods, in which a transmitter mounted on the animal, provides information about its location. This enables biologists to study its behaviour in relation to the geographical space and time. The evolution of technology has now advanced so much that the traditional radio-collars of the past, which only gave an approximate position, have now been replaced by maximum precision collars. The new collars use GPS satellites to calculate the position of an animal, and send this information via the mobile phone network, directly to a researcher’s computer. The animal positions are all logged and mapped and these maps are studied in order to better protect the species.

<For species with characteristic facial features, like most cats, they can generate population estimates. Although most bear species do not possess special facial features to facilitate the identification of individuals, the automatic motion capture systems have still been used in many parts of the world to study them. In Greece, ARCTUROS has used such systems for the study of bears in the Pindos and the Rhodopes Mountains.

You can find all the publications in the list below:

Hertel, A.G., Parres, A., Frank, S.C., Renaud, J., Selva, N., Zedrosser, A., Balkenhol, N., Maiorano, L., Fedorca, A., Dutta, T., Bogdanović, N., Bragalanti, N., Chiriac, S., Ćirović, D., Ciucci, P., Domokos, C., Fedorca, M., Filacorda, S., Finďo, S., Groff, C., de Gabriel Hernando, M., Huber, D., Ionescu, G., Jerina, K., Karamanlidis, A.A., Kindberg, J., Kojola, I., Mertzanis, Y., Palazon, S., Pop, M.I., Psaralexi, M., Quenette, P.Y., Sergiel, A., Skuban, M., Zlatanova, D., Zwijacz-Kozica, T. and De Barba, M. (2025), Human Footprint and Forest Disturbance Reduce Space Use of Brown Bears (Ursus arctos) Across Europe. Glob Change Biol, 31: e70011.

Farwig, N., Sprenger, P.P., Baur, B. et al. Identifying Major Factors for Success and Failure of Conservation Programs in Europe. Environmental Management (2024).

Karamanlidis AA, Kopatz A, Skrbinšek T, Zaccaroni A. (2023). Conservation status of brown bears in Greece: The "Hellenic Bear Register" - Phase II. International Bear News, 32(1):15-16.

Alexandros A. Karamanlidis, Miguel de Gabriel Hernando, Melina Avgerinou, Wiesław Bogdanowicz, Kiriakos Galanis, Sylvia Kalogeropoulou, Lambros Krambokoukis, Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, Christos Taklis (2023). Rapid expansion of the golden jackal in Greece: research, management and conservation priorities. Endangered Species Research 51:1-13. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01238

Dragana Šnjegota, Magdalena Niedziałkowska, Astrid Vik Stronen, Tomasz Borowik, Kamila Plis, Marine Arakelyan, Duško Ćirović, Gabriel Danila, Mihajla Djan, Astghik Ghazaryan, Zurab Gurielidze, Tigran Hayrapetyan, Zsolt Hegyeli, Alexandros A. Karamanlidis, Natia Kopaliani, Josip Kusak, Dmitry Politov, Maya Talala, Elena Tsingarska & Bogumiła Jędrzejewska (2023). The role of the Caucasus, Carpathian, and Dinaric–Balkan regions in preserving wolf genetic diversity. Mammalian Biology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42991-023-00357-4

Papadopoulos, E., Komnenou, A., Karamanlidis, A. A., Bezerra-Santos, M. A., & Otranto, D. (2021). Zoonotic Thelazia callipaeda eyeworm in brown bears (Ursus arctos): A new host record in Europe. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1111/tbed.14414

Vincenzo Gervasi, John D.C. Linnell, Tomaž Berce, Luigi Boitani, Rok Cerne, Benjamin Cretois, Paolo Ciucci, Christophe Duchamp, Adrienne Gastineau, Oksana Grente, Daniela Derron-Hilfiker, Djuro Huber, Ilpo Kojola, Yorgos Iliopoulos, Alexandros A. Karamanlidis, Francesca Marucco, Yorgos Mertzanis, Peep Männil, Harri Norberg, Nives Pagon, Luca Pedrotti, Pierre-Yves Quenette, Slaven Reljic, Valeria Salvatori, Tõnu Talvi, Manuela von Arx and Olivier Gimenez, Ecological correlates of large carnivore depredation on sheep in Europe, Global Ecology and Conservation, (2021) doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01798

Segar, Josiane & Pereira, Henrique & Filgueiras, Raquel & Karamanlidis, Alexandros & Saavedra, Deli & Fernández, Néstor. (2021). Expert‐based assessment of rewilding indicates progress at site‐level, yet challenges for upscaling. Ecography. 10.1111/ecog.05836. 

Alexandros A. Karamanlidis and Nikos Panagiotopoulos "Burying of dead cubs by a brown bear in Greece: Food caching or ‘grief’ behavior?," Ursus 2021(32e7), 1-5, (8 June 2021). https://doi.org/10.2192/URSUS-D-20-00015.2

de Gabriel Hernando M, Karamanlidis AA, Grivas K, Krambokoukis L, Papakostas G, Beecham J (2021) Habitat use and selection patterns inform habitat conservation priorities of an endangered large carnivore in southern Europe. Endang Species Res 44:203-215. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01105

Alexandros A Karamanlidis, Alexander Kopatz, Miguel de Gabriel Hernando (2021) Dispersal patterns of a recovering brown bear (Ursus arctos) population in a human-dominated landscape. Journal of Mammalogy, (2021); gyaa173, https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaa173

de Gabriel Hernando M, Karamanlidis AA, Grivas K, Krambokoukis L, Papakostas G, Beecham J. (2020) Reduced movement of wildlife in Mediterranean landscapes: a case study of brown bears in Greece. Journal of Zoology. https://doi.org.10.1111/jzo.12768

van Beeck Calkoen STS, Mühlbauer L, Andrén H, Apollonio M, Balčiauskas L, Belotti E, Carranza J, Cottam J, Filli F, Gatiso TT, Hetherington D, Karamanlidis AA, Krofel M, Kuehl HS, Linnell JDC, Müller J, Ozolins J, Premier J, Ranc N, Schmidt K, Zlatanova D, Bachmann M, Fonseca C, Ionescu O, Nyman M, Šprem N, Sunde P, Tannik M, Heurich M. (2020). Ungulate management in European national parks: Why a more integrated European policy is needed. Journal of Environmental Management 260:110068.

Bonnet-Lebrun A-S, Karamanlidis AA, de Gabriel Hernando M, Renner I, Gimenez O. (2019). Identifying priority conservation areas for a recovering brown bear population in Greece using citizen science data. Animal Conservation. doi:10.1111/acv.12522 

Bombieri, G., Naves, J., Penteriani, V., Selva, N., Fernández-Gil, A., López-Bao, J. V., et al. (2019). Brown bear attacks on humans: a worldwide perspective. Scientific Reports 9, 8573.

Bautista C, Revilla E, Naves J, Albrecht J, Fernandez N, Olszanska A, Adamec M, Berezowska-Cnota T, Ciucci P, Groff C, Harkonen S, Huber D, Jerina K, Jonozovic M, Karamanlidis AA, Palazon S, Quenette P-Y, Rigg R, Seijaw J, Swenson JE, Talvi T, Selva N. (2019). Large carnivore damage in Europe: Analysis of compensation and prevention programs. Biological Conservation, 235: 308-316

Melovski D, von Arx M, Avukatov V, Breitenmoser-Würsten C, Đurović M, Elezi R, Gimenez O, Hoxha B, Hristovski S, Ivanov G, Karamanlidis AA, Lanz T, Mersini K, Perović A, Ramadani A, Sanaja B, Schwaderer G, Spangenberg A, Stojanov A, Trajçe A, Breitenmoser U. (2018). Using questionnaire surveys and occupancy modelling tro identify conservation prioriteies for the Criticaly Endangered Balkan lynx Lynx lynx balcanicus. Oryx. doi:10.1017/S0030605318000492

A.A. Karamanlidis, T. Skrbinšek, M. de Gabriel Hernando, L. Krambokoukis, V. Munoz-Fuentes, Z. Bailey, C. Nowak, A.V. Stronen. 
History-driven population structure and asymmetric gene flow in a recovering large carnivore at the rear-edge of its European range. 
Heredity volume 120, pages168–182 (2018) doi:10.1038/s41437-017-0031-4.

Benazzo A, Trucchi E, Cahill JA, Delser PM, Mona S, Fumagalli M, Bunnefeld L, Cornetti L, Ghirotto S, Girardi M, Ometto L, Panziera A, Rota-Stabelli O, Zanetti E, Karamanlidis A, Groff C, Paule L, Gentile L, Vila C, Vicario S, Boitani L, Orlando L, Fuselli S, Vernesi C, Shapiro B, Ciucci P, Bertrelle G. 
Survival and divergence in a small group: The extraordinary genomic history of the endangered Apennine brown bear stragglers. 
2017 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, p.201707279.

von Thaden A, Cocchiararo B, Jarausch A, Jüngling H, Karamanlidis AA, Tiesmeyer A, Nowak C, Muñoz-Fuentes V.
Assessing SNP genotyping of noninvasively collected wildlife samples using microfluidic arrays. 
Scientific Reports 7: 10768

E. Papadopoulos, A. Komnenou, T. Poutachides, P. Heikkinen, A. Oksanen, A. A. Karamanlidis
Detection of Dirofilaria immitis in a brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Greece. 
2017 Institute of Parasitology, SAS, Košice. DOI 10.1515/helm-2017-0033

Komnenou A, Karamanlidis AA, George Kazakos, Kyriazis AP, Melina Avgerinou, Papakostas G, Stefanidis K, Beecham J.
First successful hand rearing and release to the wild of two orphan brown bear cubs in Greece. 
J. Hell. Vet. Med. Soc. 67(3): 163-170

Karamanlidis AA, Czarnomska SD, Kopatz A, Georgiadis L, Jedrzejewska B. (2016)
Wolf population genetics at the south-eastern edge of their European range.
Mammalian Biology 81,506-510. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2016.06.007
​
Bautista, C., Naves, J., Revilla, E., Fernández, N., Albrecht, J., Scharf, A. K., Rigg, R., Karamanlidis, A.A., Jerina, K., Huber, D., Palazón, S., Kont, R., Ciucci, P., Groff, C., Dutsov, A., Seijas, J., Quenette, P-I., Olszanska, A., Shkvyria, M., Adamec, M., Ozolins, J., Jonozovic, M., Selva, N. (2016).
Patterns and correlates of claims for brown bear damage on a continental scale.
Journal of Applied Ecology. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12708 

Ivanov G, Karamanlidis AA, Stojanov A, Melovski D, Avukatov V. (2016)
The re-establishment of the golden jackal (Canis aureus) in FYR Macedonia: Implications for conservation.
Mammalian Biology. 81,326-330.

40- Karamanlidis AA, de Gabriel Hernando M, Georgiadis L, Kusak J. (2016)
Activity, movement, home range and habitat use of an adult gray wolf in a Mediterranean landscape in northern Greece.
Mammalia. DOI: 10.15.15/mammalia-2015-0091.

Ćirovic D, de Gabriel Hernando M, Paunovic M, Karamanlidis AA (2015)
Home range, movements, and activity patterns of a brown bear in Serbia.
Ursus. 26(2),1-7.

Stronen AV, Jędrzejewska B, Pertoldi C, Demontis D, Randi E, Niedziałkowska M, Borowik T, Sidorovich VE, Kusak J, Kojola I, Karamanlidis AA, Ozolins J, Dumenko V, Czarnomska SD (2015)
Genome-wide analyses suggest parallel selection for universal traits may eclipse local environmental selection in a highly mobile carnivore.
Ecology and Evolution. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1695

Beecham JJ, de Gabriel Hernando M, Karamanlidis AA, Beausoleil RA, Burguess K, Jeong D-H, Binks M, Bereczky L, Ashraf NVK, Skripova K, Rhodin L, Auger J, Lee B-K (2015)
Management implications for releasing orphaned, captive-reared bears back to the wild.
Journal of Wildlife Management. 79(8): 1327-1336. DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.941

Karamanlidis AA, Beecham JJ, Chatziioannou C, de Gabriel Hernando M, Grivas K, Krambokoukis L, Papakostas G (2015)
Intraspecific predation on a subadult brown bear in Greece.
Ursus. 26(1):7-10

Karamanlidis AA, de Gabriel Hernando M, Krambokoukis L, Gimenez O (2015)
Evidence of a large carnivore population recovery: Counting bears in Greece.
Journal for Nature Conservation. 27,10-17 30-

Karamanlidis AA, Paunovic M, Ćirovic D, Karapandža B, Skrbinšek T, Zedrosser A (2014)
Population genetic parameters of brown bears in Serbia: implications for research and conservation.
Ursus. 25(1),34-43.

Karamanlidis AA, Pllaha S, Krambokoukis L, Shore K, Zedrosser A (2014)
Preliminary brown bear survey in southeastern Albania.
Ursus. 25(1),1-7.

Karamanlidis AA, Stojanov A, de Gabriel Hernando M, Ivanov G, Kocijan I, Melovski D, Skrbinšek T, Zedrosser A (2014)
Distribution and genetic status of brown bears in FYR Macedonia: implications for conservation.
Acta Theriologica, 59:119-128.

Stronen AV, Czarnomska S, Niedziałkowska M, Jędrzejewski W, Pertoldi C, Pilot M, Randi E, Demontis D, Kojola I, Shkvyrya M, Tsingarska E, Karamanlidis AA, Kusak J, Jędrzejewska B (2013)
North-south differentiation and a region of high diversity in European wolves (Canis lupus).
PlosOne, 8,e76454.

Karamanlidis AA, Hornigold K, Krambokoukis L, Papakostas G, Stefanidis K, Quaglietta L (2013)
Occurrence, food habits and activity patterns of Eurasian otters Lutra lutra in northwestern Greece: implications for research and conservation.
Mammalia, 78(2),239-243.

Karamanlidis AA, Straka M, Drosopoulou E, de Gabriel Hernando M, Kocijan I, Paule L, Scouras Z (2012)
Genetic diversity, structure and size of an endangered brown bear population threatened by highway construction in the Pindos Mountains, Greece.
European Journal of Wildlife Research, 58,511-522.

Karamanlidis AA, Sanopoulos A, Georgiadis L, Zedrosser A (2011)
Structural and economic aspects of human-bear conflicts in Greece.
Ursus, 22,141-151.

Karamanlidis AA, Drosopoulou E, de Gabriel Hernando M, Georgiadis L, Krambokoukis L, Plaha S, Zedrosser A, Scouras Z (2010)
Non-invasive studies of brown bears using power poles.
European Journal of Wildlife Research, 56,693-702.

Karamanlidis AA, Youlatos D, Sgardelis S, Scouras Z (2007)
Using sign at power poles to document presence of bears in Greece.
Ursus, 18,54-61.