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SALOMIDI
MARIA SALOMIDI
Position: Associate Researcher
Expertise: Benthic Ecology, Ecological Quality
Department: Biological Oceanography
Premises: athens
Dr. Maria Salomidi is an Associate Researcher at the Institute of Oceanography of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Greece.

She studied Environmental Sciences at the University of the Aegean, putting an early focus on marine ecology. In 2002 she was awarded a PhD scholarship from the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research and the University of the Aegean, to study hard-bottom phytobenthic communities as indicators of environmental quality. She was the first to develop a fast, ecologically sound and non-destructive (photographic) sampling approach for the Rapid Assessment of the Coastal Ecological Status (RACES methodology), especially designed to meet the demands put forward by the European Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60). 

During her 20 years working experience in HCMR, she has participated in numerous national and international research projects at various stages of implementation (coordination, organization of field trips, onboard and underwater sampling surveys, data processing and reporting) in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic and the Red Sea. She has authored and co-authored over 30 scientific articles, 6 book chapters and, together with acclaimed wildlife photographer Yiannis Issaris, “Benthos & Pelagos” (2012), an illustrated guide to the Life of the Greek Seas. She has a long-time experience in communicating marine science across all education levels and the public, through lectures, presentations, press articles, and film documentaries.
She is a founding member and an officer of the HCMR Scientific Diving Team, a founding member and member of the Board of the “Theraic Sea” Association for the bottom-up establishment of a Marine Protected Area in Santorini Island, as well as founding member of the “Tethys” Hellenic Association of Recreational Scuba Diving.  She is elected Secretary to the Board of Directors of the Management Body of the Cyclades Protected Areas since 2019, and elected member of the Board of the Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles (MEDASSET) since 2020.

Her main research interests lie in the fields of benthic ecology and biodiversity, ecological quality, impact assessment, marine habitats typology and mapping, marine habitats conservation and restoration, ecosystem-based management, marine protected areas, coastal sustainability, climate change adaptation, visual census techniques, scientific diving.
Telephone: (0030) 2291076375