The uniqueness of Amvrakikos
a diversity hotspot of global importance
The Amvrakikos Gulf is Greece’s largest wetland. This unique ecosystem is a complex tapestry of rich biodiversity, home to rare waterbirds and marine megafauna.
Unique geographic features
The Gulf of Amvrakikos is a large semi-enclosed bay with similar characteristics of a fjord, covering an area of 405 square kilometers, connected to the Ionian Sea through a narrow and shallow corridor. Two rivers flow into the Gulf, resulting in the formation of delta complexes, which include freshwater marshes with the largest reedbeds in Greece, wet meadows, seasonally inundated land, lagoons, barrier spits, significant salt marshes, and some of the most extensive riparian forest tracts remaining in Greece.
High biodiversity
Among the megafauna present in the Gulf, the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is the only cetacean species present, with a population of about 150 dolphins, presenting one of the highest densities for this species in the Mediterranean. Moreover, Amvrakikos is an important foraging ground for loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), being used year-round by both adult and juvenile sea turtles. Recently, the presence of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) was also confirmed.
Important populations of 9 batoid, flat elasmobranch fish, namely Aetomylaeus bovinus, Bathytoshia lata, Dasyatis marmorata, Dasyatis pastinaca, Dasyatis tortonesei, Gymnura altavela, Myliobatis aquila, Torpedo marmorata, Torpedo torpedo, and one shark species (Mustelus mustelus) are regularly found in Amvrakikos. From these 10 elasmobranchs, two are listed as Critically Endangered, two as Endangered, 4 as Vulnerable, one as Data Deficient and one as Near Threatened.
The Amvrakikos Gulf is home to an incredibly rich bird fauna, including 290 different species, 75 of which are considered threatened in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The murky waters of Amvrakikos are also hosting a very essential and unique habitat: the rhodolith beds. These are specific morphotypes of hard coralligenous formation, made of biogenic aggregations of photosynthetic algae species. Rhodolith beds offer important ecological services since they serve as blue carbon by sequestering atmospheric CO2 and storing it. They are also vital part of the marine ecosystem as they offer breeding and feeding grounds and provide shelter for many marine species of fishes, mollusks and crustaceans.
Amvrakikos Alliance partners
