(IAP) Kastoria (Greece), 14

17TH WORKSHOP OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PHYTOPLANKTON TAXONOMY AND ECOLOGY (IAP)

Kastoria (Greece), 14 - 21 September 2014

THIRD CIRCULAR

Dear participants,

We thank you for registering in the 17th Workshop of the International Association of Phytoplankton Taxonomy and Ecology (IAP) (14 - 21 September 2014, Kastoria, Greece). It is a pleasure that > 70 people will participate in the workshop with a total of more than 60 contributions.

Plenary lectures will have 45 minutes for presentation and discussion. Oral contributions will have 20 minutes accordingly. Oral presentations should be prepared in MS PowerPoint (for Windows). If you have any special requirement please contact [email protected]. The posters will be displayed and presented during the workshop in special sessions. The time allocation for posters formal presentation is 2- 3 minutes plus the time for discussion in front of the poster panels during poster sessions. The posters may not exceed the following dimensions: 80 cm wide and 110 cm height. Each poster will be assigned with a number corresponding to one of the three poster sessions that will be held during the workshop.

Publication

A selection (according to standards of the journal) of papers presented at the IAP workshop will be published as a special issue of Hydrobiologia. Manuscripts for the special volume must be submitted by 30th of November 2014.

Arrival and travel information

The workshop will be hosted in the Limneon Resort and Spa (http://www.limneon.com) which is situated in Dispilio (7 km distance from the City of Kastoria).

For those arriving to the international airport of Thessaloniki:

• If you rent a car from the airport, you can take the Egnatia highway (Egnatia Odos) to Athens and then at a short distance after the Malgara tolls, you turn right for Veroia and then follow the signs to Kastoria. The total route is described in the attached ‘Travel Information’. When you are reaching Kastoria, you take the first exit to ‘Dispilio’ and you follow the signs for Dispilio and Kastoria City. When you reach Dispilio village, you go through the village and 1 km after the end of the village, you will see Limneon Resort and Spa on your left.

• Otherwise, you can reach Kastoria by bus, which departs from the Central Bus Station of Thessaloniki (Macedonia Bus Station) every 2-3 hours (the trip until Kastoria is about 2 ½ hours). Information on the timetable and ticket cost can be found in the attached document (see Travel Information). From the airport to the Central bus Station of Thessaloniki, you can take either a taxi (it will cost around 30-40 euros) or use public transportation. There is a frequent bus (No. 78) just outside the airport which takes you straight to the Central Bus Station (you can claim a ticket in the automatic machines in the bus and it costs 90 cents).

For those arriving to the international airport of Αthens:

• If you rent a car from the airport, you have to take the highway of Athens to Lamia, then enter the highway of Karditsa to Trikala and continue on the highways of Kalampaka to Trikala, Trikala-Grevena. At exit 8B, you continue for E90 (Egnatia Odos) and follow the signs to Kastoria. The total route is described in the attached ‘Travel Information’. When you are reaching Kastoria, you take the first exit to ‘Dispilio’ and you follow the signs for Dispilio and Kastoria City. When you reach Dispilio village, you go through the village and 1 km after the end of the village, you will see Limneon Resort and Spa on your left.

• You can reach Kastoria by bus, which departs from the Central Bus Station of Athens (Kifissos Bus Station) twice a day (except Sundays) (see Travel Information). The trip until Kastoria is about 8-9 hours. From the airport to the Kifissos Bus Station, you can take either a taxi (it will cost around 30-40 euros) or use public transportation. There is a frequent bus (No. X93: http://athensairportbus.com/en/X93-bus-from-airport-to-kifisos.htm) just outside the airport which takes you to the Kifissos Bus Station (you can claim a ticket in the automatic machines in the bus and it costs around 5 euros).

• There is also the alternative of reaching Kastoria through Thessaloniki. You can either take a train or a bus to Thessaloniki (train: https://tickets.trainose.gr/dromologia/, bus: http://www.ktel- thes.gr/index.php?Itemid=95&lang=en) and then from Thessaloniki to Kastoria follow the directions described in the section above for traveling from Thessaloniki to Kastoria.

For those arriving to the airport of Kozani:

From Kozani you can reach Kastoria by bus (Kozani-Kastoria line, http://www.ktelkozanis.gr/Home.aspx) (trip almost an hour) which departs from Kozani’s central bus station.

Mid-workshop excursion

As announced in the previous circulars, during the mid-workshop excursion we will visit the ancient (>2 million years old) Prespa Lakes (Mikri Prespa and Megali Prespa), which are among the oldest lakes in Europe, and of the few long-lived lakes worldwide. The whole region is an attraction and has been designated as a National Park. We will visit the small beautiful island of Agios Achileios which is located in Mikri Prespa, the village of Agios Germanos (the largest village in Prespes) and the traditional village of Psarades.

Organizing Committee

Co-Chairs: Prof. Dr. Maria Moustaka-Gouni & Dr. Matina Katsiapi (AUTh)

Members: Kostas Kormas (UTh)

Litsa Michaloudi (AUTh)

Uli Sommer (GEOMAR Kiel)

Natasa Stefanidou (AUTh)

Savvi Vardaka (ATEITh)