Dimitris Margaritoulis

Dimitris Margaritoulis is a Greek herpetologist. He is the founder of ARCHELON, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece.

Early life and education

Margaritoulis was born in Volos, Greece. He studied physics at the University of Athens. 

Career

In 1977, while hiking on the island of Zakynthos in the Ionian Sea with family, Margaritoulis discovered the most important loggerhead nesting area in the Mediterranean. Since then, he became passionately involved in sea turtle research and conservation. 

In 1983, he and his wife founded ARCHELON, The Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece. ARCHELON aims at studying and protecting the sea turtles and their habitats through fieldwork, management, lobbying, and public awareness.

For his work with sea turtles, he was honored by the Academy of Athens, in 1984.

In 1994, he became a member of the Executive Committee of the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group, and in 1998, on the 15th anniversary of ARCHELON, he became the Vice-Chair in the Executive Committee of the IUCN, responsible for the areas of the Mediterranean and North-East Atlantic.

In 2010, he was awarded "The World of Turtles" lifetime achievement award for his work with sea turtles, by Kartik Shanker, the president of ISTS.

Personal life

Margaritoulis married Anna Kremezi, in 1969.

Selected publications

• Zbinden, J.A., A. Aebischer, D. Margaritoulis & R. Arlettaz. 2008. Important areas at sea for adult loggerhead sea turtles in the Mediterranean Sea: satellite tracking corroborates findings from potentially biased sources. Marine Biology 153: 899-906. 
• Zbinden, J.A., A. Aebischer, D. Margaritoulis & R. Arlettaz. 2007. Insights into the management of sea turtle internesting area through satellite telemetry. Biological Conservation 137: 157-162.
• Zbinden, J.A., C.R. Largiadèr, F. Leippert, D. Margaritoulis & R. Arlettaz. 2007. High frequency of multiple paternity in the largest rookery of Mediterranean loggerhead sea turtles. Molecular Ecology 16: 3703-3711.
• Zbinden, J.A., C. Davy, D. Margaritoulis & R. Arlettaz. 2007. Large spatial variation and female bias in the estimated sex ratio of loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings of a Mediterranean rookery. Endangered Species Research 3: 305-312.
• Zbinden, J.A., D. Margaritoulis & R. Arlettaz. 2006. Metabolic heating in Mediterranean loggerhead sea turtle clutches. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 334: 151-157.