dr. P. Nyktas (Panagiotis)

I am an Environmental Scientist dedicated to advancing the management of natural resources through applied spatial ecology and biodiversity conservation. My work focuses on generating scientific insights for the sustainable management of biodiversity, priority species and habitats across the EU, supporting decision-making at regional, national, and continental scales.
In recent years, I have specialised in the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems, coupled with satellite Earth Observation, to estimate (essential) biodiversity variables and ecological monitoring—tools that enhance our ability to understand, protect, and sustainably manage natural resources. I am also committed to capacity building and education, integrating emerging geospatial methods into training programs that empower practitioners and communities to strengthen resilience and secure ecosystems for the future.

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Research profiles

The bulk of my educational activities are linked to the MSc programme "Master Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation":

- Designing and coordination of the first course of the Natural Resources Management "(NRM) specialisation, "NRM FUNdamentals".

- Co-coordinating the NRM specialisation course "Geospatial Mapping for Natural Resources", where I lead the part of in-situ data collection design and field methods.

- Teaching in the course "Species Distribution and Environmental Niche Modelling"

- Teaching in the course "Environmental Assessment using Spatial Decision Support and Advanced Earth Observation Tools" 

Courses academic year 2025/2026

Courses in the current academic year are added at the moment they are finalised in the Osiris system. Therefore it is possible that the list is not yet complete for the whole academic year.

Courses academic year 2024/2025

The BioClima project, designed to advance biodiversity and climate monitoring through EU-China collaboration, was developed with a keen awareness of ethical considerations. It ensures compliance with all applicable international, EU, and national ethical standards, particularly in data collection, analysis, and cross-border sharing. The project emphasises the responsible handling of sensitive environmental data, prioritising the protection of natural habitats and ensuring the ethical involvement of communities and stakeholders in research activities. By adopting such a comprehensive ethical framework, BioClima aims to mitigate potential ethical concerns and foster sustainable, respectful international cooperation.

The ECO-MOSAIC (Ecosystem Monitoring and Scaling for Climate Change Impacts) project develops an open, scalable framework to monitor how climate change alters terrestrial ecosystems across Europe. Building on ESA Climate Change Initiative datasets and other satellite Earth Observation products, the project links Essential Biodiversity Variables and Essential Climate Variables with in-situ monitoring networks and advanced AI models to understand the impact of the climate change extreme event on species distribution. ECO-MOSAIC will generate spatially explicit indicators of ecosystem condition, resilience, exposure, and change at multiple spatial and temporal scales, supporting conservation planning and ambitious climate adaptation policies. The project will co-produce methods and open-source tools for users, ensuring interoperability, transparency, and uptake in policy and practice. Ultimately, ECO-MOSAIC aims to deliver transferable workflow and decision-ready information for scientists, land managers, policy makers worldwide, and other users of ecosystem information across Europe and beyond.

ESTIMATING THE POPULATION OF WILD BOAR IN OVERIJSSEL: The wild boar population is reported to have increased in the province of Overijssel. As they are often involved in road accidents and cause damage to crops, their presence needs to be monitored. Furthermore, wild boars are the vectors of African swine fever, a devastating infectious disease of pigs. Wild boar movement from neighbouring countries (e.g. Germany) poses a high health and economic risk for pig farms. However, population estimation and monitoring are not straightforward, as wild boars are cryptic, nocturnal species. The province of Overijssel (Fauna Policy Implementation office) requested the UT to provide advisory on a protocol for the estimation of the population of wild boars. Experimental layout, data collection and statistical analyses of acquired data will take place for the pilot area of Engbertsdijksvenen. The main methods to be tested employ modelling of population density with wildlife cameras (CTs) and advanced Unmanned Aerial Systems (drones) with thermal cameras. For the latter, ITC is also closely collaborating with NVWA (Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit, dpt of Remote Sensing and Data Acquisition). NVWA is highly interested in monitoring the population of wild boars due to the risk of African Swine fever spreading in the Netherlands. The project also involved a citizen science component (UT DesignLab), innovation companies (CTs), student project work and collaboration with the ENETWILD European network.

Address

University of Twente

Langezijds (building no. 19), room 1111
Hallenweg 8
7522 NH Enschede
Netherlands

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