Aegean Sea: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

Line 216:

==Biogeography and ecology==

===Protected areas===

Greece has established several [[marine protected area]]s along its coasts. According to the Network of Managers of Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean ([[MedPAN]]), four Greek MPAs are participating in the Network. These include [[Alonnisos Marine Park]], while the [[Missolonghi–Aitoliko Lagoons]] and the island of [[Zakynthos]] are not on the Aegean.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mpatlas.org/region/country/GRC/|title=MPAtlas » Greece|website=www.mpatlas.org|access-date=16 June 2019}}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==History==

===Ancient history===

[[File:Cycladic figurine, female, 2800-2300 BC, AM Naxos (13 01), 143205.jpg|200px|thumb|upright=1.25|Female figure from [[Naxos]] (2800-23002800–2300 BC)]]

The current coastline dates back to about 4000&nbsp;BC. Before that time, at the peak of the [[last glacial period|last ice age]] (about 18,000 years ago) sea levels everywhere were {{Convert|130|m}} lower, and there were large well-watered coastal plains instead of much of the northern Aegean. When they were first occupied, the present-day islands including [[Milos]] with its important [[obsidian]] production were probably still connected to the mainland. The present coastal arrangement appeared around 9,000 years ago, with post-ice age sea levels continuing to rise for another 3,000 years after that.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Tjeerd H. van Andel |author2=Judith C. Shackleton |title=Late Paleolithic and Mesolithic Coastlines of Greece and the Aegean|journal=Journal of Field Archaeology |volume=9|issue=4|date=Winter 1982|pages=445–454|jstor=529681 |doi=10.1179/009346982791504454}}</ref>