Ecology

People: Stefano Cataudella, Michele Scardi, Clara Boglione, Eleonora Ciccotti, Tommaso Russo, Federica Berrilli, David Di Cave

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• Study of river fish populations and assemblages aimed at developing biological method useful to assess ecological status of running water ecosystems. Studies on relationship between fish assemblages and abiotic variables in inland waters, also aimed at identifying action plans for fish biodiversity conservation. (Stefano Cataudella, Eleonora Ciccotti)
• Assessment of the ecological status of aquatic ecosystems based on community structure (e.g. according to the Directive 2000/60/EC) and related methods, with special reference  to expert systems and Artificial Intelligence techniques. (Stefano Cataudella, Michele Scardi, Clara Boglione, Eleonora Ciccotti, Tommaso Russo)
• Analysis of the relationship existing among physical, chemical and biotic variables in running waters, with particular attention paid to the biological evaluation of environment quality, to nutrient retention and variations due to antropic alterations.  (Stefano Cataudella,  Clara Boglione, Eleonora Ciccotti)
• Setting up of methodologies able to identify the effects of environmental stress on exposed organisms. (Clara Boglione)
• Study of bone diseases in vertebrates. Anatomy, morphology, histology and epigenetic of skeletal tissues of vertebrates, using fish as a model for studies aimed at extending knowledge about bone diseases. Using skeletal abnormalities in fish as a indicator of the health status of a water body or breeding conditions (density, diet, stress, … ..) in aquaculture. Application of multivariate analysis techniques and artificial intelligence for the integrated analysis of the environmental effects on skeletal remodeling and modeling processes. (Stefano Cataudella, Clara Boglione, Tommaso Russo)
• Macrozoobenthic communities and seagrass meadows analysis in coastal marine ecosystems. Assessment and prediction of phytoplankton primary production based on modeling, both at local and global scale in aquatic (oceanic, transitional and freshwater) ecosystems. Assessment of primary productivity of Posidonia oceanica through lepidocronological analyses and mathematical modeling. Statistical analysis of ecological data and application of Machine Learning techniques to Ecology. (Michele Scardi)
• Analysis of the composition and structure of parasite communities in different hosts. Study of risk factors associated with the spread of parasites, molecular epidemiology of parasitic diseases. (Federica Berrilli, David Di Cave)