EDUCATION 1997. PhD in Animal Biology (Univ. of Bologna). 1993 Degree in Natural Sciences (Univ. of Padova) RESEARCH INTERESTS The research activity is developed in the fields of molecular ecology and Conservation Genetics. The main lines of research are: Management of protected species through planning of restocking/reintroduction actions and monitoring of their effects; Analysis of biodiversity with classical genetic markers and eDNA metabarcoding. Studies of evolutionary relationships between populations and spatial distribution of biodiversity; Identification of species and interspecific hybrids; Support to ex situ conservation programs and establishment of breeding plans. Development and application of molecular markers for species identification and monitoring of illegal trade of protected species; SELECTED ACTIVE INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS Institute for zoo and wildlife research, Berlin, Germany (Dr. A. Ludwig); Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences (Prof. Qiwei Wei) Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Berlin, Germany (Dr. Joern Gessner); VNIRO Russia Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography Moscow, Russia (Dr. Nikolai Mugue); Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management BOKU, Vienna, Austria (Dr.Thomas Friedrich); WWF Central and Eastern Europe (Dr. Beate Striebel-Greiter). University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Wien, Austria (Dr. A. Zitek); Danube Delta National Institute, Tulcea, Romania (Dr. R. Suciu); RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL INVOLVEMENTS Since 2004 Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of the Journal of Applied Ichthyology, reference journal for the World Sturgeon of Conservation Society. Since 2006 member of the Sturgeon Specialist group of IUCN. 2009 Invited at the Caspian Environment Program Regional Workshop on Sturgeon Genetics. Organized by the World Bank. Trabzon, Turkey. 2009 Member of the Scientific Committee and chairman at the ISS6 6th International Symposium on Sturgeons, Wuhan, China. 2009 FAO Workshop on Technical guidelines on sturgeon hatchery practices and management. Wuhan, China. 2009 Workshop on the re-classification of sturgeon species status under the IUCN Red List Criteria. Wuhan, China. 2013 Member of the scientific committee and chairman at the ISS7 7th International Symposium on Sturgeons, Nanaimo, Canada. 2014 Referent for the Dept. of Biology, Univ. of Padua, for the WSCS European Sturgeon Research Network (WSCS-EDRN). 2015 Board Member of the World Sturgeon Conservation Society. 2016 Invited speaker for the Plenary Session at the International Sturgeon Meeting held in Krasnodar, Russia. 2017 Member of the scientific committee and chairman at the ISS8, 8th International Symposium on Sturgeons, Vienna. 2017 Subject Editor for the Journal of Applied Ichthyology. 2017 IUCN Red List Authority Coordinator for the next Assessment on Sturgeon and Paddlefish (2019). TEACHING Since 2006 he has held the following courses at the University of Padua, in various three-year or master's degree courses. Ecology, Population Biology, Molecular methods for Environmental studies, Conservation Genetics, Ecological methods for Environmental Sciences, General and Applied Ecology Publications https://scholar.google.it/citations?hl=it&user=kvjdynEAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

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The research activity is developed in the fields of molecular ecology and Conservation Genetics. The main lines of research are: Management of protected species through planning of restocking/reintroduction actions and monitoring of their effects; Analysis of biodiversity with classical genetic markers and eDNA metabarcoding. Studies of evolutionary relationships between populations and spatial distribution of biodiversity; Identification of species and interspecific hybrids; Support to ex situ conservation programs and establishment of breeding plans. Development and application of molecular markers for species identification and monitoring of illegal trade of protected species; Analysis of the connectivity between marine areas of Community interest. In recent years he has worked mainly on fish but also on reptiles, mammals and invertebrates.

Master's thesis in Molecular Biology and Evolutionary Biology on various aspects related to the sturgeon evolution and conservation genetics. Other thesis topics concern the development of molecular markers for the identification of species and interspecific hybrids and, more generally, of genetic analysis tools applicable to different levels of diversity: species, populations, individuals. Some currently active research lines: - Management of captive breeding stock to support the restocking of different sturgeon species. - Geographical differentiation patterns analysis for informed management of various protected species. - Development of universal molecular markers for the analysis of diversity at different levels (species, populations, individuals). - Environmental DNA analysis for the study of the colonization patterns of the Pelobate Toad (Pelobates fuscus). - Development of protocols for the molecular identification of sex - Analysis of the relationship between fitness and inbreeding in Cobice sturgeon as part of the ENDEMIXIT project. https://endemixit.com/

Last update: 26/06/2025