All services must be booked via e-mail at the address stazione.idrobiologica@unipd.it with a detailed description of the request, please see the links below at each service for the requested information.

Lab services have to be booked as well through an online reservation at the following link: http://service.biologia.unipd.it/gestione_dipartimento/login.

Users from the Department of Biology have priority over users from other Departments of the University of Padova, or from external institutions.

Cancellation must be communicated at least 24 hours before the booked time slot. In case of maintenance, repairs or any unexpected problem, the booking slot may be cancelled by the technical managers at any time, with users being notified in reasonable advance.

In order to deal with the cost of maintenance, all services are provided following a rate table, which will be yearly updated.

Please find below  to the specific guidelines  for all the provided services.

Lab Services

Location: Hydrobiological Station “Umberto D’Ancona”, Isola di San Domenico – Chioggia

Opening hours: from Mondays to Fridays, from 09:00 to 17:30

Scientific Coordinator: Prof. Laura Airoldi

Lab Manager: Dr. Mattia Panin

Contacts:

• E-mail: stazione.idrobiologica@unipd.it
• Phone: +39 049 8278921
• Direct contact: Technical Office, 1° floor of Hydrobiological Station, Isola di San Domenico 3, Chioggia

Guidelines

In the Facility the use of every instrument or device is available only after booking via e-mail, at least with a 24-h notice, to stazione.idrobiologica@unipd.it, specifying the details concerning the request (e.g. number and type of samples to be analysed) and waiting for a positive reply. For the instruments belonging to “Group A“ it is also compulsory to book online through the Department booking system, loggin in with specific credentials at this link: https://service.biologia.unipd.it/gestione_dipartimento/login; every booking must indicate name and surname of the user, together with the name of the fund for charging the costs, writing these data into the field labeled “Utilizzatore”. For “Group B” instruments there will be a dedicated Excel calendar shared on Google Drive among authorized users. For “Group C” instruments and the ovens of “Group B”, for which a payment is not requested, the availability will be accessible through a dedicated Google Calendar prior to authorization.

Group A:

• “FlashSmart” CHNS/O analyser
• “LS 13320XR” laser diffraction grain size analyser
• “Multisizer 4e” Coulter counter
• “DIVING-PAM-II” underwater fluorometer
• “Zenith16” GNSS system
• “HI98194” e “HI9829” multiparametric probes
• Refrigerated centrifuges “Centric MF 48-R” e “MicroCL 17R”
• “DM2000” (Leica) optical microscope with epifluorescence

Group B:

• “FTF-220” growth chamber
• “TCN 50” oven (Tmax: 300° C), 2 Binder FD-series ovens (Tmax: 100° C), “ICN 120” incubator (Tmax: 70° C)
• Aquariums

Group C:

• “LYOQUEST-55” freeze-dryer
• “UV-1900i” (Shimadzu) spectrophotometer
• Vacuum pump filtration system
• Optical and stereomicroscopes, with and without “LAS X” (Leica) image analysis software

The independent use of the instruments may be allowed upon a specific training session (or alternatively  following a proper number of analyses under the supervision of the technician), that has to be arranged in agreement with the lab manager, writing to the address stazione.idrobiologica@unipd.it; in the case of FlashSmart, Multisizer 4e and LS 13320XR, a positive evaluation of the training is upon discretion of the lab manager, who might deny the independent use in case of unsuitable behaviors. In any case, at the end of every training session the user must read and sign the training report, which indicates specific prescriptions for every instruments. The Facility is accessible from Mondays to Fridays, from 9:00 to 17.30. Users who need to access the labs out of working hours or during weekends/holidays, must be previously authorized by the lab manager or by the scientific coordinator.

If a booking is not cancelled with a minimum 24-hour notice, 50% of the cost of the analysis will be charged.

Bookings might be cancelled at any time by the personnel in case of maintanance or repairing operations, with adequate advance notice. The logbooks on the Department booking system (Groups A) or on Google Drive (Group B) will be used to calculate the charges on a 6-month basis. It is compulsory to communicate to the technical staff every case of malfunctioning or damages occurred before, during or after the use. It is forbidden to operate on the instrument or on the power supply autonomously. Any damage occurring during the use on any booked session will be accounted to the user and to the research group he/she belongs.

Publications

Every data gathered through the instrument of this Facility and included in published papers should be acknowledged with the following sentence or similar: “We acknowledge DiBio Chioggia Facility - Lab Services, Biology Department, University of Padova, for the support in the acquisition and analysis of the data"

Boat Services 

Location: Stazione Idrobiologica “Umberto D’Ancona”, Isola San Domenico – Chioggia

Working hours: from monday to friday, from 8:00 to 17:30

Scientific manager: Prof.ssa Laura Airoldi

Technical manager: Dott.ssa Cristina Breggion

Contacts:

• Service e-mail: stazione.idrobiologica@unipd.it
• Telephone: 0498278920 and 041 400051
• Direct contact at the office: Ufficio Tecnici, 1° piano Stazione Idrobiologica, Isola di San Domenico, Chioggia

Available vessels

“Umberto D’Ancona”

Seating capacity 7 people; length 5.80 mt; width 2.01 mt; outboard engine 100CV; navigation within 3 miles from the coast.

“Teo”

Seating capacity 8 people; length 5.60 mt; width 2.45 mt; outboard engine 40CV; navigation within 3 miles from the coast, includes trailer for road transportation.

“Vimine”

Seating capacity 7 people; length 6.98 mt; width 2.35 mt; outboard engine 40CV; navigation allowed only in inland waters.

Guidelines for conduction

The D'Ancona  boat is to be navigated exclusively by the technical staff of the Stazione Idrobiologica.

Regarding the leading of the Vimine and Teo vessels by other personnel, please see the following links to the single regulations valid for each boat: 

• Teo (rib): 
• Vimine (boat): 

Booking procedures and general indications

To book an excursion, please send an e-mail to the Technician Office of the Stazione Idrobiologica, at the following address: stazione.idrobiologica@unipd.it. All excursions are subject to weather and sea conditions. The staff of the Stazione Idrobiologica has the right to cancel or reduce the duration of a booked excursions (and return early), if the weather and sea conditions are not safe for the passengers.

The staff of the Stazione Idrobiologica can provide direct support to sampling activities, although this remains full responsibility of the research staff party. The staff also holds authorizations for sampling activities for scientific purposes, issued by the Veneto Region, and regarding the lagoon inland waters and the marine waters in front of the Venice Lagoon. It remains full responsibility of the individual research groups to communicate to the Technical Office of the Stazione Idrobiologica, on an annual base, the sampling activities, carried out and to be carried out in the future, to allow the issuing of the relevant permits. For the collection of protected species, or for sampling in areas not included in the current permits, researchers will have to request the necessary additional permissions.

Samplings can include activities from the vessels, from land or in scuba diving mode. For all the standards and regulations concerning the underwater sampling activities, please consult the Operative Instruction for Underwater Activities of the Biology Department, University of Padova, available at the following link 

On-field activities featuring unstructured personnel, and involving the use of the Stazione Idrobiologica’s vessels, must be communicated as follow:

students of the bachelor/master’s degree courses: the activities must be included in the internship application or notified to the Stage and Internship Office by their supervisor or person responsible.

PhD students, scholarship holders, research fellows and collaborators: programmed activities must be communicated annually (or for the period in which they are carried out) to the Department Director, to the Administrative Secretary, to the Coordinator of the Doctoral School (for PhD students), and also for knowledge to the Manager of the Stazione Idrobiologica.

External research institutions may require the usage of the Stazione Idrobiologica’s vessels, always according to the regulations; however, in the case of requests overlapping, priority will be given to the research groups belonging to the University of Padova. The external personnel involved must be covered by insurance and hold the necessary authorizations for the planned activities.

Fares

The boat prices embed an all-inclusive hourly fee for the usage, and a refund for fuel costs, based on the actual consumption.

The fuel cost is calculated on a six-month basis, relying on data listed on the Ministry of Home Affairs website, available at the following link https://www.mimit.gov.it/it/prezzo-medio-carburanti/regioni#veneto.

The price list is differentiated for the usage by research groups belonging to the University of Padova, and the usage by external research institutions (which are also asked to pay VAT at 22%).

Scuba service

Location: Stazione Idrobiologica “Umberto D’Ancona”, Isola San Domenico – Chioggia

Working hours: from monday to friday, from 8:00 to 17:30

Scientific manager: Prof.ssa Laura Airoldi

Technical manager: Dott.ssa Vittoria Correale

Contacts:

• Service e-mail: stazione.idrobiologica@unipd.it
• Telephone: 041 400051
• Direct contact at the office: Ufficio Tecnici, 1° piano Stazione Idrobiologica, Isola di San Domenico, Chioggia

Guidelines

An official scientific diving certification, minimum level ESD according to the European Scientific Diving Panel standards, is required to be able to sample underwater.

Each diving team must include at least 2 scientifc divers, one of which must hold a scientific diving certification minimum level AESD, according to the European Scientific Diving Panel standards, and will be the Mission Leader during the underwater sampling activity.

Every diver must hold official authorization to dive, issued by his/her RDRS (Responsabile Attività Subacquea di Didattica e di Ricerca), i.e. the professor promoting the diver’s underwater sampling activity. The diver must also hold medical certifcate confirming his/her fitness to dive, issued by a qualified doctor.

It’s mandatory by law to inform the local authorities on any underwater sampling activity, following the guidelines featured in the 5th of march 2024 Order on scientific diving.

In order to book a scientific diving expedition with us, it’s necessary to send an e-mail at the address stazione.idrobiologica@unipd.it specifing:

• Date you mean to book the expedition;
• Number of divers involved, personal data and emergency contacts, diving and scientific diving certifications, for all of them;
• If the working group doesn’t include a diver with a scientific diving certification minimum level AESD, please specify on the e-mail that you will need a Mission Leader for your expedition;
• Place of sampling, including GPS coordinates;
• Purpose of the sampling, techniques you intend to use, and any particular gear that might be needed;
• Expected depth and diving time;
• Gear you intend to rent from the facility: number and size of tanks, regulators in compliance with scientific diving regulations, other pieces of gear required by law for scientific diving;
• Funds you intend to use to pay for the expenses;
• Documents to be attached to your request, for all the involved divers: scuba diving certifications and scientific diving certifications, medical certificates attesting the fitness to dive (issued by qualified doctor), authorization to dive Form, signed by the RDRS (professor responsible for promoting the underwater research activity).

For all the details, please see the Operative Instruction for Underwater Activities of the Biology Department, University of Padova, available at the following link.

Gear available at the facility

Electric compressor for tank refilling AeroSub Professional 6000, 90 l/min with single charging hose

Electric compressor for tank refilling Coltri Ergo Efficient 235 ET, 235 l/min with double chargin hose

2 steel 15 liters tanks with double taps

6 steel 10 liters tanks with double taps

2 medical oxygen tanks, 5 liters each, for diving emergencies treatment, each one including on demand delivery system, flowmeter, continuous flow delivery system and non-rebreather mask

5 pairs of full dual stage regulators, DIN connection, 1.5 mt hose and pressure gauge included

1 semi-dry suit, 7 mm, size S

1 wetsuit, 5 mm, size S, with 5 mm shorty included

4 full wetsuits, 2 mm, various sizes

2 Suunto Zoop Novo diving computers

10 pairs of diving gloves, 3 mm

7 pairs of scuba diving boots

1 pair of freediving neoprene socks

5 pairs of scuba diving fins with straps, various sizes

4 masks

8 snorkels

12 diving belts, various sizes

50 kg weights, split into various sizes

2 underwater torches

1 automatic inflation life jacket, for the surface assistant

2 diving buoys, with 8 meters floating rope attached

4 underwater shakers

4 diving reels with 40 meters line

4 underwater knives, with various fastening systems

4 underwater compasses

3 surface whistles

4 underwater clipboards with pencil

Car Services

Location: Palazzo Grassi, Riva Canal Vena 1281 – Calle Grassi Naccari, 30015 Chioggia (VE)

Working hours: from monday to friday, from 8:00 to 19:30.

If the need for use falls outside the normal working hours or during weekends, please notify when making the reservation, in order to organize documents and keys collection and return.

Relevant staff: Secretary of Palazzo Grassi

Contacts:

• Service e-mail: palazzograssi.chioggia@unipd.it
• Telephone: 0498278910 or 041 5501272
• Direct contact at the office: Secretary, ground floor, Palazzo Grassi, Chioggia

Booking method:

Bookings are to be made hrough email at the address palazzograssi.chioggia@unipd.it, indicating date and times you intend to book the car for, destination, reason for the request, professor responsible for the activity, funds to be used to pay for the expenses.

It is possible to independently check the car booking calendar by applying for authorization at the Secretary of Palazzo Grassi.

For booking periods longer than 15 days, authorization from the facility’s Manager is required.

Overview

Citroen Berlingo 5 seats, petrol powered, towbar with 1000Kg maximum total towing capacity (trolley + boat), total capacity of the car 600 kg (people + rear trunk and roof), maximum load on the roof 75Kg.

Guidelines

The vehicle can be used for any institutional needs by anyone having an employment contract with the University of Padova (including PhD students) and a driving license valid in Italy.

Students cannot drive the vehicle.

At the end of the mission the driver:

• fills in the car register with the mileage, departure and arrival times, purpose of the expedition, funds to be used to pay for the expenses;

• must report any malfunction, fault or possible damage caused to the vehicle.

The fuel:

• if paid for using fuel cards, must be purchased exclusively at AGIP petrol stations, enclosing the purchase receipt to the used up fuel card;

• if purchased without using fuel cards, any petrol station is suitable.

The vehicle documents, keys, fuel cards, fuel sheet, car register as well as the car badge allowing the access to the facilities of the Department of Biology, have to be handed back to the staff on duty at Palazzo Grassi.

Any fines for traffic violations are payable by the offender.