Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.+39 0323 518363 (Telephone)
+39 0323 556513 (Fax)
Caves and other subterranean habitats are ideal experimental model system due to the narrow range of variability in abiotic conditions and the limited number of species and ineractions. The “dark side” of MEG is interested in using specialized subterranean organims to answer broad-in-scope eco-evolutionary questions.
Research interests: My scientific activity primarily focuses on subterranean biology and the use of caves as model systems in which to investigate an array of eco-evolutionary topics. I'm particularly interested in functional ecology, species distribution models, and other macroecological statistical methods, aiming to unravel subterranean diversity patterns and shedding light on the assembly process of cave communities. I'm also interest in the taxonomy and biology of spiders. Recently, I’m also developing a secondary line of research in the field of scientometric (Science of science), the study of pattern and processes in academic publishing.
Main line of research and research projects: CAWEB – testing macroecological theory using simplified settings; Biogeographic patterns and functional diversity of subterranean spiders; Climate change going deep: caves as model systems in climate change biology; CAVESHOW – studying the impact of visitors in touristic caves (PRIN2017 in collaboration with UniTO, PoliTO, and UniTuscia); Curator of the World Spider Trait database.
Publications (just click here)
Caves and other subterranean habitats are ideal experimental model system due to the narrow range of variability in abiotic conditions and the limited number of species and ineractions. The “dark side” of MEG is interested in using specialized subterranean organims to answer broad-in-scope eco-evolutionary questions.