Da lunedì al venerdì previo appuntamento per email.

I am an ecologist holding a M.Sc. in Natural Sciences (University of Florence) and a Ph.D. in Animal Ecology (University of Wales, UK). I mainly focus on understanding drivers of status and vulnerability of populations and communities, with most of my experience on mammals as the subject and camera trapping as the detection method. Managing a long-term programme in Tanzania allows me to pursue my broad interest in tropical ecology and conservation biology, through biodiversity monitoring, contributing to pantropical studies, advisory for protected area management and capacity building.

Higher Education:

1995: Degree in Natural Sciences (MSc-equivalent), highest marks, University of Florence, Italy

2000: Ph.D. in Animal Biology (Behavioural Ecology), University of Wales, Bangor, UK           

Languages: Italian (mother tongue), English (fluent), Swahili (good), French (basic)

Summarized career history:

• 2022 - : Associate Professor of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Florence.
• 2019 - 2021: Tenure track Assistant Professor of Ecology (RTDb), Department of Biology, University of Florence.
• 2008 - 2018: Head of the Tropical Biodiversity Section, MUSE - Museo delle Scienze (Trento Science Museum, Italy).
• 2004 - 2008: Post-doctoral research scientist (tropical forest mammal ecology), MUSE - Museo delle Scienze (Trento Science Museum, Italy).
• 2000 - 2003: researcher and technical advisor with various institution in Tanzania (Voluntary Service Overseas, UK; CMSR and Terra Nuova, Italian NGOs for international cooperation, WWF- Tanzania programme, and as an independent researcher).

Experience:

I am an ecologist and biodiversity conservation scientist. I mainly focus on understanding drivers of status and vulnerability of populations and communities, and use hierarchical modelling to study occurrence, abundance and community metrics. Most of my experience is on mammals as the subject and camera trapping as the detection method. My research projects had a marked geographic focus on high biodiversity areas in Tanzania, where I coordinate a long-term programme that integrates research, ecological monitoring and technical support to protected areas. This programme has been instrumental to establish in 2006 the Udzungwa Ecological Monitoring Centre (http://www.udzungwacentre.org/). I work or have worked also in the Alps, Apennines, Mongolia and the Amazon. Laboratory website: https://www.ecologyandbiodiversity.unifi.it/vp-10-presentation.html

Publication metrics (source Scopus):

-         Num. of ISI publications (at January 2024): 133

-         Num. of citations: 8198

-         H-index: 38

Editorial and professional memberships:

• Member of the IUCN-Species Survival Commission’s Species Monitoring Specialist Group (since July 2019), Afrotheria Specialist Group (since January 2008) and Primate Specialist Group (since March 2017).
• Member of the Editorial Board, Mammal Review (since October 2022)
• Associate Editor, Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation (since December 2019).
• Member of PLOS ONE Editorial Board (since August 2018).
• Associate Editor, Hystrix, the Italian Journal of Mammalogy (since March 2015).
• Associate Editor, Ethology, Ecology and Evolution (since May 2020).
• Member of the Editorial Committee of the Journal of East African Natural History (since March 2021)
• Member of the "Science and Analytics Committee" of Wildlife Insights, global and inter-institutional platform for management and analyses of camera-trapping data (since March 2018).
• Member of the Global Forest Biodiversity Initiative, global platform for research and policy in forest science (since September 2016).
• Member of the Snow Leopard Network (since January 2016).
• Member of the Steering Committee, the Italian Primatological Society (2015-2018).
• Member of the International Reviewers Panel of the African Journal of Ecology (since January 2012).
• I routinely referee for ISI journals in the field of ecology, zoology and conservation biology.

Other information:

• Supervision (till 2023) of 8 Ph.D. students.
• Supervision (till 2023) of 25 M.Sc. research thesis for Universities in the EU, and of several B.Sc. research thesis in the fields of ecology and conservation biology.
• During 2008-2023 I gave 51 invited talks on my research activities at public scientific events or University courses nationally and internationally.