I am specialized in microevolution processes and population genetics inferred by molecular markers. My principal investigation area is focused on marine animals, especially fishing resources or endangered species. My research is mostly divided into two main topics:
1. molecular zoology applied to fishery and conservation of biodiversity in wild animals: definition of micro- and macroevolutionary patterns on Mediterranean species; demarcation of spatial and temporal boundaries of intraspecific genetic diversity, revision of biogeography ranges in marine resources with special emphasis to those which present cryptic or sister species in their genus clade, estimation of genetic parameters in shared stocks of the Adriatic Sea; definition of population structure in demersal resources like fish (common sole, red mullet), cephalopods (squid and cuttlefish) and others; development of new DNA markers at multiple taxonomic levels.
2. molecular zoology applied to aquaculture and conservation of endangered species (European eels and Adriatic sturgeon): genotyping of broodstock for ex-situ reproduction, assessment of parentage and kinship, optimization of crossbreeding protocols to avoid inbreeding and genetic bottlenecks, definition of restocking projects.
Beside these two strictly aquatic topics, recently I began studying the parasite nematode Protostrongylus spp, to reconstruct the complex history of European hares by means of their parasites’ genotype.
