Luca Santini
I am an ecologist and a modeller, with main interests in the field of macroecology, biogeography, conservation biology and global change biology, but also animal ecology, urban ecology, behavioural ecology and macroevolution. My research relies on a variety of modelling approaches to answer both theoretical and applied questions in ecology and conservation. Part of my research focuses patterns and processes in nature across space, time and taxa, with particular interest in the role of anthropogenic pressures in shaping these patterns and processes. Most of my research is aimed at integrating macroecological and biogeographical principles into conservation assessments, with the ultimate goal of reducing our dependency on species-level information and resulting taxonomic biases by focusing on general ecological principles and species functional differences.
Most of my experience is on terrestrial vertebrates, but I’m more interested in the ecological questions than species. I love collaborating with – and learning from – other researchers. I started my training in Italy, but later had several international experiences in Scotland, France and the Netherlands. Currently I’m an Associate Professor at the Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin” of Sapienza University of Rome.
Contact: luca.santini.eco[at]gmail.com; luca.santini[at]uniroma1.it
Postdocs
Davide Mirante
I’m a postdoctoral researcher at the Sapienza University of Rome. My main research objective is to understand the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on diel rhythms, home-range use, acoustic activity, and physiological response of wildlife. I’m also interested in the application of recently introduced statistical models (REM, REST, and DS-CT) to estimate species densities and abundances through camera traps or automatic recording units data, without individual recognition. I had previous research experience in Vienna, where I worked as a research assistant for the KLIVV institute. My main duties included data analysis on a long time-series database, aimed at investigating which environmental factors influence hibernation and reproductive cycles of the edible dormice (Glis glis), as well as fieldwork, to collect data and further expand the dataset.
Contact: davide.mirante[at]uniroma1.it
PhD students
Andrea Zampetti
I am a PhD student in Animal Biology at “La Sapienza” University of Rome, with a particular interest in ecological modelling and conservation. My primary research experience centers on camera-trapping methods for density and abundance estimation of wildlife populations, with a specific focus on integrating machine learning algorithms to automate the process. Currently, I am working on applying population density data to conservation studies across different spatial scales through modelling and integrated approaches. My objective is to gain a better understanding of the drivers of animal abundance and how to apply population density data to inform large-scale conservation assessments.
Contact: andrea.zampetti[at]uniroma1.it
Giorgia Castiello
I am a PhD student at Sapienza University of Rome and currently a research fellow at CREA – Research Centre for Forestry and Wood, in Arezzo. I am working on forest animal biodiversity monitoring, and the main focus of my research is the study of bat communities in forest habitats, particularly in relation to silvicultural management, using passive bioacoustic monitoring (PAM) techniques. I am passionate about animal ecology, conservation biology and bioacoustics and have a special interest in fieldwork and bioacoustic data identification and processing.
Contact: giorgia.castiello[at]uniroma1.it; giorgia.castiello[at]crea.gov.it
Daniele Saracino
I am a PhD student at Sapienza University of Rome interested in animal ecology and conservation, with particular attention to bats. My current research is focused on urban environment with the main objective of understanding drivers and threats that influence bat diversity in cities and the ecosystem services they can provide. I am fascinated both by fieldwork and data modeling and I am particularly intrigued by bioacoustics for the possibilities it offers with its non-invasive techniques. I also work on wildlife monitoring programs with the society Ecomodel.
Contact: daniele.saracino[at]uniroma1.it
Alice Turchi
I’m a PhD student at Sapienza University of Rome, with a strong interest in wildlife management and conservation. My project focuses on cetacean distribution drivers, both on a global and local scale. On a global scale, the objective is to understand the main drivers of their presence, density, and species richness, and how these are included in current (and future) management frameworks. On a local scale, I’m interested in understanding how climate change can influence big cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea and developing an effective tool to identify anthropic disturbance and threat hotspots in the Basin.
Contact: alice.turchi[at]uniroma1.it
Research assistants
Matteo Giuliani
I am a research assistant at Sapienza University, currently engaged in the UrBiS project. My work focuses on collecting information on the avian and chiropteran diversity of Rome’s urban area. My research interests lie mainly in ornithology and bioacoustics, with a particular focus on utilizing soundscapes to understand spatial and temporal patterns of biodiversity.
Contact: matteo.giuliani@uniroma1.it
Master students
Elisa Abbondanza
Giulia Esposito
Carlotta Vivaldi
Daniele Della Nebbia
Perla Laudonio
Silvia del Bove
Lola Forti Grazzini
Adriano Arceri
Giulia Barone
Bachelor students
Matteo D’Alessandro
Francesco Di Pofi
Past lab members
Postdocs
Luca Francesco Russo
Victor Cazalis
Alessandra Bisattini
Pablo Lucas
PhD students
Selwyn Hoeks (Radboud University)
Coline Boonman (Radboud University)
Davide Mirante
Giordano Mancini
Research assistants
Nicoló Pranzini
Andrea Sacchi
Visiting students
Sofía Alfonso Velasco
Christos Karoulis
Penelope Fialas
Irene Conenna
Marta Cimatti
Elodie Le Quellec
Louise Prevot
Master Students
Gaia Gonnellini
Gaia Salvi
Gabriele Ferraro
Aurelia Sebastiani
Francesca De Santis
Giulia Sassoli
Eleonora Morrone
Giulia Sperning
Marta Polizzi
Andrea Santini
Guendalina Francesconi
Sanja Jelena Gargano
Giuseppe Coiro
Daniele Saracino
Marco Quaranta
Manuel Vicca
Martina Fernando
Andrea Zampetti
Giulia Boratto
Matteo Giuliani
Laura Paltrinieri
Davide Furnarò
Nicolò Pranzini (University of Turin)
Shibely Soto (Radboud University)
Giordano Mancini
Steven Kelderman (Radboud University)
Thomas Hamersma (Radboud University)
Erin Henry (Radboud University)
Pedro Lorenzo Cruz (Radboud University)
Giulia Cristallini
Alice D’Acunzo
Irene Presutti
Gabriele Girardi
Daniele Della Nebbia
Eleonora Lenci
Costantino Pontani
Federica Di Stefano
Giorgia Varchi
Elisa Bettini
Sonia Zouaoui
Nicole Grande
Sara Hamidi
Chiara Congedi
Flavia Marotta
Lorenzo Santia
Sveva Fortuna
Alessio Filadi
Elisa Abbondanza
Mario Pierini
Eva Mariana Acuna
Giulia Spoleti
Eros Spinozzi
Vanessa Sabatini
Eden Findo
Clara Amman
Vincenzo Anzidei
Andrea Zampetti
Gioia Adornato
Jacopo Pagani
Simona Picardi
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