Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms (BEOM):
- Title: Integrated taxonomy studies in marine invertebrates
SZN Tutor: Laura Nunez Pons
Department: BEOM
Description:
Research based on the classification of marine invertebrates applying techniques for the morphological description and diagnosis of species identification, and molecular approaches related to DNA barcoding and phylogeny.
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- Title: Allelopathy and functional symbioses in marine holobionts
SZN Tutor: Laura Nunez Pons
Department: BEOM
Description:
Studies related to symbiotic interactions taking place in marine ecosystems and their role in organismal health, disease, and acclimatization to the environment via metabolic fluxes of nutrients, defensive compounds and allelochemical mediators.
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- Title: Behavioral plasticity in Octopus vulgaris
SZN Tutor: Graziano Fiorito
Department: BEOM
Description:
Analysis of problem-solving capability in the common octopus, based also on historical data related to behavioral performance. Study of inter-individual variability in contextual learning
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- Title: Annotating octopus brain regions: a development of an interactive digital atlas for the cephalopod brain
SZN Tutor: Graziano Fiorito
Department: BEOM
Description:
A brain atlas is a necessary tool for analyzing structure and function of nervous system in fields of neuroscience and behavioral science. Although various annotations are available for 'brains' of several mammalian and few other species including some invertebrates, annotation for 'brains' of cephalopod mollusks is not available. The proposed thesis work is aimed at filling this gap and implementing a pipeline for construction of a flexible annotation atlas (FAA) of the octopus (O. vulgaris) brain. The workplan include analysis of published works and in-house resources (available at the octopus lab, BEOM Dept, Stazione Zoologica), annotation of serial sections of entire adult octopus’ brain, data on brain structure, digital representation of single areas and ROIs. The produced FAA will be then available as Open Data – implementing FAIR Data Principles – and will help improving the consistency of whole brain ROI definition among laboratories internationally by fulfilling various requests from researchers with its flexibility and reproducibility. The same principles utilized for octopus will be subsequently adopted for other cephalopod species.
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Integrated Marine Ecology (EMI):
- Title: IBiology and ecology of fish early life stages in the south-central Tyrrhenian Sea
SZN Tutor: Lorenzo Ciannelli
Department: EMI, Ischia Marine Centre, Ischia (NA)
Description:
The early stages (eggs, larvae and juveniles) of the fish life cycle have high mortality rates which influence the population dynamics of the adult stages. For many commercial species of the southcentral Tyrrhenian there is no knowledge on the reproduction areas of fish eggs and larvae and of the bio-physical processes that influence their transport and survival. The aim of this study is to characterize the ichthyoplankton communities of the Gulf of Naples and Gaeta, using various coastal and oceanic sampling systems, and to create bio-physical models to predict the transport of fish eggs and larvae.
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- Title: Integrative taxonomy as a tool to assess the true biodiversity of the marine biota of the Gulf of Naples (Italy, Mediterranean Sea)
SZN Tutor: Fabio Crocetta
Department: EMI
Description:
The Mediterranean Sea is one of the most important biodiversity hotspots worldwide. However, many local zoological groups have not been subjected to a deep review based on
modern methods. The aim of the project will be to explore the biota of the Gulf of Naples through an integrative taxonomy approach – i.e. a comprehensive framework to delimit and describe taxa by integrating information from ecological, molecular, and morphological data. Data obtained will have important implications in conservation issues, refine phylogenetic relationships and species boundaries, and shed a light on evolutionary lines and cryptic diversity.
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- Title: Impact on intensive fishing on sea urchin
SZN Tutor: Marco Munari
Department: EMI
Description:
Intensive human fishing is leading to a significant body rescaling of sea urchin populations with still unknown consequences on the ecosystems. Potential compensatory responses will be explored at different ecological scales with experimental approaches carried out in the field and in laboratory.
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- Title: Obtaining axenic cultures of diatom strains
SZN Tutor: Wiebe Kooistra
Department: EMI
Description:
The candidate is to perform tests to assess the effectiveness of concentrations of four antibiotics in generating bacteria-free cultures of diatoms, also monitoring the responses of the diatoms to the antibiotics. The results are needed to generate bacteria-free diatom strains for genomics research.
Together with Mariella Ferrante.
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- Title: Biodiversity in the diatom genus Chaetoceros
SZN Tutor: Wiebe Kooistra
Department: EMI
Description:
The candidate isolates monoclonal strains within selected species complexes in the planktonic diatom genus Chaetoceros, identifythem by means of LM photography, DNA-extraction, PCR-amplification, and sequencing of choice strains and examine them in SEM and TEM.
Together with Diana Sarno
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- Title: Identification of zoobenthic species in the mesophotic zone and extraction of qualitative and quantitative data using image analysis
SZN Tutor: Eva Salvati
Department: EMI
Description:
Identification of zoobenthic species in the mesophotic zone and extraction of qualitative and quantitative data using image analysis.
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Conservation of marine Animals and Public Engagement (CAPE):
- Title: Patterns and drivers of native species richness decline in the Eastern Mediterranean
SZN Tutor: Paolo Albano
Department: CAPE
Description:
The Eastern Mediterranean Sea is under the siege of climate warming, biological invasions, and further local stressors. We quantify today's and historical native Mediterranean and non-indigenous species richness with extensive sampling programs and use multidisciplinary approaches at the interface of marine ecology and paleontology to quantify species loss and identify its main drivers. Furthermore, we use functional trait studies and species distribution models to understand and predict the fate of the Mediterranean in future climate scenarios.
For further information and availability, please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (website https://pgalbano.weebly.com/)
- Title: Integrative taxonomy of hyper-diverse marine gastropods
SZN Tutor: Paolo Albano
Department: CAPE
Description:
We study the taxonomy of the gastropod family Triphoridae, one of the "big five" - the most species rich families in the world oceans. Our approach includes morphology, anatomy, genetic approaches and is conducted in cooperation with colleagues in France (Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle) and the Netherlands (Naturalis) in an international effort to contribute to new species descriptions in the tropical Indo-Pacific and Atlanto-Mediterranean provinces.
For further information and availability, please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (website https://pgalbano.weebly.com/)
Eco-sustainable Marine Biotechnology (BIOTECH):
- Title: Biotechnological potential of enzymes from diatoms
SZN Tutor: Giovanna Romano
Department: BIOTECH
Description:
Marine microorganisms must endure habitats characterized by extreme conditions of salinity, temperature or pressure. Their enzymes present concomitant features, e.g. thermostability or halo-stability, which are appealing for practical applications. The proposed project will focus on lipases and lipoxygenases enzymes from diatoms, since we expect new and useful feature for applications in the food industry e.g. for improving the quality of bread and for flavor enhancement of food products (lipases); in bleaching of colored components and production of aroma compounds (lipoxygenases).
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