PhD Student
Integrative Marine Ecology Department

Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn,
Fano Marine Center
Viale Adriatico 1/N
61032 Fano - Italia

Tel.: +39 380 865 1858
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it./ This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Contatto Skype: erickdiaz_19

Curriculum Vitae

Director of Studies: Trevor J. Willis
Advisor(s): Sarah Magozzi
External Supervisor: Clive Trueman (Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton)
Program: Open University, XXII cycle;

Research Interests

My PhD project focuses on the trophic ecology of Mediterranean elasmobranch and teleost mesopredators. In the Mediterranean Sea, top predators have been reduced due to overfishing which caused an increase in the populations of the following trophic levels (mesopredator release). This increment in the abundance of mesopredators raises several questions regarding their new trophic role and their interactions with sympatric species. It is possible to expect that under high levels of overexploitation, mesopredators forage in lower trophic levels and have some degree of resource sharing with sympatric species.
By using stomach content analysis, isotope biotracers, mercury (Hg) concentrations, and field metabolic rates (FMR), my research aims to: (i) define the trophic role of different Mediterranean sympatric mesopredators in different life stages and locations; (ii) analyse if Hg concentrations in elasmobranchs may be an indicator of trophic level; (iii) establish the relationship among feeding habits, isotopic niche, and metabolism; and (iv) determine if the isotopic composition of vertebral and dental tissues in elasmobranchs can be used to estimate the FMR.

Selected Publications

Espinoza, M., Diaz-Delgado, E., Angulo, A., Hernández, S. & Clarke, T. M. (2018). Chondrichthyan diversity, conservation status, and management challenges in Costa Rica. Frontiers in Marine Science, 5(85).

Diaz-Delgado, E, Crespo-Neto, O. & Martínez-Rincon, R. (2021). Environmental preferences of sharks bycaught by the tuna purse-seine fishery in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Fisheries Research, 243, 106076.

Crespo-Neto, O., Diaz-Delgado, E., Acosta-Pachón, T.A. & Martínez-Rincon, R. (2021). Spatial segregation by size of billfishes bycaught by the tuna purse-seine fishery in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Fisheries Research, 241, 106001.