Scholarship
Marine Animal Conservation and Public Engagement Department

Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn – Turtle Point
Via Macello 6
80550 Portici (NA) - Italia

Tel.: +39 081 5833222
Fax: +39 081 7641355
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests

I graduated in Natural Sciences at the University of Florence and Marine Biology at the University of Bologna. In my studies, I have evaluated and analyzed the effect of human activities on the conservation of sea turtles in the Adriatic Sea, focusing on bycatch and marine pollution issues. I became interested chiefly in the impact of fishing activities on the marine turtles, developing an experimental approach to the rehabilitation of accidentally caught and hospitalized specimens. In the Sea Turtle Rescue Centre where I did this research, I started my professional experience on these reptiles.
I also investigated the content of microplastics and possibly physiological effects in live specimens of Caretta caretta. Marine litter produced and discarded by humans can have different impacts on the ecosystem, with lethal or sub-lethal effects on organisms due to ingestion, entanglement, or release of chemicals. In the Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2000/60/EC, one of the target species selected for the monitoring of marine litter ingested by marine organisms in the Mediterranean basin is C. caretta. This species furthermore represents a bioindicator of pollution levels of the marine ecosystems where it lives. My current research activities are carried out into the framework of this Directive (Descriptor 10) at the Turtle Point managed by SZN, with the aims of monitoring the ingestion and possible impacts of marine debris in live and dead sea turtles, as well as assessing the entanglement of these animals and other marine vertebrates in marine litter.

Publications

Biagi E, Musella M, Palladino G, Angelini V, Pari S, Roncari C, Scicchitano D, Rampelli S, Franzellitti S and Candela M. (2021). Impact of Plastic Debris on the Gut Microbiota of Caretta caretta From Northwestern Adriatic Sea. Front. Mar. Sci., 8:637030.
doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.637030