PhD Student
Integrative Marine Ecology Department

Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn
Villa Comunale
80121 Napoli - Italia

Tel.: +39 081 5833314
Fax: +39 081 7641355
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Contatto Skype: valentinatanduo

Curriculum Vitae

Director of Studies: Dr. Fabio Crocetta
Internal Supervisor: Dr. Salvatore D’Aniello
External Supervisor: Prof. Rafael Zardoya
Advisor: Dr. Lucia Rizzo

Program: Open University, XXIV cycle

Research Interests

The order Decapoda Latreille, 1802 (Crustacea) represents a variegate group of benthic and demersal marine organisms, including “real” crabs, hermit crabs, lobsters, and shrimps. Over the past centuries, the Mediterranean decapod biota has been widely explored with morphological approaches, resulting still partially unknown and highlighting uncertainties in the recognition of larval stages and/or cryptic species. Successful barcoding studies have been carried on decapod crustaceans worldwide, suggesting the great potential of these techniques within taxonomic research.
In this context, the Gulf of Naples (GoN) represents the perfect area in which to carry out barcode projects, as it is characterized by an unusually species-rich ecosystem, principally due to its geomorphological history. Moreover, its fauna, and in particular the decapod one, has been widely studied over the centuries.
The main aim of my project is to evaluate, through an integrated taxonomy approach, the morphological and molecular diversity of the decapods living in the Mediterranean Sea and especially in the GoN, to identify how many species actually live in this area and to evaluate if the morphological approach is adequate for their identification. Once obtained an initial dataset in which vouchered specimens will be associated to a molecular barcode, possible Atlanto-Mediterranean dispersions or speciation events and possible endemisms will be evaluated. The initial barcode dataset will allow to highlight possible species complex and to assess whether specific families or genera need a phylogenetic revision.

Selected Publications

Tanduo V, Virgili R, Crocetta F. (2022: in press). Integrative taxonomy confirms the presence of the enigmatic Lysmata olavoi (Fransen, 1991) (Decapoda: Lysmatidae) in the Mediterranean Sea. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315422000455

Rizzo L, Minichino R, Virgili R, Tanduo V, Osca D, Manfredonia A, Consoli P, Colloca F, Crocetta F. (2022). Benthic litter in the continental slope of the Gulf of Naples (central-western Mediterranean Sea) hosts limited fouling communities but facilitates molluscan spawning. Mar. Pollut. Bull., 181: 113915. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113915

Santoro M, Bellisario B, Tanduo V, Crocetta F, Palomba M. (2022). Drivers of parasite communities in three sympatric benthic sharks in the Gulf of Naples (central Mediterranean Sea). Sci. Rep., 12: 9969. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14024-0

Virgili R, Tanduo V, Katsanevakis S, Terlizzi F, Villani G, Fontana A, Crocetta F. (2022). The Miseno Lake (central-western Mediterranean sea): an overlooked reservoir of non-indigenous and cryptogenic ascidians in a marine reserve. Front. Mar. Sci., 9: 866906. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.866906

Nuzzo G, Gallo C, Crocetta F, Romano L, Barra G, Senese G, dell’Isola M, Carbone D, Tanduo V, Albiani F, Villani G, d’Ippolito G, Manzo E, Fontana A. (2022). Identification of the marine alkaloid Lepadin A as potential inducer of immunogenic cell death. Biomolecules, 12(2): 246. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom12020246

Tanduo V, Virgili R, Osca D, Crocetta F. (2021). Hiding in Fouling Communities: a Native Spider Crab Decorating with a Cryptogenic Bryozoan in a Mediterranean. J. Mar. Sci. Eng., 9(5): 495. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9050495

Tanduo V, Osca D, Crocetta F. (2021). A bycatch surprise: Scyllarus subarctus Crosnier, 1970 (Decapoda: Achelata: Scyllaridae) in the Mediterranean Sea. J. Crustac. Biol., 41(2): ruab010. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcbiol/ruab010

Crocetta F, Tanduo V, Osca D, Turolla E. (2020). The Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis H. Milne Edwards, 1853 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Varunidae) reappears in the northern Adriatic Sea: Another intrusion attempt or the trace of an overlooked population? Mar. Pollut. Bull., 156: 111221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111221

Crocetta F, Riginella E, Lezzi M, Tanduo V, Balestrieri L, Rizzo L. (2020). Bottom-trawl catch composition in a highly polluted coastal area reveals multifaceted native biodiversity and complex communities of fouling organisms on litter discharge. Mar. Environ. Res., 155: 104875. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.104875

Crocetta F, Caputi L, Paz-Sedano S, Tanduo V, Vazzana A, Oliverio M. (2020). High genetic connectivity in a gastropod with long-lived planktonic larvae. J. Molluscan Stud., 86(1): 42–55. https://doi.org/10.1093/mollus/eyz032