Ph.D. Student
Marine Animal Conservation and Public Engagement Department (CAPE)
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn
Villa Comunale
80121 Napoli - Italia
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Internal Supervisor: Dr. Francesco Caruso
External Supervisor: Prof. Paolo Luschi
Program: University of Pisa, XL cycle
Research Interests
My research focuses on the use of multisensor suction-cup tags and drones to study locomotion, foraging, energy expenditure, and acoustic behavior in cetaceans. Through non-invasive bio-logging tags, I analyze high-resolution data on animals’ orientation, movement, depth, speed, and vocalizations. Accelerometers detect variations in body angle and speed, enabling the identification of specific behaviors; gyroscopes and magnetometers record orientation and movement direction; hydrophones record acoustic signals. Some tags also include video cameras, which are useful for validating sensor readings and adding visual information to the analysis. I integrate these data with drone-based photogrammetry, which allows the estimation of morphometric parameters and body condition of large cetaceans, providing a broader perspective on individuals’ health and age. This multidisciplinary approach provides insights that are difficult to obtain through traditional visual methods, opening new opportunities to study the ecological role of cetaceans and support their conservation.
