Technologist
Research Infrastructures for marine biological resources Department
Environmental Monitoring & Analysis

Tel. +39 081 5833343
Fax: +39 081 5833360
e-mail francesca.margiotta(at)szn.it

Download Curriculum Vitae

Research interests

The coastal zone is one of the most valuable and vulnerable areas of the Earth’s habitats. The increase of human population and disturbance in coastal zones have altered the biogeochemical cycles of Carbon (C), Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) in coastal waters, mainly through river discharge, submarine ground water and atmospheric deposition, thus modifying the fluxes of these essential elements in terms of magnitude and composition. Moreover, compared to open waters, coastal area dynamics is less predictable and more difficult to interpret due to a number of processes acting on very different spatial and temporal scales.
My research activity involves a multi-scale approach, with increasing levels of complexity, to study of the C, N and P dynamics in different coastal areas. The aim of this work is to identify common patterns and/or peculiarities among different environments and to elucidate the interactions between nutrient dynamics, physical forcings and microbial communities.
The research is structured in two different objectives, which can be summarized as:

• Long term observations of C, N and P at the LTER-MareChiara station.
• In situ observations of abiotic parameters in different environmental ecosystems.

Main practical outcomes include: 1) definition of indicators for water quality; 2) information on global climatic dynamics useful for modelling and forecasting the future functioning scenarios of oceans.

Selected Publications

D'Alelio D., Mazzocchi M. G.,  Montresor M., Sarno D., Zingone A., Di Capua I., Franzé G., Margiotta F., Saggiomo V., Ribera d’Alcalà M. (2014). The green-blue swing: plasticity of plankton food-webs in response to coastal oceanographic dynamics, MARINE ECOLOGY.

Brunet C., Conversano F., Margiotta F., Dimier C., Polimene L., Tramontano F. and Saggiomo V. (2013). Role of light and photophysiological properties on phytoplankton succession during the spring bloom in the north-western Mediterranean Sea, Advances in Oceanography and Limnology vol 4(1):1-19, doi: 10.1080/19475721.2013.779937.

Mangoni  O., Basset A., Bergamasco A., Carrada G.C., Margiotta F., Passarelli  A., Rivaro P.,  Saggiomo M., Saggiomo V. (2013).  A case study on the application of the MSFD to Mediterranean coastal systems: The Po plume, as a transitional water system in the Northern Adriatic basin. Transit. Water Bull., 7 (2): 175-201

Montresor M., Di Prisco C., Sarno D., Margiotta F., Zingone A. (2013). Diversity and germination patterns of diatom resting  stages at a coastal Mediterranean site, MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES vol. 484: 79-95, ISSN: 0171-8630, doi: 10.3354/meps10236

Rivaro P., Abelmoschi M.L., Grotti M., Ianni C., Magi E., Margiotta F., Massolo S., Saggiomo V. (2012). Combined effects of  hydrographic structure and iron and copper availability on the phytoplankton growth in Terra Nova Bay Polynya (Ross Sea, Antarctica). DEEP-SEA RESEARCH PART I-OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH PAPERS, vol. 62; p. 97-110, ISSN: 0967-0637, doi: 10.1016/j.dsr.2011.12.008

Mangoni O., Margiotta F., Saggiomo M., Santarpia I., Budillon G., Saggiomo V. (2011). Trophic Characterization of the Pelagic Ecosystem in Vlora Bay (Albania). JOURNAL OF COASTAL RESEARCH, vol. 58; p. 67-79, ISSN: 0749-0208, doi: 10.2112/SI_58_7

Saggiomo V, Santarpia I, Saggiomo M, Margiotta F, Mangoni O (2011). Primary production processes and photosynthetic performance of a unique periantarctic ecosystem: the Strait of Magellan. POLAR BIOLOGY, vol. 34; p. 1255-1267, ISSN: 0722-4060, doi: 10.1007/s00300-011-1038-6

Zingone A, Dubroca L, IudiconeE D, Margiotta F, Corato F, Ribera d'Acalà M, Saggiomo V, Sarno D (2010). Coastal Phytoplankton Do Not Rest in Winter. ESTUARIES AND COASTS, vol. 33; p. 342-361, ISSN: 1559-2723, doi: 10.1007/s12237-009-9157-9

Celussi M, Paoli A, Crevatin E, Bergamasco A, Margiotta F, Saggiomo V, Fonda Umani S, Del Negro P (2009). Short-term under-ice variability of prokaryotic plankton communities in coastal Antarctic waters (Cape Hallett, Ross Sea). ESTUARINE, COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE, vol. 81; p. 491-500, ISSN: 0272-7714, doi: 10.1016/j.ecss.2008.12.014