Researcher
Integrative Marine Ecology Department

Phone: +39 081 5833313
e-mail: mario.santoro(at)szn.it

Research Interests

I am a veterinary parasitologist board-certified in Wildlife Population Health by the European College of Zoological Medicine. My main fields of research are parasitology and infectious diseases of aquatic organisms. My research interests include ecology of metazoan parasites, trophic relationships, and host-parasite interactions. I am interested also in using parasites to answer ecological questions. My research output includes authorship of more than 90 peer- reviewed articles in international scientific journals and a book chapter. Currently, I work intensively with parasites and pathogens of fish, sea turtles, and marine mammals.

Selected Publications

(for a complete list visit https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=56450180100)

Santoro M., D. Iaccarino, F. Di Nocera, B. Degli Uberti, M. G. Lucibelli, G. Borriello, G. De Luca, M. D'Amore, A. Cerrone, G. Galiero (2019) Molecular detection of Chlamydia abortus in a stranded Mediterranean striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba). Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 132:203-208.

Santoro M., E. Marchiori, D. Iaccarino, , B. Degli Uberti, R. Cassini, F. Di Nocera, A. Cerrone, G. Galiero, F. Marcer (2019) Epidemiology of Sulcascaris sulcata (Nematoda: Anisakidae) ulcerous gastritis in the Mediterranean loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). Parasitology Research 118:1457-1463.

Viscardi M., M. Santoro, M.T. Clausi, L. Cozzolino, N. Decaro, L. Colaianni, G. Fusco (2019) Molecular detection and characterization of carnivore parvoviruses in free-ranging Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra) in southern Italy. Tranboundary and Emerging Diseases 66:1864-1872.

Santoro M, D. Iaccarino, F. Di Nocera, B. Degli Uberti, M.G. Lucibelli, G. Borriello, G. De Luca, M. D'Amore, A. Cerrone, G. Galiero (2019) Molecular detection of Chlamydia abortus in a stranded Mediterranean striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms132(3):203-208.

d'Ovidio D., J. Nermut, C. Adami, M. Santoro (2019) Occurrence of rhabditid nematodes in the pet giant African land snails (Achatina fulica). Frontiers in Veterinary Science 6:88.

d'Ovidio D., P. Monticelli, M. Santoro, C. Adami (2019) Immersion anaesthesia with ethanol in African giant land snails (Acathina fulica). Heliyon 5(4):e01546.

Santoro M., E. Marchiori, D. Iaccarino, B. Degli Uberti, R. Cassini, F. Di Nocera, A. Cerrone, G. Galiero, F. Marcer (2019) Epidemiology of Sulcascaris sulcata (Nematoda: Anisakidae) ulcerous gastritis in the Mediterranean loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). Parasitology Research 118(5):1457-1463.

Viscardi M., M. Santoro, M.T. Clausi, L. Cozzolino, N. Decaro, M.L. Colaianni, G. Fusco (2019) Molecular detection and characterization of carnivore parvoviruses in free-ranging Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra) in southern Italy. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases 66(5):1864-1872.

Marchiori E., G. Dotto, C. Tessarin, M. Santoro, A. Affuso, L. Tarricone, L. Di Renzo, D. Freggi, V. Spoto, F. Marcer (2020) A pilot study on molecular diagnosis of Hapalotrema mistroides (Digenea: Spirorchiidae) infection in blood samples of live loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta. BMC Veterinary Research 16(1):16.

Santoro M., E. Marchiori, M. Palomba, B. Degli Uberti, F. Marcer, S. Mattiucci (2020) The Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) as intermediate host for the Anisakid Sulcascaris sulcata (Nematoda), a pathogen parasite of the Mediterranean loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta). Pathogens 9(2):118.

Santoro M., E. Marchiori, R. Cassini, M. Drigo, D. Iaccarino, F. Di Nocera, B. Degli Uberti, G. De Luca, M. D'Amore, C. Centelleghe, M. Pietrobelli, F. Marcer (2020) Epidemiology of blood flukes (Digenea: Spirorchiidae) in sea turtles from Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Seas, off Italy. Parasites and Vectors 13(1):52.

Marcer F., F. Tosi, G. Franzo, A. Vetri, S. Ravagnan, M. Santoro, E. Marchiori (2020) Updates on ecology and life cycle of Sulcascaris sulcata (Nematoda: Anisakidae) in Mediterranean grounds: molecular identification of larvae infecting edible scallops. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7:64.

Santoro M., M. Viscardi, F. Boccia, G. Borriello, M.G. Lucibelli, C. Auriemma, A. Anastasio, V. Veneziano, G. Galiero, L. Baldi, G. Fusco (2020) Parasite load and STRs genotyping of Toxoplasma gondii isolates from Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) in Southern Italy. Frontiers in Microbiology 11:355.

Santoro M., M. Palomba, S. Mattiucci, D. Osca, F. Crocetta (2020) New parasite records for the sunfish Mola mola in the Mediterranean Sea and their potential use as biological tags for long-distance host migration. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7:579728.

Aco Alburqueque R., M. Palomba, M. Santoro, S. Mattiucci (2020) Molecular identification of zoonotic parasites of the genus Anisakis (Nematoda: Anisakidae) from fish of the Southeastern Pacific Ocean (off Peru Coast). Pathogens 9(11):910.

Santoro M., D. Iaccarino, B. Bellisario (2020) Host biological factors and geographic locality influence predictors of parasite communities in sympatric sparid fishes off the southern Italian coast. Scientific Reports 10(1):13283.

Esposito M., A. De Roma, N. D'Alessio, A. Danese, P. Gallo, G. Galiero, M. Santoro (2020) First study on PCBs, organochlorine pesticides, and trace elements in the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) from southern Italy. Science of the Total Environment 749:141452.

Palomba M., S. Mattiucci, F. Crocetta, D. Osca, M. Santoro (2021) Insights into the role of deep-sea squids of the genus Histioteuthis (Histioteuthidae) in the life cycle of ascaridoid parasites in the Central Mediterranean Sea waters. Scientific Reports 11(1):7135.

Palomba M., M. Santoro, R. Aco Alburqueque, P. Cipriani, S. Mattiucci (2021) First molecular detection of the parasites Molicola uncinatus and Hepatoxylon trichiuri (Cestoda: Trypanorhyncha) infecting the silver scabbardfish Lepidopus caudatus from the Central Mediterranean Sea: Implications for the seafood quality and safety. Food Control 122:107807.

Azizi R., C. Bouguerche, M. Santoro, D. Gey, F. Tazerouti, J.L. Justine, S. Bahri (2021) Redescription and molecular characterization of two species of Pauciconfibula (Monogenea, Microcotylidae) from trachinid fishes in the Mediterranean Sea. Parasitology Research120(7):2363-2377.

Santoro M., M. Palomba, C. Gili, F. Marcer, E. Marchiori, S. Mattiucci S. (2021) Molecular and morphological characterization of Bolbosoma balaenae (Acanthocephala: Polymorphidae), a neglected intestinal parasite of the fin whale Balaenoptera physalus. Parasitology 148(11):1293-1302.

Santoro M., B. Bellisario, F. Crocetta, B. Degli Uberti, M. Palomba (2021) A molecular and ecological study of Grillotia (Cestoda: Trypanorhyncha) larval infection in small to mid-sized benthonic sharks in the Gulf of Naples, Mediterranean Sea. Ecology and Evolution 11(20):13744-13755.

Santoro M., F. Crocetta, M. Palomba (2021) Morphological updates, host-specificity, molecular data and phylogenetic analysis of Acanthobothrium coronatum (Cestoda: Onchoproteocephalidea), a neglected parasite of the nursehound Scyliorhinus stellaris. Infection, Genetics and Evolution 95:105023.

Viscardi M., M. Santoro, L. Cozzolino, G. Borriello, G. Fusco (2022) A type II variant of Toxoplasma gondii infects the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) in southern Italy. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases 69(2):874-880.

Santoro M., M. Palomba, M.V. Modica (2022) Larvae of Sulcascaris sulcata (Nematoda: Anisakidae), a parasite of sea turtles, infect the edible purple dye murex Bolinus brandaris in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Food Control 132:108547.

Palomba M., G. Insacco, B. Zava, M. Santoro (2022) Occurrence and molecular characterization of some parasitic copepods (Siphonostomatoida: Pandaridae) on pelagic sharks in the Mediterranean Sea. Frontiers in Marine Science 8:778034.

Santoro M., M. Palomba, R. Aco Alburqueque, S. Mattiucci (2022) Integrative taxonomy reveals Molicola uncinatus and Gymnorhynchus gigas (Cestoda: Trypanorhyncha) coinfection in the Atlantic pomfret Brama brama from the Mediterranean Sea, with notes on the phylogenetic position of G. gigas within the family Gymnorhynchidae. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9:909163.

Palomba M., P. Libro, J. Di Martino, A. Rughetti, M. Santoro, S. Mattiucci, T. Castrignanò (2022) De novo transcriptome assembly and annotation of the third stage larvae of the zoonotic parasite Anisakis pegreffii. BMC Research Notes 15:223.

Santoro M., B. Bellisario, V. Tanduo, F. Crocetta, M. Palomba (2022) Drivers of parasite communities in three sympatric benthic sharks in the Gulf of Naples (central Mediterranean Sea). Scientific Reports 12:9969.