Research Director
Integrative Marine Ecology Department

Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn
Sede di Roma
Via Po 25c Roma - Italia

Tel.: +39 0621710215
Cell.: +393288876125
E-mail: francesco.colloca(at)szn.it
Contatto Skype: francescolloca_mobile

Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests

The Mediterranean Sea is a hotspot of marine biodiversity that, under the combined pressures of fishing activities and climate change, has also become a hotspot of global change, with increased concern about the worsening status of marine exploited species.
In this regard, my research is focused on both theoretical and applied aspects related to the impact of Mediterranean fisheries on fish and shellfish populations. I am interested in species life history traits and the spatial and temporal dynamics of exploited populations in relation to fishing pressure, predator-prey interactions, habitat distribution and climate with the ultimate goal to foster an ecosystem approach to fisheries management. Research builds on time series of fisheries dependent and independent data, these latter collected during surveys, which are used to elucidate the status of the main commercial stocks through single species and multi-species modelling approaches. Advice for sustainable management of fisheries in a full ecosystem context is based on studies on different topics: i) essential fish habitats, ii) population connectivity, iii) impact of climate change on species phenology and key population processes (e.g. recruitment), iv) trophic ecology of the species and their food consumption as basic knowledge for the application of ecosystem models, v) ecology and conservation of marine elasmobranchs, vi) structure and functioning of demersal communities including the factors promoting their diversity and resilience to fishing and climate.

Selected Publications

Agnetta, D., Badalamenti, F., Colloca, F., Cossarini, G., Fiorentino, F., Garofalo, G., ... & Libralato, S. 2022. Interactive effects of fishing effort reduction and climate change in a central Mediterranean fishing area: insights from bio-economic indices derived from a dynamic food-web model. Frontiers in Marine Science, 1503.

Druon, J. N., Gascuel, D., Gibin, M., Zanzi, A., Fromentin, J. M., Colloca, F., ... & Martinsohn, J. 2021. Mesoscale productivity fronts and local fishing opportunities in the European Seas. Fish and Fisheries, 22(6), 1227-1247.

Cardinale, M., Colloca, F., Bonanno, A., Scarcella, G., Arneri, E., Jadaud, A., ... & Herrera, J. G. 2021. The Mediterranean fishery management: A call for shifting the current paradigm from duplication to synergy. Marine Policy, 131, 104612.

Piroddi, C., Colloca, F., & Tsikliras, A. C. 2020. The living marine resources in the Mediterranean Sea large marine ecosystem. Environmental Development, 36, 100555.

Di Lorenzo, M., Vizzini, S., Signa, G., Andolina, C., Boscolo Palo, G., Gristina, M., ... & Colloca, F. 2020. Ontogenetic trophic segregation between two threatened smooth-hound sharks in the Central Mediterranean Sea. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 1-15.

Colloca, F., Carrozzi, V., Simonetti, A., & Di Lorenzo, M. 2020. Using local ecological knowledge of fishers to reconstruct abundance trends of elasmobranch populations in the Strait of Sicily. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, 508.

Colloca, F., Scannella, D., Geraci, M. L., Falsone, F., Battista, G., Vitale, S., Di Lorenzo M., Βοnο, G. 2019. British sharks in Sicily: records of long distance migration of tope shark (Galeorhinus galeus) from North-eastern Atlantic to Mediterranean Sea. Mediterranean Marine Science, 20(2): 309-313

Colloca, F., Milisenda, G., Capezzuto, F., Cau, A., Garofalo, G., Jadaud, A., ... & Ordines F. 2019. Spatial and temporal trend in the abundance and distribution of gurnards (Pisces: Triglidae) in the northern Mediterranean Sea. Scientia Marina. 83(S1): 101-116

Carrozzi, V., Di Lorenzo, M., Massi, D., Titone, A., Ardizzone, G., & Colloca, F. 2019. Prey preferences and ontogenetic diet shift of European hake Merluccius merluccius (Linnaeus, 1758) in the central Mediterranean Sea. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 25, 100440.

Vitale, S., Enea, M., Milisenda, G., Gancitano, V., Geraci, M. L., Falsone, F., ... & Colloca, F. 2018. Modelling the effects of more selective trawl nets on the productivity of European hake (Merluccius merluccius) and deep-water rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris) stocks in the Strait of Sicily. Scientia Marina, 82(S1), 199-208.

Elahi, R., Ferretti, F., Bastari, A., Cerrano, C., Colloca, F., Kowalik, J., Ruckelshaus M., Struck A. & Micheli, F. 2018. Leveraging vessel traffic data and a temporary fishing closure to inform marine management. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 16(8): 440–446, doi: 10.1002/fee.1936.

Brown, E. J., Vasconcelos, R. P., Wennhage, H., Bergström, U., Støttrup, J. G., van de Wolfshaar, K., Milisenda G., Colloca F., Le Pape, O. 2018. Conflicts in the coastal zone: human impacts on commercially important fish species utilizing coastal habitat. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 75(4): 1203–1213.

Libralato, S., Colloca, F., Gücü, A. C., Maravelias, C., Solidoro, C., Villasante, S., & Cardinale, M. 2018. Challenges and Opportunities for The EU Common Fisheries Policy application in The Mediterranean and Black Sea. Frontiers in Marine Science, 5, 299.

Di Lorenzo, M., Sinerchia, M., & Colloca, F. 2018. The North sector of the Strait of Sicily: a priority area for conservation in the Mediterranean Sea. Hydrobiologia, 821 (1), 235-253.

Cantafaro, A., Ardizzone, G., Enea, M., Ligas, A., & Colloca, F. 2017. Assessing the importance of nursery areas of European hake (Merluccius merluccius) using a body condition index. Ecological Indicators, 81, 383-389.

Colloca, F., Scarcella, G., & Libralato, S., 2017. Recent Trends and Impacts of Fisheries Exploitation on Mediterranean Stocks and Ecosystems. Frontiers in Marine Science, 4, 244.

Colloca F., Enea M., Ragonese S., Di Lorenzo M., 2017. A century fishery data documenting the collapse of smooth-hounds (Mustelus spp.) in Mediterranean Sea. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 17:1145–1155.

Druon JN, Fiorentino F, Murenu M, Knittweis L, Colloca F, Osio C., Mérigot B., Garofalo G., Mannini A., Jadaud A., Sbrana M., Scarcella G., Tserpes G., Peristeraki P., Carlucci R. & Heikkonen J.. 2015. Modelling of European hake nurseries in the Mediterranean sea: an ecological niche approach. Progress in Oceanography 130, 188-204.

Colloca F., Garofalo G., Bitetto I, Facchini MT, Grati F., 2015. The seascape of demersal fish nursery areas in the North Mediterranean Sea, a first step towards the implementation of spatial planning for trawl fisheries. PLoS ONE 10(3): e0119590. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0119590.

Albouy C., Velez L., Coll M., Colloca F., Le Loc'h F., Mouillot D., & Gravel D., 2014. From projected species distribution to food web structure under climate change. Global Change Biology, 20: 730–741, doi: 10.1111/gcb.12467.

Colloca F., Mastrantonio G., Jona Lasinio G., Ligas A. & Sartor P., 2014. Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas, 1846) an early warning indicator species of global warming in the central Mediterranean Sea. Journal of Marine System, 138: 29-39.

Colloca F., Cardinale M., F. Maynou, Giannoulaki M., Scarcella G, Jenko K., Bellido J.M. & Fiorentino F., 2013. Rebuilding Mediterranean fisheries: a new paradigm for ecological sustainability. Fish and Fisheries, 14 (1), 89-109.