PhD program in
  Environmental Sciences
Coordinated by Prof. Giuseppe Corriero

  Natural resource conservation and management

  G.Corriero, C.Nonnis Marsano, A.Tursi, G.D'Onghia, P.Maiorano, L.Sion, A.Bottalico, E.CecereF.Mastrototaro



The project is aimed at improving the knowledge of both terrestrial and marine ecosystems in protected areas, and, in particular, on species and sites of interest for the community. Special attention is paid to habitats such as wetlands, Posidonia oceanica meadows, and coralligenous formations. Emphasis is given to creating a better understanding of community complexity and processes, as well as to the assessment of biodiversity. This includes identification and monitoring of species, following the "ecosystem approach" which is the primary framework for the implementation of the Convention on Biodiversity. The research staff includes people with taxonomic skills, able to precisely classify the vast majority of vegetal and animal taxa and also to monitor subtle changes in the distribution and abundance of species. Collected data are analyzed in the frame of population modelling over decades. Indicator species are used for the assessment of environmental quality.



Published papers (selection) (click to download the pdf)

Costantino G, Mastrototaro F, Tursi A, Torchia G, Pititto F, Salerno G, Lembo G, Sion L, D’Onghia G, Carlucci R, Maiorano P: Distribution and bio-ecological features of Posidonia oceanica meadows along the coasts of the southern Adriatic and northern Ionian Seas. Chemistry & Ecology 26 (1) (supplement 1): 91-104 (2010)

Falace A, Alongi G, Cormaci M, Furnari G, Curiel D, Petrocelli A, Cecere E: Changes in the benthic algae along the Adriatic Sea in the last three decades. Chemistry & Ecology 26: 77-90 (2010)

Bottalico A, Delle Foglie CI, Fanelli M: Growth and reproductive phenology of Pterocladiella capillacea (Rhodophyta: Gelidiales) from the southern Adriatic Sea. Botanica Marina 51: 124–131 (2008)

Bottalico A, Felicini GP, Delle Foglie CI, Perrone C: Developmental stages of attachment of in vitro protoplasts in two Mediterranean Valonia species (Siphonocladales, Chlorophyta). Plant Biosystems 142 (1): 99-105 (2008)

Centoducati G, TarsitanoE, Bottalico A, Marvulli M, Lai OR, Crescenzo G: Monitoring of the endangered Pinna nobilis Linné, 1758 in the Mar Grande of Taranto (Ionian Sea, Italy). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 131: 339–347 (2007)

Baldacconi R, Nonnis Marzano C, Gaino E, Corriero G: Sexual reproduction, larval development and release in Spongia officinalis L. (Porifera, Demospongiae) from the Apulian coast. Marine Biology 152: 969-979 (2007)

Corriero G., Longo C, Mercurio M, Marchini A, Occhipinti-Ambrogi A: Porifera and Bryozoa on artificial hard bottoms in the Venice lagoon: spatial distribution and temporal changes in the northern basin. Italian Journal of Zoology 74 (1): 21-29 (2007)

Gaino E, Baldacconi R, Corriero G: Post-larval development of the commercial sponge Spongia officinalis L. (Porifera, Demospongiae). Tissue & Cell 39: 325-334 (2007)

5. Mercurio M, Corriero G, Gaino E: A 3-year investigation of sexual reproduction in Geodia cydonium (Jameson 1811) (Porifera, Demospongiae) from a semi-enclosed Mediterranean bay. Marine Biology 151: 1491-1500 (2007)

Nonnis Marzano C, Baldacconi R, Fianchini A, Gravina F, Corriero G: Settlement seasonality and temporal changes in hard substrate macrozoobenthic communities of Lesina Lagoon (Apulia, Southern Adriatic Sea). Chemistry & Ecology 6: 479-491 (2007)

Cecere E, Petrocelli A, Perrone C: How the unattached form of Acanthophora nayadiformis (Rhodophyta, Ceramiales) produces storage and perennating organs. 5. Journal of the Marine Biological Association, U K 87: 389-392 (2007)

Corriero G, Nonnis Marzano C: A new species of Cliona (Demospongiae, Hadromerida) from the Mediterranean Sea. Italian Journal of Zoology 73 (2): 191-194 (2006)

Gaino E, Scalera Liaci L, Sciscioli M, Corriero G: Investigation of the budding process in Tethya citrina and T. aurantium (Porifera, Demospongiae). Zoomorphology 125: 87-97 (2006)

Gaino E, Sciscioli M, Lepore E, Rebora M, Corriero G: Association of the sponge Tethya orphei (Porifera, Demospongiae) with filamentous cyanobacteria. Invertebrate Biology 125 (4): 281-287 (2006)

Mercurio M, Corriero G, Gaino E: Sessile and non sessile morphs of Geodia cydonium (Jameson) (Porifera, Demospongiae) in two semi-enclosed Mediterranean bays. Marine Biology 148: 489-501 (2006)

Perrone C, Cecere E, Furnari G: Growth pattern assessment in the genus Acanthophora (Rhodophyta, Ceramiales). Phycologia 45 (1): 37-43 (2006)

Longo C, Mastrototaro F, Corriero G: Sponge fauna associated with a Mediterranean deep-sea coral bank. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 85:1341-1352 (2005)

Perrone C, Cecere E, Delle Foglie I: Developmental morphology of Acanthophora nayadiformis (Rhodophyta, Ceramiales): sympodial growth and propagule germination. Plant Biosystems 139 (2): 189-197 (2005)

Corriero G, Gherardi M, Giangrande A, Longo C, Mercurio M, Musco L, Marzano CN: Inventory and distribution of hard bottom fauna from the marine protected area of Porto Cesareo (Ionian Sea): Porifera and Polychaeta. Italian Journal of Zoology 71:237-245 (2004)

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