… is a Professor in Ecology at the Department of Biology of the University of Pisa (UNIPI). Since her PhD, she has gained experience in research on assessment of the consequences of natural and anthropogenic factors (including climate change and extreme events) in structuring or modifying coastal marine habitats. Since 2016, she has investigated the effects of night-time light pollution on coastal communities, and in particular on trophic networks that include primary producers such as seaweeds, seagrasses and microalgae.
She is the coordinator of the AquaPLAN project, funded under the Horizon Europe programme, which deals with the interactive effect between light and noise pollution in marine and freshwater habitats. Within the project, she is the leader of activities aimed at monitoring and evaluate the effect of artificial light and noise on two priority subtidal habitats: seagrass meadows and macroalgal forests in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea (Italy).
She is member of GOALANN, an international network of the world’s leading experts in marine light pollution, whose mission is to conserve the oceans by improving knowledge and awareness of marine light pollution, its ecological and societal impacts, and management options