Behavioural Ecology, Animal Behaviour and Wildlife Management

The activities of this research group are concerned with behaviour, ecology and management of animal populations. The main goal is to identify adaptative mechanisms of behavioural and ecological responses to environmental variations, both at the intraspecific and interspecific levels, also to detect their potential consequences for community- and ecosystem-level processes, using meso-large mammals (ungulates, carnivores) as preferred study species. Many activities have implications to suggest evidence-based measures for the management and conservation of animal populations and for the mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts.

 

Research lines

  1. Adaptive mechanisms of interspecific interactions and coexistence, e.g., competition, facilitation, predator-prey relationships.
  2. Social, foraging and spatiotemporal behaviour.
  3. Environmental drivers of individual phenotypic quality and population dynamics.
  4. Impacts of ungulates on ecosystems and human activities, as well as mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts.
  5. Counting methods of wild ungulates.
  6. Conservation of endangered populations of ungulates.
Researchers involved in the activities

Francesco Ferretti, Associate Professor

Niccolò Fattorini, Assistant Professor

Lucia Burrini, Research Technician

Lorenzo Lazzeri, Post-doc

Orlando Tomassini, Post-doc

Irene Belardi, PhD student

Martina Calosi, PhD student

Giovanni Fini, PhD student

Noemi Pallari, PhD student

Lucrezia Lorenzetti, PhD student

Francesca Cozzi, research assistant

Chiara Gabbrielli, research assistant

Leonardo Gallotta, research assistant

Valerio Orazi, research assistant

Funded Projects

Competitive research projects (National):

2022-2025            PNRR - National Biodiversity Future Center – Spoke 3 (Participant).

2023-2025            PRIN-PNRR 2022 The recent expansion of wild boar in Italy: new insights into ecology, genetics, parasites and management implications. Codice Progetto Prot. P20228RERY_001 (National coordinator).

2022-2024            FSC/GiovaniSì – Regione Toscana. Ecosistemi, Conservazione e Cultura – ECO-CULT.

Competitive research projects (International):

2022-2023            Tuscany Environment Foundation – Research Grants. Mammals of protected areas of Tuscany.

2019-2020            Innovative Project Fundings – German Society for Mammalian Biology. Recolonising wolves and opportunistic foxes: landscape of fear or fast food restaurant?

Other projects:

2019-ongoing      Maremma Regional Park. Monitoring of ungulates, wolf and their interactions.

2019-ongoing      Stelvio National Park. Monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystem complexity – interspecific interactions within a mammalian community in relation to the return of the wolf.

2019-ongoing      Regione Toscana. Monitoring of wild boar and its impacts on habitats and agriculture.

2022-ongoing      Serre Regional Park and WWF Italy. Conservation of the Italian red deer: constitution of a population in the Serre Regional Park.