XXXVIII CICLO | Favero Marta

My main interests regard behavioural ecology, evolutionary biology, and ecotoxicology. My background is on evolutionary biology, and during my internships I had the opportunity to work with different organisms on various topics, such as cyanobacteria and their photosynthetic efficiency in CO2 enriched environments, sexual-selection processes in freshwater fishes, and mitochondrial diseases in mice. My PhD project aims to study the effects of global chemical pollutants on host-parasites dynamics, with Artemia (as its parasites) as the main model. The final goal of my PhD project is to develop a comprehensive tool to monitor the impacts of global pollutants on coastal marine ecosystems.

The aim of the project is to study the effects of some pollutants of ecological relevance on host-parasite dynamics, using Artemia and its parasites (tapeworms of the genus Flamingolepis) as a model organism. Effects on the physiology, life history traits and behavior of Artemia will be evaluated, to develop a useful model for monitoring the coastal ecosystem.