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Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali

Ecologia urbana marina, ripristino delle funzioni ecosistemiche e nature-based solutions

Applichiamo le conoscenze ecologiche per progettare strategie di conservazione e ripristino in sistemi marini e costieri sempre più urbanizzati; sviluppiamo linee guida e strumenti per la soluzione dei problemi e per individuare le aree prioritarie di intervento.

In un ambito altamente interdisciplinare collaboriamo con ingegneri, economisti e sociologi per:

  1. studiare gli effetti ambientali dell’urbanizzazione costiera, i tipi di popolamenti e i livelli di diversità che caratterizzano gli ecosistemi marini artificiali creati dall’uomo e le possibili misure di mitigazione,
  2. sviluppare conoscenze ecologiche e strumenti per la pianificazione, lo sviluppo e la messa in opera di infrastrutture marine,
  3. sviluppare nature based solutions innovative ed economicamente efficaci per la protezione delle coste,
  4. individuare criteri e condizioni che rendano il ripristino degli ambienti naturali il metodo più conveniente ed efficace per la protezione costiera e valutare quali fattori favoriscano la persistenza a lungo termine degli ecosistemi ripristinati in uno scenario di cambiamenti climatici e di fattori multipli di stress.

Sovvenzioni/Progetti

  • World Harbour Project
  • Marine urban sprawl: Using ecology to design multifunctional artificial structures. Australian Research Council, Linkage Projects (LP140100753)
  • “MERMAID - Innovative multi-purpose off-shore platforms: planning, design and operation” (EU FP7 – Ocean – 2011, grant 288710)
  • “THESEUS -Innovative technologies for safer European coasts in a changing climate” (EU - FP7 - ENV2009-1, grant 244104)

Collaborazioni internazionali
- Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Department of Estuarine and Delta systems, Korringaweg 7, 4401 NT Yerseke, Netherlands
- The Nature Conservancy, 100 Shaffer Road, Center for Ocean Health, University of California Santa Cruz, CA 95060
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science & Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation,
- UNSW Australia | Sydney NSW 2052, Australia
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, School of Marine Science and Engineering, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA
- ECOncrete Tech LTD

Pubblicazioni principali (anni 2013-2017)

  • Heery E, Bishop M, Critchley L, Bugnot A, Airoldi L, Mayer-Pinto M, Sheehan E, Coleman R, Loke L, Johnston E, Komyakova V, Morris R, Strain E, Naylor L, Dafforn K (2017) Identifying the consequences of ocean sprawl for sedimentary habitats. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol in press
  • Bishop MJ, Mayer-Pinto M, Airoldi L, Firth LB, Morris RL, Loke LHL, Hawkins SJ, Naylor LA, Coleman RA, Chee SY, Dafforn KA (2017) Effects of ocean sprawl on ecological connectivity: impacts and solutions. J Exp Mar Bio Ecol in press
  • Mayer-Pinto M, Johnston EL, Bugnot A, Glasby TM, Airoldi L, Mitchell A, Dafforn KA (2017) Building ‘blue’: an eco-engineering framework for foreshore developments. J Env Manag 189:109-114
  • Abelson A, Halpern BS, Reed DC, Orth RJ, Kendrick GA, Beck MW, Belmaker J, Krause G, Edgar GJ, Airoldi L, Brokovich E, France R, Shashar N, Blaeij A De, Stambler N, Salameh P, Shechter M, Nelson PA (2016) Upgrading Marine Ecosystem Restoration Using Ecological-Social Concepts. Bioscience 66:156–163
  • Prati G, Albanesi C, Pietrantoni L, Airoldi L (2016) Public perceptions of beach nourishment and conflict management strategies: A case study of Portonovo Bay in the Adriatic Italian coast. Land Use Policy, 50: 422–428
  • Steinberg PD, Airoldi L, Banks J, Leung KMY (2016) Introduction to the special issue on the World Harbour Project. Reg Stud Mar Sci 8:217–219
  • Ferrario F, Ivesa L, Jaklin A, Perkol-Finkel S, Airoldi L (2016) The overlooked role of biotic factors in controlling the ecological performance of artificial marine habitats (T Siqueira, Ed.). J Appl Ecol 53:16–24
  • Airoldi L, Ponti M, Abbiati M (2016) Conservation challenges in human dominated seascapes: The harbour and coast of Ravenna. Regional Studies in Marine Science 8:308-318
  • Airoldi L, Turon X, Perkol-Finkel S, Rius M (2015) Corridors for aliens but not for natives: Effects of marine urban sprawl at a regional scale. Divers Distrib 21:755–768
  • Ponti M, Fava F, Perlini RA, Giovanardi O, Abbiati M (2015) Benthic assemblages on artificial reefs in the northwestern Adriatic Sea: does structure type and age matter? Mar Environ Res 104:10-19
  • Hoggart, S.P.G.. Hawkins S.J, Bohm K., Airoldi L., van Belzen J., A. Bichot, D.T. Bilton, T.J. Bouma, M.A. Colangelo, A.J. Davies, F. Ferrario, L.B. Firth, C. Galvan, M.E. Hanley, H. Heurtefeux, J.L. Lara, I.L. Rodríguez, M. Maza, B. Ondiviela Eizaguirre, S.D. Rundle, M.W. Skov, E.M. Strain, A. White, L. Zhang, Z. Zhu R.C. Thompson (2015). Ecological approaches to coastal risk mitigation. In: Zanuttigh, Nicholls, Vanderlinden, Thompson, Burcharth Eds, Coastal Risk Management in a Changing Climate. Butterworth-Heinemann, Elsevier, pp. 171-234
  • Dafforn K A, Glasby TM, Airoldi L, Rivero NK, Mayer-Pinto M, Johnston EL (2015) Marine urbanization: an ecological framework for designing multifunctional artificial structures. Front Ecol Environ 13:82–90
  • Zanuttigh B, Angelelli E, Bellotti G, Krontira Y, Suffredini R, Airoldi L, Franceschi G, Troianos D, Romano A, Zagonari F, Cantù M, Taramelli A, Jimenez C, Evriviadou M, Filipponi F, Broszeit S (2015) Boosting blue growth in a mild Sea: analysis of the synergies produced by a multi-purpose offshore installation in the Northern Adriatic, Italy. Sustainability 7(6): 6804-6853
  • Bouma TJ, Belzen J van, Balke T, Zhu Z, Airoldi L, Blight AJ, Davies AJ, Galvan C, Hawkins SJ, Hoggart SPG, Lara JL, Losada IJ, Maza M, Ondiviela B, Skov MW, Strain EM, Thompson RC, Yang S, Zanuttigh B, Zhang L, Herman PMJ (2014) Identifying knowledge gaps hampering application of intertidal habitats in coastal protection: Opportunities & steps to take. Coast Eng 87:147–157
  • Ferrario F, Beck MW, Storlazzi CD, Micheli F, Shepard CC, Airoldi L (2014) The effectiveness of coral reefs for coastal hazard risk reduction and adaptation. Nat Commun 5:3794
  • Firth LB, Thompson RC, Bohn K, Abbiati M, Airoldi L, Bouma TJ, Bozzeda F, Ceccherelli VU, Colangelo MA, Evans A, Ferrario F, Hanley ME, Hinz H, Hoggart SPG, Jackson JE, Moore P, Morgan EH, Perkol-Finkel S, Skov MW, Strain EM, Belzen J van, Hawkins SJ (2014) Between a rock and a hard place: Environmental and engineering considerations when designing coastal defence structures. Coast Eng 87:122–135