Position: Senior Scientist
SZN Dept: Integrative Marine Ecology
Email: francesca.rossi(at)szn.it
Skype:
Telephone:
Twitter:
Web: SZN webpage
Web: Google scholar
Web: ORCID
Personal keywords: #BenthicEcology, #ExperimentalEcology, #FoodWebs, #StableIsotopes, #BiologicalInteractions
Scientific interests in a nutshell:
My work focuses on the ecological role of marine benthic species, their interactions and how they contribute to ecosystem functions in response to natural and human-related perturbations. I mainly work in temperate sedimentary habitats, seagrass meadows and recently in sandy shores, using field experiments and laboratory studies. I use stable isotopes at their natural concentrations and as tracers to understand trophic relationships, carbon and nutrient cycling. At present I follow 3 PhD projects on questions related to changes in trophic relationships in response to the impact of artificial light at night (ALAN), history of human settlements on Mediterranean coasts and the use of artificial habitats to improve biodiversity and functioning of marinas. I also work on the role of seagrass detritus (Posidonia oceanica necromass) as habitat and food for invertebrates and coastal fishes in sandy shores. I am involved in education activities to ameliorate general knowledge on beach ecology.
Selected publications:
Bussotti S, Guidetti P, Rossi F (2022) Posidonia oceanica wrack beds as a fish habitat in the surf zone. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science.
Costa V, Chemello R, Iaciofano D, Lo Brutto S, Rossi F (2021) Small-scale patches of detritus as habitat for invertebrates within a Zostera noltei meadow. Marine Environmental Research, 171, 105474.
Gagnon K, Gustafsson C, Salo T, Rossi F, Gunell S, Richardson JP, Reynolds PL, Duffy JE, Boström C (2021) Role of food web interactions in promoting resilience to nutrient enrichment in a brackish water eelgrass (Zostera marina) ecosystem. Limnology and oceanography, 66(7), 2810–2826.
Hovel KA, Duffy EJ, Stachowicz JJ, Reynolds P, Boström C, Boyer C , Cimon S, Cusson M, Fodrie JL, Gagnon K, Hereu CM,Hori M, Jorgensen P, Kruschel C, Nakaoka M, O’Connor NE, Rossi F, Ruesink J, Tomas F, Ziegler S (2021) Joint effects of patch edges and habitat degradation on faunal predation risk in a widespread marine foundation species. Ecology, 102(5), e03316.
Rossi F, Viejo RM, Duarte L, Vaz-Pinto F, Gestoso I, Olabarria C (2019) Removal of an established invader can change gross primary production of native macroalgae and alter carbon flow in intertidal rock pools. PLoS ONE 14(12), e0217121.