 My research focus is on biology and ecology of benthic invertebrates, particularly ascidians, sponges and sea urchins. My taxonomic expertise is on ascidians, and they are my favourite beasts. Sponges and sea urchins came later, but earned their place in my heart, too.
My main fields are population dynamics, reproductive biology, chemical ecology, larval biology and population genetics. I am fascinated by the way species and populations adapt to their environment, interact with each other, and are able to disperse from place to place. Thus, studying reproduction and population dynamics led me to analyze interactions and, particularly, the crucial role of allelochemicals in interspecific relationships. Larval biology followed naturally, as I realized that many of the processes that determine community dynamics occur at the first stages of development. The final step has been the incorporation of molecular tools to address simple, but as yet unanswered, questions: which species are you? where do you come from? who do you mate with?, and so on.
What I love most is to dive and see the animals directly. Having done so for decades in the Mediterranean Sea , I can't help having a deep sense for conservation issues. I have witnessed how communities changed, introduced species arrived, and human activities ruined some areas. Biological introductions and the sublethal effects of pollution have also become important topics in my research.
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