Point of contact at UniTrento
prof. Gianfranco Anfora (coordinator)
prof. Eugenio Aprea
dr. Alberto Maria Cattaneo
prof. Albrecht Haase
dr. Rachele Nieri
prof. Michele Perazzolli
prof. Gerardo Puopolo
prof. Omar Rota-Stabelli
Point of contact at FEM
dr. Valerio Mazzoni
dr. Mirco Rodeghiero
dr. Marco Valerio Rossi Stacconi
dr. Silvia Carlin
It investigates the biology, ecology and behaviour of insects of agricultural and environmental relevance, with the goal of developing innovative and sustainable pest-management strategies.
Research topics are understanding sensory communication, population dynamics and multi-trophic interactions, considering both biotic and abiotic drivers.
By combining behavioural studies, chemical, molecular and physical ecology, population genetics and applied ecology, the research cluster develops environmentally friendly monitoring and control tools, for example semiochemical- and vibration-based systems, sterile insect techniques and biological control approaches.
The expected output is a significant reduction in pesticide use, enhanced protection of agroecosystems and biodiversity and the delivery of science-based technologies ready for field validation and large-scale application.
Research lines:
- Unravel intra- and interspecific chemical and physical communication (including plant-insects and microorganisms-insects communication) in organisms of agricultural and environmental interest.
- Characterize the biology and ecology of exotic invasive arthropodes (population dynamics and genetics, multi-trophic relationships in ecosystems).
- Develop integrated and environmental-friendly monitoring and control methods, based on semiochemicals (pheromones and allelochemicals), semiophysics (vibrations) and developmental disruption, such as mating disruption, mass trapping, sterile male technique, multi-stimulus traps.
- Develop and manipulate invertebrates as biocontrol agents (parasitoids, predators) for the implementation of classical, augmentative and conservation biological control methods.