XXXVIII CICLO | Giardiello Nicole

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences and a Master’s degree in Ecobiology, with a focus on the ethology of insects and phenotypic plasticity. My academic journey has fostered a deep passion for entomology, ethology, ecology, and evolutionary biology. In my theses, I explored the intricate behaviors of insects, scouting their ethological patterns and the fascinating field of phenotypic plasticity. Through this, I developed a keen interest in understanding the interconnections of organisms within ecosystems and the evolutionary processes that shape biodiversity. My academic background, coupled with my research experience, positions me as an enthusiastic and dedicated researcher ready to contribute to the dynamic field of biology.

Biological invasions pose a leading threat to biodiversity world-wide. The factors that constrain or promote the invasion success remain a major and debated issue in evolutionary biology and ecology. Among the possible factors, phenotypic plasticity and hybridization have received many interests from scientific community. While hybridization and successive introgression can enhance the chances of local adaptation by facilitating evolutionary innovation, phenotypic plasticity may permit more immediate responses to environmental change. The amount and pattern of plasticity can differ among closely related taxa and may itself be a heritable character. Although these two factors have been extensively addressed in the scientific literature separately, studies focusing on their combined role in biological invasions still seem to be scarce. My aim is to fill this knowledge gap, using as study system the mosquito species Aedes mariae and Aedes zammitii. They have an allopatric distribution, with Ae. mariae occupying the Tyrrhenian Sea coast and Ae. zammitii those of the Adriatic Sea, but they share an area of artificial sympatry where they hybridize naturally. Their habitat is represented by the sea rock-pools, extremely variable and temporary environments, so they offer an amazing open-air laboratory for the study of the correlations between hybridization and phenotypic plasticity.