Maria Cristina Buia, Senior Scientist at SZN since year 2003. Coordinator of the Benthic Ecology Lab from 1999 to 2008, Principal Investigator of the Benthic Ecology Group since 2008. Appointed Professor of Algal Systematic at the University of Naples ‘Parthenope’. Faculty member for the PhD program in ‘Algal biology’ (University of Messina). From 2000 to 2006 Management Committee member of “World Seagrass Association (WSA)”. Since 2000 Committee member of “Seagrass 2000”, a Mediterranean seagrass organization. Research: diversity, dynamics and interactions of marine plants (seagrasses and macroalgae, including invasive allochtonous species), responses of marine plants and associated communities to environmental variability, effects of climate changes and ocean acidification.

Raffaella Casotti, permanent Scientist at SZN since 2000. Visiting investigator at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (MA, USA) from 1988 to 1990 and at the Station Biologique de Roscoff (France) from 1991 to 1993. Member of the Board of the Italian Society of Cytometry and of the Editorial Board of the journal Marine Ecology: an evolutionary perspective. Faculty Member of the PhD Joint Program between the Open University of London and SZN. Chair of the 2012 Gordon Conference on Marine Microbes. Research: microbial ecology and chemical ecology of diatoms and bacteria. Flow cytometry research and development for marine applications.


Maurizio Ribera d’Alcala, Research Director at SZN since year 2004. Appointed Professor of Biological Oceanography at the University of Naples ‘Parthenope’. Faculty member for the PhD programs SZN with the Open University of London and SZN with University 'Federico II' in Naples. Associate editor of Marine Ecology: an evolutionary Perspective. Research: Mediterranean Ecology (Circulation, Biogeochemical cycles, Long-term Trends), Physical-biological coupling in plankton communities.