Luca is an ecologist working at the interface of movement ecology, population biology, and biodiversity conservation. His research focuses on understanding the mechanistic processes — including movement, traits, demography, and species interactions — that shape ecological dynamics and responses to environmental change. He applies and develops statistical, mathematical, and simulation-based approaches to link individual behaviour with population- and community-level processes, with the aim of improving predictions of biodiversity change and informing sustainable policy. His work spans a wide range of taxa, from invertebrates and vertebrates to plants, and is strongly interdisciplinary, involving collaborations with mathematicians, statisticians, engineers, conservationists, and policymakers.
Luca is Chair in Ecology and Biodiversity in the Department of Biosciences at Swansea University, co-Director of the Centre for Biomathematics, and Chair/Secretary of the British Ecological Society’s Movement Ecology Special Interest Group. Before his academic career, he trained and worked as a professional freelance musician specialising in the French horn.
Education & Career
• PhD in Zoology, University of Cambridge (with visiting research at Imperial College London, Silwood Park)
• MSc in Biology, University of Pisa
• Postdoctoral fellowships in Canada (University of Guelph) and France (CNRS & INRA)
• Associate Professor, Swansea University (2013–2017)
• Professor and Chair in Ecology and Biodiversity, Swansea University (2017–present)
Research Focus
Luca’s research is question-driven, bridging behavioural, population, and community ecology in both theoretical and applied contexts. He leads the Biodiversity Dynamics and Movement Ecology Lab (BioMove), part of the Swansea Laboratory for Animal Movement (SLAM). His work integrates ecological data with advanced modelling to address challenges in conservation, management, and environmental policy across Europe, Africa, North America, Brazil, and Australia.
Current Projects
• Movement ecology of large vertebrates (e.g., red deer, sea turtles, adders)
• Trait-based approaches to predicting biodiversity responses to environmental change
• Impacts of invasive species on native communities (e.g., wallabies on the Isle of Man)
• Development of quantitative tools for analysing high-resolution movement data
• Interdisciplinary collaborations linking ecology with mathematics, statistics, and engineering
Professional Consultancy
Luca collaborates with conservation agencies, NGOs, and government organisations to provide ecological expertise on biodiversity monitoring, spatial management, and policy design. He also advises interdisciplinary teams on study design, quantitative methods, and movement data analysis.
Teaching & Skills
• Teaches ecological data analysis in R (undergraduate and postgraduate)
• Delivers international workshops on movement ecology and statistical ecology
• Experienced in supervising interdisciplinary PhD and MRes projects
• Strong advocate of open science, reproducibility, and cross-disciplinary training
Links
• University Profile
• Google Scholar
• Research Gate