Phd in ENVIRONMENTAL AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY

email: riccardo.castiglia@uniroma1.it
phone: 0649918092
building: Anatomia Comparata

Riccardo Castiglia born in Rome on 12-oct-1969. He carries out his entire academic career at the Department of Animal and Human Biology, now Department of Biology and Biotechnology "Charles Darwin", University of Rome "La Sapienza".
He graduated in Biological Sciences in 1994 and obtained his PhD in Animal Biology in 2001. In 2006 became researcher scientist and in 2011 Associate Professor. Since 2003 he’s professor of Comparative Anatomy of Vertebrates for the undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences and since 2010 he’s professor of Evolutionary History of Vertebrates for the master's degree in Ecobiology. Since 2007 he’s a member of the faculty of the PhD in Animal Biology. Since 2016 he's the Director of the Museum of Comparative Anatomy "Battista Grassi". He has done consulting for Agriconsulting spa and the IEA (Institute of Applied Ecology) in relation to the preparation of the management plans of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park and of the Gargano National Park (amphibians and reptiles). He is/has been a member of the editorial board of the peer-reviewed journals PLOSone and Biodiversity Data Journal, Genes. He’s referee for more than twenty different journals with impact factor. His lines of research are the cytotaxonomy and chromosomal evolution in rodents and reptiles, phylogeography of small mammals in the Mediterranean region, and evolutionary biology of chromosomal races of the house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus). In addition to Italy, he took part in field research in Africa (Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia) and in Mexico (Jalisco and Chiapas). He authored more than 120 articles in scientific journals "peer reviewed" (including: Biological invasions, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, Chromosome Research, Evolution, Heredity, Journal of Zoology, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Proceedings of the Royal Society B -Biological Science, Mammal Review) and five book chapters (including three for the book "Fauna of Italy. Mammalia II. Erinaceomorpha - Soricomorpha - Lagomorpha - Rodentia").

The following topics are available for PhD theses. Interested students should be highly motivated and experienced in molecular biology techniques and analysis of data. For information please write to me (castiglia@uniroma1.it)

Phylogeography of reptiles and small mammals in the Mediterranean region

The topic explores the role of paleogeographic and paleoclimatic events of the Pleistocene on the distribution of genetic variability and speciation in some species of small mammals and reptiles in the Mediterranean area, with particular attention in the Pleistocene refuge consisting of the Italian peninsula and the islands. Topic also include the phylogeograpy of invasive species.

Two references as example:

1) Senczuk, G., Havenstein, K., Milana, V., Ripa, C., De Simone, E., Tiedemann, R., & Castiglia, R. (2018). Spotlight on islands: on the origin and diversification of an ancient lineage of the Italian wall lizard Podarcis siculus in the western Pontine Islands. Scientific reports, 8(1), 1-12.

2) Colangelo, P., Abiadh, A., Aloise, G., Amori, G., Capizzi, D., Vasa, E., Annesi, F. & Castiglia, R. (2015). Mitochondrial phylogeography of the black rat supports a single invasion of the western Mediterranean basin. Biological Invasions, 17(6), 1859-1868.

Chromosomal evolution in the house mouse

The topic explores the chromosomal evolution of the house mouse in central Italy, Sicily and the Aeolian archipelago, through i) identification of chromosome markers (Rb chromosomes), ii) phylogeny with molecular markers, iii) analysis of gene flow in areas of natural hybridization.

Two references as example:

1) Franchini, P., Kautt, A. F., Nater, A., Antonini, G., Castiglia, R., Meyer, A., & Solano, E. (2020). Reconstructing the evolutionary history of chromosomal races on islands: a genome-wide analysis of natural house mouse populations. Molecular Biology and Evolution.

2) Castiglia, R., Capanna, E., Bezerra, A. M., Bizzoco, D., Zambigli, E., & Solano, E. (2015). New metacentric populations and phylogenetic hypotheses involving Whole-Arm Reciprocal Translocation in Mus musculus domesticus from Sicily, Southern Italy. Cytogenetic and Genome Research, 146(3), 230-237.

Integrative taxonomy of small mammals and reptiles

This topic explores the taxonomy of small-mammals (Rodentia - Soricomorpha) and reptiles (Squamata) Mediterranean region and in the neotropical region using the information obtained from the study of the karyotype (cytotaxonomy), molecular systematics and morphometry.

Two references as example:
1) Bezerra, A. M., Caramaschi, F. P., Bonvicino, C. R., & Castiglia, R. (2018). Integrative taxonomy of the Amazonian red-sided opossum Monodelphis glirina (JA Wagner, 1842) (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae). Zootaxa, 4508(1), 28-46.

2) Bezerra, A. M., Annesi, F., Aloise, G., Amori, G., Giustini, L., & Castiglia, R. (2016). Integrative taxonomy of the Italian pine voles, Microtus savii group (Cricetidae, Arvicolinae). Zoologica Scripta, 45(3), 225-236.