Participants
Marino Vacchi
Marino Vacchi is working as a senior scientist at ICRAM (Central Institute for Marine Applied Research). He is the scientific supervisor of research projects that focus on the ecology and management of ichthyological fauna and the protection of coastal areas. Within the Italian Research Programme in
Antarctica (PNRA), since 1987 he has been responsible for a research group working on nekton ecology and fishery resources. He has participated in eight Antarctic expeditions, within the PNRA and in collaborative projects with French, American, Australian and New Zealand researchers. He has mainly investigated growth, trophic ecology, reproduction and life cycles of notothenioid fishes. Since 1990, he has been the Italian delegate to the CCAMLR (Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources), the international body that manages fishing activities in the Antarctic and their impacts on the Antarctic marine ecosystem. His principal goal during ICEFISH cruise will be to study the feeding habits of
target benthic fish species that are strictly associated with the macrobenthos, such as "plunderfishes" (families Harpagiferidae and Artedidraconidae) and eelpouts (family Zoarcidae). His work will lead to important new insights on the structure of food webs in the Sub-Antarctic and coastal Antarctic ecosystems.