Dr Martino Malerba

Martino's research

Martino is an ecologist and evolutionary biologist. His research focuses on understanding the mechanisms shaping biological communities across various scales.

At the microscopic scale, Martino has a decade of experience working with phytoplankton species, combining laboratory experiments, fieldwork and theoretical approaches. In particular, he designed and managed the World’s first artificial selection program with a microorganism, which is ongoing since early 2016.

At the macroscopic scale, Martino studies the impacts of artificial structures on greenhouse gases in aquatic systems. For instance, he used satellite data to derive the first estimates on the impacts of marine urbanization (such as ports, quays, marinas, etc.) on primary productivity and carbon emission. He also worked on estimating the biogenic emissions of producing energy, comparing renewable sources with non-renewable power plans.

Martino’s research at Deakin’s Blue Carbon Lab focuses on developing satellite tools to monitor greenhouse gases from microbial communities in Australia’s farm dams. Farm dams are the highest greenhouse gas emitters of all freshwater ecosystems, producing the equivalent to 385,000 cars each day in Victoria alone. Martino will lead an interdisciplinary project in collaboration with IT, Engineering, and Environmental Sciences to explore management strategies and incentives for “greener” practices.