Elia Lo Parrino, PhD
Dr. Elia Lo Parrino is a zoologist with a strong interest in biodiversity conservation in human-modified environments, with a particular focus on freshwater ecosystems. His research has primarily addressed the drivers of species distribution, biological invasions, and ecosystem functionality, especially in inland waters. To investigate these topics, Dr. Lo Parrino integrates field-based ecological monitoring with statistical modeling, spatial analyses, and molecular tools, aiming to translate ecological knowledge into effective conservation and management actions. He has contributed to 23 scientific publications in ecology, conservation biology, and biogeography.
Throughout his academic career, Dr. Lo Parrino has been extensively involved in field surveys of amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates across a wide range of environments, including lowland wetlands, Mediterranean islands, and cave systems. As a postdoc researcher, he studied invertebrate communities in springs and subterranean systems in Italy to reconstruct trophic webs and functional diversity at the interface between hypogean and epigean environments.
Selected Publications
Lo Parrino, E., Cantera, I., Guerrieri, A., Barzaghi, B., Falaschi, M., Muraro, M., Pozzi, S., Manenti, R., & Ficetola, G. F. (2026). Quantitative metabarcoding reveals the effects of ecological factors and invasive species on functional diversity of freshwater insects. Molecular Ecology, 35(1), e70209. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.70209
Simoncini, A., Tomasi, F., Ficetola, G. F., & Lo Parrino, E. (2025). Range expansion of the giant water bug Lethocerus patruelis (stål, 1854) in Europe. Ecology and Evolution, 15(11), e72458. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.72458
Eterovick, P. C., Lo Parrino, E., De Lima, R. C. L., Kloh, J. S., Martins, Í. M., Goulart, M., Mendes, I. S., Da Silva Lima, N. G., Mercier, C., & Ficetola, G. F. (2025). Hide and Seek: Species Detectability in a Biodiversity Hotspot Increased by Environmental DNA. Environmental DNA, 7(4), e70167. https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.70167
Falaschi, M., Lo Parrino, E., Manenti, R., & Ficetola, G. F. (2025). Differences in estimates of extinction risk between occupancy and abundance data. Conservation Biology, 39(4), e70020. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.70020
Boulamail, S., Inguscio, S., Ventruti, S., Barzaghi, B., Brognoli, D., De Giorgi, R., Langeneck, J., Lo Parrino, E., Mancini, E., Manenti, R., Martínez, A., Pulieri, M., Rossi, E., & Cozzoli, F. (2025). Integrating formal surveys and local knowledge: Insights into the subterranean fauna of Apulia. Subterranean Biology, 52, 29–44. https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.52.140693
Lo Parrino, E., Ficetola, G. F., Devin, M., Manenti, R., & Falaschi, M. (2025). Integrating adult occurrence and reproduction data to identify conservation measures for amphibians. Conservation Biology, 39(1), e14343. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14343
Ficetola, G. F., Manenti, R., Barzaghi, B., Romagnoli, S., Lo Parrino, E., Melotto, A., Marta, S., Giachello, S., Balestra, V., Lana, E., Maiorano, L., Pennati, R., Lunghi, E., & Falaschi, M. (2024). Integrating historical and recent data to measure long-term trends of endangered subterranean species. Biological Conservation, 296, 110695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110695
Lo Parrino, E., Falaschi, M., Manenti, R., & Ficetola, G. F. (2023). All that changes is not shift: Methodological choices influence niche shift detection in freshwater invasive species. Ecography, 2023(2), e06432. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.06432
Falaschi, M., Marta, S., Lo Parrino, E., Roll, U., Meiri, S., & Ficetola, G. F. (2023). Global bioregions of reptiles confirm the consistency of bioregionalization processes across vertebrate clades. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 32(8), 1272–1284. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13694
Bonardi, A., Ficetola, G. F., Razzetti, E., Canedoli, C., Falaschi, M., Lo Parrino, E., Rota, N., Padoa‐Schioppa, E., & Sindaco, R. (2022). ReptIslands: Mediterranean islands and the distribution of their reptile fauna. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 31(5), 840–847. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13490
Education
- PhD, Environmental Sciences, University of Milan
- MS, Natural Sciences, University of Milan
- BA, Natural Sciences, University of Milan
