Manrico Sebastiano

I am a post-doctoral researcher passionate about wildlife conservation. At the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) of Paris, I study the effect of environmental stress with a particular focus on contaminant exposure on the physiology of wildlife.

After high school I had only one thing in mind: to dedicate my life to the study of animals. I was really undecided whether to become a vet or study biology and ecology, which was my final choice. This choice changed my life.

The professors at my university ("La Sapienza" University of Rome) inspired me a lot and the motivation to become like them grew. At the end of my university course, I had the opportunity to meet Prof. David Costantini, with whom we wrote a PhD project on the causes and consequences of a viral disease that affected a population of frigatebirds in South America.

During my PhD at the University of Antwerp (Belgium) I became interested in the relationship between environmental stressors and seabird physiology, to the understanding of the mechanisms and threats that lead to species extinction, and to the development of methods that can help with the conservation and management of species.

This interest became a passion during my two years as a post-doctoral researcher at the Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizè (France), studying the effect of environmental contaminants on the physiology and behaviour of seabirds in Arctic regions.

After working on this same frigatebird population for more than 4 years, I know the population very well and I also have an ongoing collaboration with other scientists and institutions to reach the goals of the project. My actual research profile and experiences, and my motivations, place me in a favourable condition for the success of this project.

April 2021