Development and validation of an air pollution biomonitoring system using parthenogenetic stick insects

The research programme focuses on the development and validation of an innovative, portable system for biomonitoring air pollution in terrestrial environments, within the PRIN 2022 SPIA project – The biological model is the Mediterranean stick insect Bacillus rossius, maintained as parthenogenetic clonal lines, which reduce individual genetic variability and make responses to environmental exposure more comparable, reproducible and sensitive. The appointee will be involved in the management of experimental colonies and in the design, implementation and analysis of controlled and in situ trials aimed at assessing phenotypic, behavioural and ecotoxicological responses of organisms exposed to different contamination conditions.