Overview

I am a companion animal ecologist, and currently a Visiting Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Turin (IT), working on the project “predation on vulnerable species by free-roaming cats on Linosa Island, a biodiversity hotspot” funded by the scholarship L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science. In the same island, I lead the cat Trap-Neuter-Return program to stabilise and consequently reduce cat population to benefit Scopoli’s shearwaters and other migratory birds (https://www.bertamaris.com/en/2022/05/18/progetto-gatti-linosa/ ). For my PhD I led the ecological research of an interdisciplinary project (https://wildlifescience.org/portfolio/domestic-cats/)  to find effective, novel and non-invasive solutions to reduce hunting behaviour in domestic cats, without compromising cat welfare.

Qualifications

2021 PhD ‘Ecology and management of predation of wildlife by domestic cats’ (University of Exeter, UK)

2015 MSc in Evolution of Animal and Human Behaviour (University of Turin, Italy)

2012 BSc in Biological Sciences (University of Perugia, Italy)

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