Address book
Contacts
LUCIO BONATO
Position
Professore Associato
Structure
Address
VIA U. BASSI, 58/B - PADOVA
Telephone
0498277487
Biography, education, position
Born in 1974. Italian.
Degree in Natural Sciences, University of Padova, 1998, 110/110 cum laude, with a dissertation on morphology and ecology of a population of Salamandra atra aurorae.
Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology, University of Padova, 2002, with a dissertation "Segmentation in Mecistocephalid centipedes: from evolution to development" (supervisor Prof. A. Minelli).
Associate professor of Zoology at the University of Padova, Department of Biology, since 1 March 2019.
Qualified for the position of Full Professor, after the ANVUR National Scientific Qualification, for Zoology and Anthropology, since 19 July 2017.
Main scientific interests
- Evolution at organismic level, biodiversity, speciation mechanisms, fine-scale geographical differentiation, methodology of integrative taxonomy.
- Biodiversity and phylogeny of Chilopoda, with focus on Geophilomorpha. Approaches including morphometrics, molecular analysis, and integrative taxonomy.
- Faunistics and ecology of Amphibia and Papilionoidea. Approaches including citizen science.
Main collaborative research activities
- collaboration to international projects: "A world catalogue of the Centipedes (Chilopoda) for the web" (supported by Global Biological Information Facilities), 2004-2006, in an international team of 9 expert taxonomists; “4D4Life - Distributed Dynamic Diversity Databases for Life” (supported by EU), 2009-2011; “SiiT - School oriented interactive Identification Tools: exploring biodiversity in a cross border area” (supported by EU), 2014;
- collaboration as expert zoologist to the national project for the implementation of the Italian Focal Point for the Global Taxonomy Initiative, 2005-2006 (supported by Italian Ministry of Environment);
- collaboration in national projects: PRIN on the endemism in the Italian fauna (supported by Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research) 2008-2012, as scientific leader of a research unit; affiliate to the National Biodiversity Future Centre since 2022.
- coordination and participation to broad-scale faunistic schemes, including national surveys on amphibians, reptiles, birds, and scientific leader of regional surveys on amphibians, reptiles and butterflies.
Scientific publications
Author of 67 papers in international peer-reviewed journals (including: Arthropod Structure and Development, Biodiversity Data Journal, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, Cladistics, Contributions to Zoology, Cytogenetic and Genome Research, European Journal of Soil Biology, Heredity, Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Organisms Diversity and Evolution, Palaeontology, Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Systematic Entomology, Zoologica Scripta, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Zookeys, Zoologischer Anzeiger, Zoomorphology, Zootaxa).
Author of more than 50 other papers in other international or national journals.
Author of chapters in monographs, including "Treatise on Zoology - Anatomy, Taxonomy, Biology" (The Myriapoda Volume 1, ed. A. Minelli, 2011) and "Fauna d'Italia" (volume Amphibia, ed. B. Lanza et al., 2007).
First author of regional faunistic monographs, including "Atlante degli Anfibi e dei Rettili del Veneto" (2007) and " Farfalle del Veneto: atlante distributivo" (2014).
Editor of “ChiloBase 2.0. A World Catalogue of Centipedes (Chilopoda)”.
Notices
Office hours
Monday from 14:00 to 16:00
at Complesso di Biologia "Vallisneri": 3° piano, parte Sud
Previo appuntamento (lucio.bonato@unipd.it)
Teachings
- ENVIRONMENTAL BIOGEOGRAPHY, AA 2025 (SCQ2101582)
- METHODS FOR WILDLIFE MONITORING, AA 2025 (SCQ2101512)
- ENVIRONMENTAL BIOGEOGRAPHY, AA 2024 (SCQ2101582)
- METHODS FOR WILDLIFE MONITORING, AA 2024 (SCQ2101512)
- ENVIRONMENTAL BIOGEOGRAPHY, AA 2023 (SCQ2101582)
- METHODS FOR WILDLIFE MONITORING, AA 2023 (SCQ2101512)
Publications
Selected recent papers in ISI journals:
Peretti E., Cecchin C., Fusco G., Gregnanin L., Kos I., Bonato L. (2022) - Shedding light on species boundaries in small endogeic animals through an integrative approach: species delimitation in the centipede Clinopodes carinthiacus (Chilopoda: Geophilidae) in the south-eastern Alps - Zool J Linnean Soc: zlac008.
Bonato L., Peretti E., Sandionigi A., Bortolin F. (2021) - The diet of major predators of forest soils: a first analysis on syntopic species of Chilopoda through DNA metabarcoding - Soil Biol Biochem, 158: 108264.
Burgon J.D., Vences M., Steinfartz S., Bogaerts S., Bonato L., Donaire-Barroso D., Martínez-Solano I., Velo-Anton G., Vieites D.R., Mable B.K., Elmer K.R. (2021) - Phylogenomic inference of species and subspecies diversity in the Palearctic salamander genus Salamandra - Mol Phylog Evol, 157: 107063
Després L., Henniaux C., Rioux D., Capblancq T., Zupan S., Čelik T., Sielezniew M., Bonato L., Ficetola G.F. (2019) - Inferring the biogeography and demographic history of an endangered butterfly in Europe from multilocus markers - Biol J Linnean Soc, 126: 95-113.
Peretti E., Bonato L. (2018) - How many species of centipedes coexist in temperate forests? Estimating local species richness of Chilopoda in soil coenoses of the South-Eastern Prealps - European J Soil Biol, 89: 25-32.
Bonato L., Corbetta A., Giovine G., Romanazzi E., Šunje E., Vernesi C., Crestanello B. (2018) - Diversity among peripheral populations: genetic and evolutionary differentiation of Salamandra atra at the southern edge of the Alps - J Zool System Evol Res, 56: 533-548.
Bonato L., Bortolin F., Drago L., Orlando M., Danyi L. (2017) - Evolution of Strigamia centipedes (Chilopoda): a first molecular assessment of phylogeny and divergence times - Zool Scripta, 46: 486-495.
Bonato L., Orlando M., Zapparoli M., Fusco G., Bortolin F. (2017) - New insights into Plutonium, one of the largest and least known European centipedes (Chilopoda): distribution, evolution and morphology - Zool J Linnean Soc, 180: 887-909.
Bonato L., Zapparoli M., Drago L., Minelli A. (2016) - An unusually elongate endogeic centipede from Sardinia (Chilopoda: Geophilidae) - European J Taxonomy, 231: 1-19.
Bonato L., Minelli A., Drago L., Pereira L.A. (2015) - The phylogenetic position of Dinogeophilus and a new evolutionary framework for the smallest epimorphic centipedes (Chilopoda: Epimorpha) - Contrib Zoology, 84: 237-253.
Del Latte L., Bortolin F., Rota-Stabelli O., Fusco G., Bonato L. (2015) - Molecular-based estimate of species number, phylogenetic relationships and divergence times for the genus Stenotaenia (Chilopoda, Geophilomorpha) in the Italian region - Zookeys, 510: 31-47.
Tamschick S., Rozenblut-Koscisty B., Bonato L., Dufresnes C., Lymberakis P., Kloas W., Ogielska M., Stoeck M. (2015) - Sex chromosome conservation, DMRT1 phylogeny and gonad morphology in diploid Palearctic green toads (Bufo viridis subgroup) - Cytogenetic and Genome Res, 144 (2014): 315-324.
Dufresnes C. , Bonato L. , Novarini N. , Betto-Colliard C. , Perrin N. , Stoeck M. (2014) - Inferring the degree of incipient speciation in secondary contact zones of closely related lineages of Palearctic green toads (Bufo viridis subgroup) - Heredity, 113: 9-22.
Romanazzi E., Bonato L. (2014) - Updating the range of the narrowly distributed endemites Salamandra atra aurorae and S. atra pasubiensis - Amphibia-Reptilia, 35: 123-128.
Research Area
- Evoluzione a livello organismico, biodiversità, meccanismi di speciazione, differenziazione geografica a scala fine, metodologia di tassonomia integrata.
- Biodiversità e filogenesi dei Chilopodi, con particolare attenzione ai Geophilomorpha. Con approcci che includono morfometria, analisi molecolare e tassonomia integrata.
- Faunistica ed ecologia di Anfibi e Papilionoidei. Con approcci che includono la citizen science.
Thesis proposals
Main research programs include:
- biodiversity of Centipedes.
- faunistics and ecology of terrestrial and amphibian Vertebrates
- faunistics and geographical diversity of Butterflies
More detailed information on studies and activities recently performed or in progress, also through stages and thesis projects, is given in the web site www.biologia.unipd.it/lucio.bonato.
In particular, for the year 2025, theses and stages for students can be developed within the following projects:
- diversity and integrative taxonomy of endogean centipedes in forests of the Alps
- faunistics and ecology of Butterflies of the south-eastern Prealps, especially on the Dolomiti Bellunesi and Colli Euganei
