Innocenti, G.

Tricarico, E.

Vannini, M.

English

Florence Research

This article was downloaded by: [Universita Degli Studi di Firenze]On: 28 August 2014, At: 05:42Publisher: Taylor & FrancisInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UKEthology Ecology & EvolutionPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/teee20Francesca Gherardi (1955–2013)Marco Vannini , Gianna Innocenti & Elena TricaricoPublished online: 22 Jul 2013.To cite this article: Marco Vannini , Gianna Innocenti & Elena Tricarico (2013) Francesca Gherardi(1955–2013), Ethology Ecology & Evolution, 25:3, 303-304, DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2013.821785To link to this article:  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03949370.2013.821785PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLETaylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the“Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis,our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as tothe accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinionsand views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Contentshould not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sourcesof information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever orhowsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arisingout of the use of the Content.This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditionsEthology Ecology & Evolution, 2013Vol. 25, No. 3, 303–304, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03949370.2013.821785Francesca Gherardi (1955–2013)Francesca Gherardi, Associate Editor of Ethology Ecology & Evolution, died on14 February 2013, aged 58. She was Associate Professor of Zoology, ConservationBiology, and Applied Ethology at the University of Firenze (Italy). She was a toptier researcher, known and appreciated throughout Europe and the world. Her scien-tific production was vast, in particular on crustaceans and biological invasions andalien species, but these are just a few of the themes she published on, producingmore than 200 articles on referred journals. She bravely fought a difficult tumour formore than three years when finally in February her condition deteriorated and sheurgently returned to Florence from the United States where she was actively conduct-ing research. Her editorial work, in addition to her scientific labours, was constant andintense. In addition to the EEE she was on the editorial boards of 13 journals and hadacted as a referee for more than 100. We remember her with warmth and admiration.Francesca Gherardi was born in Florence, on 12 November 1955. In 1979 sheobtained a master degree with the maximum grades (110/110 cum laude) in Biologyat the University of Florence (Italy), under Prof. Marco Vannini discussing a thesis onaggressive behaviour, dominance hierarchies and individual recognition in decapods.The results were then published in two separate papers.During a brief period of activity as a Secondary School teacher she collaboratedwith the science historian Bernardino Fantini, Geneva University (Switzerland), pub-lishing two significant papers on the history of Ethology. She also spent a period atBerkeley University (USA).In 1984 she was admitted to the PhD program in Animal Biology (Ethology),under the supervision of Marco Vannini. For her PhD thesis she engaged in intenseresearch both in field and in laboratory. In 1987 she was awarded a PhD on eco-ethologyof the freshwater crab Potamon fluviatile. The results of this research line in the follow-ing years, thanks to the collaboration with Fiorenza Micheli and other students thatFrancesca had been able to coordinate, yielded at least 10 papers .In 1986 she participated in a research mission organized by CNR (NationalResearch Council) “Centro di Studi per la Faunistica ed Ecologia Tropicali” in Somalia,where for the first time she became interested in tropical decapods, in particular inhermit crabs and their gregarious behaviour. From 1988 to 1998, thanks to the subse-quent programmes, she continued to work on Brachyura and Anomura from the EastAfrican mangrove swamp and published a large number of papers. She also becameprogressively more interested in Mediterranean hermit crabs.Concurrently, since 1988, she developed a fruitful collaboration with Dr GrazianoFiorito of the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples. This collaboration on learningproblems and, together with her student Elena Tricarico, on individual recognition inOctopus vulgaris continued for more than 10 years.In 1992, Francesca became researcher at Florence University at the Departmentof Biology and began an activity so intense and with such a long series of collaborationsthat it is difficult to briefly synthesize here.© 2013 Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, ItaliaDownloaded by [Universita Degli Studi di Firenze] at 05:42 28 August 2014 304 M. Vannini et al.At Shannon Point Marine Centre, she collaborated with S.D. Sulkin, G. Muller-Parker, and above all with Patsy McLauhglin, focusing on the study of the hermitcrab Discorsopagurus and the systematics of hermit crabs from the Maldives. In thesame period she began to collaborate with Bella Galil (Tel Aviv University) and todevelop her own research on hermit crabs. For this Francesca spent time in severalinternationally renowned laboratories, such as the Department of Marine Biology, PortErin, Isle of Man; Department of Zoology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu;Hawaii Aquatic Science Research Unit; Curtin University of Technology, Australia.Subsequently her interest in the hermit crabs, which went on to co-exist with otheractivities that absorbed her strongly in 1995, led her to develop other very fruitful col-laborations with Brian A. Hazlett, University of Michigan, Michigan, and Jelle Atema,Boston University Marine Program, Woods Hole.In 1995, Francesca was approached by an officer of the Tuscany Region in rela-tion to a problem: a strange red crayfish was ravaging the fauna and flora of LakeMassaciuccoli, in Tuscany. From this moment on, Francesca devoted herself withenthusiasm not only to the problem of the red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii),but she gradually became an internationally renowned expert of crayfish and of alienspecies and biological invasions in general.Francesca formed a large research group, including Silvia Barbaresi, PatriziaAcquistapace and especially Laura Aquiloni and Elena Tricarico, that quickly becomean international reference point for the problem of invasive species.This was also due to the many and lasting collaborations established with astacol-ogists and researchers on biological invasions of international level such as Maria Ilhéu,Universidade de Évora; William Daniels, Delaware State University; Glen Whisson,Curtin University of Technology, Perth; Catherine Souty-Grosset, Université de Poitiers,Piero Genovesi, Chair of IUCN ISSG; Dianna K. Padilla, Stony Brook University. Forher work in the field of astacology, Francesca was first elected secretary, then pres-ident of the IAA (International Association of Astacology). The association awardedher the “Distinguished Astacologist 2010”. Included among the experts of biologicalinvasions in European databases, she has participated in numerous national and inter-national projects related to invasive species, often coordinating them. The results ofthis intensive research on crayfish and non-native species have resulted in more than150 publications in international journals.In 2011, Francesca became Associate Professor of Zoology at the University ofFlorence, unfortunately when her illness had already been identified. After an initialperiod of hope followed by periods of care and alternating phases of improvements,periods that Francesca exploited to the end working hard, no treatment was possible,until, on 14 February 2013, Francesca passed away.Marco Vannini, Gianna Innocenti, Elena TricaricoDownloaded by [Universita Degli Studi di Firenze] at 05:42 28 August 2014 

Francesca Gherardi (1955-2013)

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Francesca Gherardi (1955-2013)

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