Who we are - Mario
Mario is our marine biologist, and not only! He began his scientific career during his time at university (Milan, Italy and later Aarhus, Denmark) working on the whales and dolphins of the Mediterranean, after which he definitely moved North!
In the past 12 years he has participated in studies of whales and seals in the waters around Greenland and Arctic Canada for the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources and the department of Arctic Environment of the National Environmental Research Institute in Denmark. Among other fields he has experience with Satellite Tracking, Line Transect Surveys, Geographical Information Systems and Physiology. Some of his work on belugas in North West Greenland has also involved the use of Local Knowledge which he found both exciting and important for successful resource management.
He did his PhD work (Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Copenhagen, Denmark) in North East Greenland where he investigated which role walruses play in the ecosystem, especially concentrating on quantifying their need for food as a conservation tool. Mario has also applied his knowledge and organizational skills in areas as diverse as the highlands of Bolivia and expedition cruises both in the Arctic and the Antarctic.
Mario comes from a very international family. He has some Italian, Bulgarian and Basque genes in him, has lived in several European Countries, has traveled extensively in Europe and the Americas and speaks five languages fluently. He was born in Turin 40 years ago and has been based in Denmark during 15 years. An active sailor and scuba-diver instructor Mario has settled well in Tromsø with his fiancée Marie-Anne, who is also a Biologist, a Marine Mammal Trainer and an Arctic enthusiast, and their two black cats.
