Projects and Collaborations

ZPLAST – Zéro Plastique en Méditerranée

Scientific coordination for a citizen science project revisiting the same Durance riverbank sites first surveyed with SPEM (2019–2020), tracking how macrolitter abundance has changed over five years.

• Proposal & design: Named in France Nature Environnement PACA's funding proposal as the project's scientific expert; designed the protocol using the official EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive methodology for EU-comparable results
• Citizen science training: Trained citizen scientists to collect standardised field data along the riverbank
• Municipal engagement: Presented the results to local policymakers at the project's closing meeting, coordinated by France Nature Environnement PACA
• Publication: Analysed results and presented them to the scientific community at the One Ocean Science Congress in Nice (2025, alongside UNOC3); data already published, peer-reviewed paper in preparation

Profili Antropici – La plastica come misura del nostro tempo

End-to-end science communication and research coordination for a citizen science project investigating beach litter along the Tuscan Coast.

• Funding & design: Wrote the research proposal and designed the scientific protocol used to quantify plastic abundance across three beaches
• Citizen science training: Trained citizen scientists to collect standardised field data, bridging the gap between local communities and environmental research
• Municipal engagement: Facilitated three in-person and two online meetings with three local governments, presenting field data directly to the decision-makers responsible for that coastline and investigating existing measures to reduce single-use plastic pollution
• Scientific publication: Analysed results and authored a book chapter published by Firenze University Press, following an academic workshop

PlasticheAMare

A lighter-touch citizen engagement project with a colleague at the University of Pisa and the NGO Sons of the Ocean — designed the brand-audit protocol and trained more than 30 volunteers to categorise macrolitter on Tuscan beaches, building on Sons of the Ocean's existing beach clean-ups. The protocol continued in use after the project ended.

Stop Plastiques en Méditerranée (SPEM)

The first quantification of macrolitter abundance on the Durance riverbank — a baseline dataset that would later make it possible to track change over time when the same sites were revisited in ZPLAST (2024–2026).

• Funding & design: Helped write the research proposal and designed the scientific protocol used to survey the riverbank
• Citizen science training: Trained more than 15 citizen scientists to collect standardised field data
• Data analysis & publication: Analysed the results and authored a peer-reviewed paper documenting the findings

VigiePlastique 2020

Scientific coordination and citizen-scientist training aboard the R/V Bonita for Expédition MED's 2020 survey — developing an onboard protocol that allowed citizen scientists to count and classify microplastics themselves during the campaign, as well as sampling floating microplastics and writing the mission report. That protocol was later adopted across subsequent Expédition MED campaigns.

Expédition MED 2019

Scientific coordination and citizen-scientist training aboard the R/V Free Soul for Expédition MED's 2019 survey — sampling floating microplastics, recording environmental variables, and preserving samples for genomic analysis of the plastisphere. The data contributed to Delacuvellerie et al. (2022) on plastisphere microbial communities.

Pelagos Plastic Free

Initiated and co-wrote the research proposal with Legambiente, then led scientific coordination of the resulting citizen science expedition aboard the R/V Ainez for Expédition MED — training volunteers, managing field data, and preserving samples for laboratory analysis. The microplastics and plastisphere results, combined with the 2017 campaign, were published in Amaral-Zettler et al. (2021).

Expedition MED 2017

Had the idea to combine Expedition MED's at-sea sampling capability and citizen volunteers with plastisphere genomics research, and reached out to bring NIOZ and ENEA on board as scientific partners. Led scientific coordination aboard the R/V Ainez for the resulting 2017 survey — sampling floating microplastics, recording environmental variables, and preserving samples for genomic analysis of the plastisphere; trained citizen scientists and managed field data.