Biography
Dr Martino Malerba is an ecologist, evolutionary biologist, and environmental scientist. His research focuses on understanding the mechanisms shaping nature across scales.
At the microscopic scale, Martino has a decade of experience working with phytoplankton species, combining laboratory experiments, fieldwork and theoretical approaches. In particular, he designed and managed the World’s first artificial selection program with a microorganism, which is ongoing since early 2016.
At the macroscopic scale, Martino studies the impacts of artificial structures on greenhouse gases in aquatic systems. For instance, he used satellite data to derive the first estimates on the impacts of marine urbanization (such as ports, quays, marinas, etc.) on primary productivity and carbon emission. He also worked on estimating the biogenic emissions of producing energy, comparing renewable sources with non-renewable power plans.
Martino’s research at Deakin’s Blue Carbon Lab focuses on developing satellite tools to quantify and monitor greenhouse gases from Australia’s farm dams. Farm dams are the highest greenhouse gas emitters of all freshwater ecosystems, producing the equivalent to 385,000 cars each day in Victoria alone. Martino launched AusDams.org, an interactive platform on the effects of farm dams in Australia. He leads an interdisciplinary project in collaboration with IT, Engineering, and Environmental Sciences to explore management strategies and incentives for “greener” practices.
Read more on Martino's profileBiography summary
Dr Malerba is working on nature-based solutions to combat climate change for a more sustainable future.
Career highlights
- 2020: Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Fellowship at Deakin Univeristy
- 2016-202: Fellowship at the Centre for Geometric Biology at Monash Univeristy
- 2012-2016: PhD at James Cook University
- 2010-2011: Honours at James Cook University
- 2007-2009: Bachelor of Science at James Cook University
Knowledge areas
- Aquatic primary production
- Carbon Cycling
- Remote Sensing
- Ecological Modelling
- Statistics
Media appearances
Article on The Conversation about the impacts of marine urbanisation
Projects
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from Australian farm dams
- Remote sensing for cost-effective blue carbon inventories
- Water security under climate change
- AusDams: an interactive portal on the physical, environmental and ecological impacts of farm dams.
Publications
Remote sensing for cost-effective blue carbon accounting
M Malerba, M Duarte de Paula Costa, D Friess, L Schuster, M Young, D Lagomasino, O Serrano, S Hickey, P York, M Rasheed, J Lefcheck, B Radford, T Atwood, D Ierodiaconou, P Macreadie
(2023), Vol. 238, Earth-Science Reviews, C1
Australian farm dams are becoming less reliable water sources under climate change
M Malerba, N Wright, P Macreadie
(2022), Vol. 829, pp. 1-10, Science of the Total Environment, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1
Fencing farm dams to exclude livestock halves methane emissions and improves water quality
M Malerba, D Lindenmayer, B Scheele, P Waryszak, I Yilmaz, L Schuster, P Macreadie
(2022), Vol. 28, pp. 4701-4712, Global Change Biology, C1
Long-term experimental evolution decouples size and production costs in Escherichia coli
D Marshall, M Malerba, T Lines, A Sezmis, C Hasan, R Lenski, M McDonald
(2022), Vol. 119, pp. 1-8, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Washington, D.C., C1
Methane emissions from agricultural ponds are underestimated in national greenhouse gas inventories
M Malerba, T de Kluyver, N Wright, L Schuster, P Macreadie
(2022), Vol. 3, Communications Earth and Environment, C1
Methane and nitrous oxide emissions complicate the climate benefits of teal and blue carbon wetlands
M Malerba, D Friess, M Peacock, A Grinham, P Taillardat, J Rosentreter, J Webb, N Iram, A Al-Haj, P Macreadie
(2022), Vol. 5, pp. 1336-1341, One Earth, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1
Cell size influences inorganic carbon acquisition in artificially selected phytoplankton
M Malerba, D Marshall, M Palacios, J Raven, J Beardall
(2021), Vol. 229, pp. 2647-2659, New Phytologist, England, C1-1
M Malerba, N Wright, P Macreadie
(2021), Vol. 13, pp. 1-17, Remote Sensing, C1
Effects of a nutrient enrichment pulse on blue carbon ecosystems
M Palacios, S Trevathan-Tackett, M Malerba, P Macreadie
(2021), Vol. 165, Marine Pollution Bulletin, England, C1
Larger cells have relatively smaller nuclei across the Tree of Life
M Malerba, D Marshall
(2021), Vol. 5, pp. 306-314, Evolution Letters, England, C1
Testing the drivers of the temperature-size covariance using artificial selection
M Malerba, D Marshall
(2020), Vol. 74, pp. 169-178, Evolution, C1-1
Genome Size Affects Fitness in the Eukaryotic Alga Dunaliella tertiolecta
M Malerba, G Ghedini, D Marshall
(2020), Vol. 30, pp. 3450-3456.e3, Current Biology, England, C1-1
G Ghedini, M Malerba, D Marshall
(2020), Vol. 287, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, England, C1-1
M Malerba, D Marshall
(2019), Vol. 22, pp. 1407-1416, Ecology letters, Chichester, Eng., C1-1
The outsized trophic footprint of marine urbanization
M Malerba, C White, D Marshall
(2019), Vol. 17, pp. 400-406, Frontiers in ecology and the environment, Chichester, Eng., C1-1
Sensitivity of live microalgal aquaculture feed to singlet oxygen-based photodynamic therapy
D Malara, L Høj, M Oelgemöller, M Malerba, G Citarrella, K Heimann
(2019), Vol. 31, pp. 3593-3606, Journal of Applied Phycology, C1-1
Do larger individuals cope with resource fluctuations better? An artificial selection approach
M Malerba, M Palacios, D Marshall
(2018), Vol. 285, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, England, C1-1
Multiple predator effects on juvenile prey survival
M Palacios, M Malerba, M McCormick
(2018), Vol. 188, pp. 417-427, Oecologia, Germany, C1-1
Cell size, photosynthesis and the package effect: an artificial selection approach
M Malerba, M Palacios, Y Palacios Delgado, J Beardall, D Marshall
(2018), Vol. 219, pp. 449-461, New Phytologist, England, C1-1
Beneficial Mutations from Evolution Experiments Increase Rates of Growth and Fermentation
A Sezmis, M Malerba, D Marshall, M McDonald
(2018), Vol. 86, pp. 111-117, Journal of Molecular Evolution, Germany, C1-1
Eco-energetic consequences of evolutionary shifts in body size
M Malerba, C White, D Marshall
(2018), Vol. 21, pp. 54-62, Ecology letters, Chichester, Eng., C1-1
Phytoplankton size-scaling of net-energy flux across light and biomass gradients
M Malerba, C White, D Marshall
(2017), Vol. 98, pp. 3106-3115, Ecology, Chichester, Eng., C1-1
A Dubuc, N Waltham, M Malerba, M Sheaves
(2017), Vol. 198, pp. 163-171, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, C1-1
Standard flow cytometry as a rapid and non-destructive proxy for cell nitrogen quota
M Malerba, S Connolly, K Heimann
(2016), Vol. 28, pp. 1085-1095, Journal of applied phycology, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, C1-1
M Malerba, K Heimann, S Connolly
(2016), Vol. 404, pp. 1-9, Journal of theoretical biology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1-1
Nutrient utilization traits vary systematically with intraspecific cell size plasticity
M Malerba, K Heimann, S Connolly
(2016), Vol. 30, pp. 1745-1755, Functional ecology, Chichester, Eng., C1-1
Why do larger mothers produce larger offspring? A test of classic theory
H Cameron, K Monro, M Malerba, S Munch, D Marshall
(2016), Vol. 97, pp. 3452-3459, Ecology, Chichester, Eng., C1-1
M Malerba, S Connolly, K Heimann
(2015), Vol. 317, pp. 30-40, Ecological modelling, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1-1
M Malerba, S Connolly, K Heimann
(2012), Vol. 57, pp. 1555-1571, Limnology and Oceanography, C1-1
Funded Projects at Deakin
Australian Competitive Grants
Optimal management of Australia¿s farm dams to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions
Dr Martino Malerba
ARC DECRA - Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
- 2023: $122,159
- 2022: $155,300
Other Public Sector Funding
Teal carbon ERF method
Prof Peter Macreadie, Dr Martino Malerba, Dr Stacey Trevathan-Tackett
CCMA Grant - Research Corangamite Catchment Management Authority
- 2021: $15,000
Monitoring carbon emissions of the Westernport wastewater facility.
Dr Martino Malerba, Dr Lukas Schuster, Prof Peter Macreadie
Westernport Water
- 2023: $45,000
- 2022: $90,000
Industry and Other Funding
Boosting drought resilience in the Lower Loddon Landscape.
Dr Martino Malerba, Dr Paul Carnell, Dr Lukas Schuster, Prof Peter Macreadie, Dr Stacey Trevathan-Tackett
Wetland Revival Trust
- 2023: $25,000
- 2022: $50,210
Leading the charge through nature based solutions.
Prof Peter Macreadie, Dr Martino Malerba, Dr Melissa Wartman
BHP Group Operations P/L, BHP Group Operations P/L (No 3), BHP Group Operations P/L (No 2), BHP Group Operations P/L (No 4)
- 2023: $5,670,709
Supervisions
No completed student supervisions to report