Research

CV

RESEARCH

Although it is somewhat hard to define the precise scope of my research interests, they generally span the following research topics:

Extinction inference, drivers and mechanisms

In the presence of the ongoing mass extinction on a global scale, it is critical to improve understanding of drivers and mechanisms that lead to extinction, as well as our ability to assess likelihood of extinction. I am especially interested in the approaches that improve reliability of extinction inference, especially in rare species that are commonly characterized by low data availability.

Invasive species

I have been highly interested in the field of biological invasions since the onset of my scientific work and my bachelor thesis (focused on nutria, shown here). My main research topics include traits and characteristics that influence invasiveness, population dynamics of species invasions and the development of novel invasion assessment tools and new concepts.

Conservation culturomics and iEcology

Conservation culturomics and iEcology represent two emerging research areas in the fields of conservation science and ecology, based on the quantitative analysis of voluminous digital data. Conservation culturomics focuses on the study of human interactions with nature, while iEcology focuses on broad ecological patterns and processes in the natural world. I am interested in developing new tools and concepts and their potential applications.

Sturgeon management and conservation

Sturgeons represent the most valuable and the most endangered group of fish, and comprise some of the largest and most interesting freshwater species. They have been among the key areas of my research so far, and the object of both my MSc and PhD thesis. I am generally interested in different topics related to their ecology, extinction risk, conservation and sustainable management.

Population viability analysis (PVA), modelling

PVA and population models are able to provide effective guidance for management and protection efforts, and to account for system stochasticity and uncertainty, which made them widely used within population ecology, conservation biology and wildlife management. My research is focused on the general understanding of population dynamics, development of novel model structures and the application of the PVA and models in practice.

Fish ecology and fisheries management

Fish ecology and fisheries research are critical components of efforts towards fishing sustainability. I am interested in different questions related to fish ecology and life history, movement ecology, influence of different traits on the susceptibility to fishing, as well as in the overall fishery trends and sustainability. I am addressing these issues using various methods, including telemetry, population modelling, meta-analyses and catch time-series assessments.

Trends in science, indices of scientific impact

The field of scientometrics has grown to become a powerful tool to overview and evaluate scientific activities and provide insight into the scientific tendencies and priorities. I am interested in using different approaches to understand the overall research process, functioning of scientific networks, development of tools to assess scientific performance, and assessment of scientific trends in specific research fields.

Aquatic toxicology, water quality indices

Pollution is widely recognized as a major threat to aquatic ecosystems. Effects of water and sediment pollution, pollutant bioaccumulation in fish tissues and along food chains, and the development of fish related water quality indices represented some of the main research topics during my engagement at the fish ecology and fisheries research lab at the Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, Belgrade University.

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