Isabella Bertani

Assistant Research Scientist
Chesapeake Bay Program Office

Email

ibertani@umces.edu

Cell Phone

+1 (202) 340-9331

Mailing Address

410 Severn Avenue
Annapolis, MD 21403

Isabella Bertani

Assistant Research Scientist
Chesapeake Bay Program Office

Dr. Isabella Bertani is an assistant research scientist with UMCES at the USEPA Chesapeake Bay Program Office (CPBO). She supports the CBPO Modeling Team by performing statistical data analyses aimed at informing the development and improvement of models used to predict nutrient and sediment delivery to the Bay under different management scenarios. She is a quantitative ecologist with a focus on developing predictive modeling tools that quantify aquatic ecosystem responses to anthropogenic pressures. Before joining UMCES and the CBPO, she worked on exploring environmental drivers of harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie and long-term trends in water quality in high-mountain lakes in Italy. She received her PhD in Ecology at the University of Parma (Italy).


Education:

  • 2012 Ph.D. Ecology – Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Parma (Italy). Dissertation: Zooplankton dynamics in a lowland river along temporal and spatial gradients.
  • 2008 M.S. Environmental Science (cum laude) – University of Parma (Italy). Thesis: New contributions to long term ecological research on Northern Apennine lakes.
  • 2005 B.S. Environmental Science (cum laude) – University of Parma (Italy). Thesis: Conservation problems of marginal lowland wetlands: hydrochemical aspects.
  • 2003-2004 Visiting student – Freie Universität Berlin and Technische Universität Berlin (Germany), Erasmus Program.

Areas of Expertise:

  • Aquatic ecology, hydrochemistry, water quality, plankton community structure and dynamics.
  • Statistical analysis of environmental datasets to explore drivers and stressors influencing water quality and aquatic ecosystem functioning.
  • Development of predictive models that quantify aquatic ecosystem responses to anthropogenic pressures to inform environmental management.
  • Field and Lab Experience
    • Implementation of multi-year limnological monitoring/sampling campaigns (lakes, wetlands, rivers).
    • Lab analysis of hydrochemical samples, use of microscope (zooplankton taxonomy, gut content analysis, morphometric analyses).
    • Field and lab training/coordination of other students.
  • Quantitative methods/statistical modelling
    • Univariate and multivariate statistical tools (e.g., generalised linear and additive models, mixed-effects models, Bayesian hierarchical modeling, multivariate ordination techniques, time-series modeling).
    • Management, harmonization, and synthesis of long-term environmental datasets.

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2022

Development of the Chesapeake Bay TMDL Indicator (CHESAPEAKE BAY)

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2024

Integrating monitoring and modeling information to develop an indicator of watershed progress toward nutrient reduction goals (JOURNAL ARTICLE)

2023

Water quality impacts of climate change, land use, and population growth in the Chesapeake Bay watershed (JOURNAL ARTICLE)

2020

Quantifying the Response of Nitrogen Speciation to Hydrology in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Using a Multilevel Modeling Approach (JOURNAL ARTICLE)