Research interests
• Fish stock assessment and management
• Ecosystem functioning
• Food webs
• Population ecology
• Spatial and temporal dynamics
My primary activities are stock assessment and management, as well as ecosystem dynamics, at national and international level. I investigate spatial and temporal dynamics of exploited fish populations in relation to fishing pressure, predator-prey interactions, eutrophication and climate, with the final goal to foster an ecosystem approach to fisheries management. I have more than 10 years experience within the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).
I have also experience working with third-world countries, under different SIDA projects, as consultant in the fisheries sector and as university lecturer in fisheries biology.
I am the scientific responsible of the Swedish component of the Baltic International Trawl Survey (BITS) coordinated by ICES.
I am currently nominated Chairman of the ICES Baltic Fisheries Assessment Working Group (WGBFAS), and Chairman of the ICES Study Group on Spatial Analyses for the Baltic Sea (EGSPATIAL). I am also involved in the process within ICES of providing multispecies advice for the Baltic Sea.
I am currently collaborating with the European Parliament as expert on the Baltic Sea.
Participation in advisory processes
Participated in more than 20 different working groups within ICES – Stock coordinator of the Central Baltic herring assessment for the period 2007-2009 – Collaborated with the European Commission to provide scientific support for the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)
WGBFAS – Baltic Fisheries Assessment Working Group
WGBIFS – Baltic International Fish Survey Working Group
SGSPATIAL – Study Group on Spatial Analyses for the Baltic Sea
MSFD (Task Group 4: Food webs) – Marine Strategy Framework Directive
Current research projects
PLAN FISH – Planktivore management: linking food-web dynamics to fisheries in the Baltic Sea. I am the coordinator of the Work Package 1 (Natural patterns and field experiment).
Academic activities and publications
I have taught and given seminars on different aspects of fisheries ecology around the world since 2001 – Invited lecturer at several workshops and conferences – Supervisor of Master and Postdoctoral students – External opponent and board member of PhD disputations – Convenor of conferences within ICES and ASLO – External evaluator of EU projects – Member of the Editorial Board of the journal “ISRN Ecology” – More than 25 publications on international peer-review journals and books.
CV
Link to CV and full list of publications
Recent selected publications
Casini, M., Möllmann, C. and Österblom, H. (2011). Ecosystem approach to fisheries in the Baltic Sea: present and potential future applications in assessment and management. In “Ecosystem Based Management for Fisheries - An Evolving Perspective” A. Belgrano and C. Fowler Eds. Cambridge University Press, pp. 9-31.
Casini, M., Kornilovs, G., Cardinale, M., Möllmann, M., Grygiel, W., Jonsson, P., Raid, T., Flinkman, J. and Feldman, V. (2011). Spatial and temporal density-dependence regulates the condition of central Baltic Sea clupeids: compelling evidence using an extensive international acoustic survey. Population Ecology, 53: 511-523.
Casini M., Bartolino, V., Molinero, J.C. and Kornilovs, G. (2010). Linking fisheries, trophic interactions and climate: threshold dynamics drive herring Clupea harengus growth in the central Baltic Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 413: 241-252.
Casini, M., Hjelm, J., Molinero, J.C., Lövgren, J., Cardinale, M., Bartolino, V., Belgrano, A. and Kornilovs, G. (2009). Trophic cascades promote threshold-like shifts in pelagic marine ecosystems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 106: 197-202.
Casini, M., Lövgren, J., Hjelm, J., Cardinale, M., Molinero, J.C. and Kornilovs, G. (2008). Multi-level trophic cascades in a heavily exploited open marine ecosystem. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Biological Sciences, 275: 1793-1801.