Senior Data Scientist
Dario works on a range of projects aimed at modelling species distribution, understanding the effects of recent climate change, predicting the effects of climate change on bird populations, assessing bird population trends and producing biodiversity indicators.
Interests and responsibilities
Dario's research interests mainly focus on the analysis of large datasets to answer questions relevant to wildlife conservation. He is particularly interested in studying the effects of climate change and predicting its long-term consequences on bird populations. Dario is also interested in understanding the effects of climate change on bird phenology. He is responsible for developing and running software for the assessment of species population trends from Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and Waterways Breeding Bird Survey (WBBS) data, and for the production of the Wild Bird Population Indicators.
Qualifications
Jan 2004 – PhD Natural and Environmental Sciences ‘Assessment of forest quality in the province of Bergamo using bioindicators’ (University of Milano)
Mar 2000 - MSc Environmental Sciences (University of Milano-Bicocca)
Recent BTO publications
- Pigot, A.L., Dee, L., Richardson, A.J., Cooper, D., Eisenhauer, N., Gregory, R.D., Lewis, S., Macgregor, C.J., Massimino, D., Maynard, D., Phillips, H.R.P., Rillo, M., Loreau, M. & Haegeman, B. 2025. Macroecological rules predict how biomass scales with species richness in nature. Science 387: 1272-1276 doi:10.1126/science.adq3278
- Brighton, C.H., Gillings, S. & Massimino, D. 2025. Efficacy of methods for producing population trends of breeding waders from Breeding Bird Survey data. BTO Research Report 790:
- Couet, J., Marjakangas, E.-L., Andrea Santangeli, A., Niittynen, P., Fontaine, B., Herrando, S., Kålås, J.A., Lindström, Å, Massimino, D., Moosmann, M., Seaman, B., Silva, L., Stokke, B.G., Teufelbauer, N. & Lehikoinen, A. 2025. Solar radiation affects bird distributions but not elevational shifts in European mountains. Global Ecology and Biogeography 34: doi:10.1111/geb.70143
- Heywood, J.J.N., Massimino, D., Baker, L., Balmer, D.E., Brighton, C.H., Gillings, S., Kelly, L., Noble, D.G., Pearce-Higgins, J.W., White, D.M., Woodcock, P., Workman, E. & Wotton, S. 2025. The Breeding Bird Survey 2024. BTO Research Report 787
- Brighton, C.H., Massimino, D., Boersch-Supan, P., Barnes, A.E., Martay, B., Bowler, D.E., Hoskins, H.M.J. & Pearce-Higgins, J.W. 2024. The benefits of protected areas for bird population trends may depend on their condition. Biological Conservation 292: doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110553
- Heywood, J.J.N., Massimino, D., Balmer, D.E., Kelly, L., Marion, S., Noble, D.G., Pearce-Higgins, J.W., White, D.M., Woodcock, P., Wotton, S. and Gillings, S. 2024. The Breeding Bird Survey 2023.
- Tirozzi, P., Massimino, D. & Bani, L. 2024. Avian responses to climate extremes: insights into abundance curves and species sensitivity using the UK Breeding Bird Survey. Oecologia 204: 241-255 doi:10.1007/s00442-023-05504-9
- Massimino, D., Baillie, S.R., Balmer, D.E., Bashford, R.I., Gregory, R.D., Harris, S.J., Heywood, J.J.N., Kelly, L.A., Noble, D.G., Pearce-Higgins, J.W., Raven, M.J., Risely, K., Woodcock, P., Wotton, S.R. & Gillings, S. 2024. The Breeding Bird Survey of the United Kingdom. Global Ecology and Biogeography 34: doi:10.1111/geb.13943
- Massimino, D., Woodward, I.D., Barber, L., Barimore, C., Harris, S.J., Leech, D.I., Noble, D.G., Walker, R.H., Baillie, S.R. & Robinson, R.A. 2024. BirdTrends 2023.
- Evans, L.C., Melero, Y., Schmucki, S., Boersch-Supan, P.H., Brotons, L., Fontaine, C., Jiguet, F., Kuussaari, M., Massimino, D., Robinson, R.A., Roy, D.B., Schweiger, O., Settele, J., Stefanescu, C., van Turnhout, C.A.M. & Oliver, T.H. 2023. A niche-based approach for evaluating the mechanisms of community stability in butterfly communities across three countries. Global Change Biology 29: 3271-3284 doi:10.1111/gcb.16684
Other publications
Massimino, D., Orioli, V., Pizzardi, F., Massa, R. & Bani, L. 2010. Usefulness of coarse grain data on forest management to improve bird abundance models. Italian Journal of Zoology 77: 71-80.
Bani, L., Massimino, D., Orioli, V., Bottoni, L. & Massa, R. 2009. Assessment of population trends of common breeding birds in Lombardy, northern Italy, 1992-2007. Ethology Ecology and Evolution 21: 27-44.
Massimino, D., Orioli, V., Massa, R. & Bani, L. 2008. Population trend assessment at large spatial scale: integrating data collected with heterogeneous sampling schemes by means of habitat modelling. Ethology Ecology and Evolution 20: 141-153.
Massimino, D., Masin, S., Bani, L., Dranzoa, C. & Massa, R. 2008. Partial recovery of an African rainforest bird community 35 years after logging. Ethology Ecology and Evolution 20: 391-399.
Bani, L., Massimino, D., Bottoni, L. & Massa, R. 2006. A multi-scale method for selecting indicator species and priority conservation areas: a case study for broadleaved forests in Lombardy, Italy. Conservation Biology 20: 512-526.
Massa, R., Bani, L., Massimino, D. & Bottoni, L. 2002. Forest biodiversity evaluated by means of bird communities [in Italian]. Lombardy Region, Milano.