PD Prof. Dr Marco Cantonati is a freshwater scientist and environmental botanist specialized in the taxonomy and ecology of benthic microalgae with particular attention to diatoms. His main research interests include: ecohydrogeology, long-term ecological research, effects of climate and environmental change, paleolimnology. He is Assoc. Prof at the Alma Mater – University of Bologna, formerly Section Head (Limnology) at the MUSE – Museo delle Scienze. He is also an Associate Researcher at ANSP PCER Drexel University (PA, USA) and at the MUSE. He has been coordinator / work package coordinator of 37 projects, tenders, consultancies. He has published 140 articles in ISI international journals with IF. Editor-in-Chief of the new (2026) Springer journal Current Water Management Reports. He is / has been Associate Editor / EBM of 4 international journals (Phycologia, Wetlands, Water, Journal of Limnology), ad hoc reviewer for 91 journals, Guest Editor of 9 special volumes (STOTEN, ECOLIND, Freshwater Science). He discovered and described genera and species of algae and cyanobacteria new to science and has been the lead editor of one of the most widely used diatom identification texts internationally. He holds a Central European Habilitation (venia docendi) in Limnology (University of Innsbruck), Habilitations (ASN) as Full Professor in Italy (Botany and Ecology), and has been Contract Professor of 'Biology of Photoautotrophic Organisms' (University of Trento).