Francesca is a PhD student at MARE–Madeira, in association with the University of Madeira, supported by an ARDITI doctoral fellowship. Her research investigates how climate change influences the ecological niches of cetacean species across the Macaronesian region, using ecological niche modelling. She holds an MSc in Applied Oceanography from the University of Malta. Her earlier work spans marine spatial ecology, marine mammal behavioural ecology, and the assessment of urban heat-island effects in historical cities.