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.
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.
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
- 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. The Breeding Bird Survey 2024 View at journal website( DOI: )
- 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. BirdTrends 2023 View at journal website( DOI: )
- Brighton, C.H., Massimino, D., Boersch-Supan, P., Barnes, A.E., Martay, B., Bowler, D.E., Hoskins, H.M.J. & Pearce-Higgins, J.W. The benefits of protected areas for bird population trends may depend on their condition 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110553 View at journal website( 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. The Breeding Bird Survey 2023 View at journal website( DOI: )
- Tirozzi, P., Massimino, D. & Bani, L. Avian responses to climate extremes: insights into abundance curves and species sensitivity using the UK Breeding Bird Survey 10.1007/s00442-023-05504-9 View at journal website( 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. The Breeding Bird Survey of the United Kingdom 10.1111/geb.13943 View at journal website( 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. BirdTrends 2022 View at journal website( DOI: )
- 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. A niche-based approach for evaluating the mechanisms of community stability in butterfly communities across three countries 10.1111/gcb.16684 View at journal website( DOI:10.1111/gcb.16684 )
- Heywood, J.J.N., Massimino, D., Balmer, D.E., Kelly, L., Noble, D.G., Pearce-Higgins, J.W., Woodcock, P., Wotton, S., Gillings, S. & Harris, S.J. The Breeding Bird Survey 2022 View at journal website( DOI: )
- Havinga, I., Marcos, D., Bogaart, P., Massimino, D., Hein, L. & Tuia, D Social media and deep learning reveal specific cultural preferences for biodiversity 10.1002/pan3.10466 View at journal website( DOI:10.1002/pan3.10466 )