Several scientists at the ICM are involved in marine plankton ecology studies, from microbes up to mesozooplankton and fish. There is a long tradition of studies on plankton dynamics in relation to physical and chemical environmental conditions, in the ocean but also in lakes and coastal lagoons. Several scientists at the ICM are particularly involved in microbial ecology studies of phytoplankton, bacteria, flagellates and ciliates. This group has grown in the last five years to include six staff scientists. A molecular biology laboratory has been recently set up to apply molecular techniques to the study of microbial diversity in aquatic habitats.

The institute has facilities such as a Flow cytometry laboratory, scanning electron microscopy, HPLC, inverted and epifluorescence microscopes, as well as image analysis systems to count and size plankton, and the usual lab facilities for microbiology biochemistry and oceanography. The ICM also has environmental chambers, a nutrient analysis facility, a radioactivity laboratory and other equipment necessary for laboratory work with microorganisms. During the past years, the research activity at the ICM has been funded by several Spanish as well as EU funded projects (MARE, DIADEME, MEDIPELAGOS, MEDEA, MIDAS, MATER, PICODIV, NTAP, BIOHAB). The ICM has hosted several Marie Curie Fellows in the past, and we are currently helping train several European PhD students and postdocs from Germany, Italy, France and Austria.