My research work has centered on biological oceanography, with special interest on the distribution and dynamics of phytoplankton assemblages and on the interactions between physical and biological factors in marine ecosystems. In 1982, I started leading a series of projects and cruises dealing the oceanography of the Catalano-Balearic Sea. The work carried out in this area with my colleagues of the Institut de Ciències del Mar (Institute of Marine Science, ICM) has been instrumental in establishing the existence of the Catalan and Balearic shelf-slope fronts and in showing the influence of these fronts and the general circulation in the region on the distribution of plankton and on the fluxes of C through the components of the trophic food web. Apart from field work, I coordinated a research group that used a microcosm approach to address the effects of small-scale turbulence on phytoplankton. Other investigations have centered on the importance of N or P limitation on the structuration of phytoplankton communities, with special reference to the potential development of harmful species. Later on, in collaboration with several colleagues, I expanded my lines of work with the implementation of modelling approaches in harmful algal bloom research.