The main purpose of the group is to explore the effects of stressors and forcing processes on marine ecosystems with special attention to living resources and human activities. The goal is to understand the vulnerability and resilience of marine ecosystems under anthropogenic stress, with special focus on fisheries, aquaculture, and climate change, providing management and conservation actions. The objectives are structured in four
Research Lines:
(1) Development of scientific tools for the ecosystem-based fishery management,
(2) Functional biodiversity and vulnerability of marine ecosystems,
(3) Physiology, reproduction, immunology, ecotoxicology and functional genetics in natural and cultured marine species, including fish animal models (i.e., zebrafish, Danio rerio), and
(4) Technological solutions for monitoring ecosystems and animal behaviour. For this, the team members employ empirical (laboratory and field) and modelling approaches.
Among the plethora of lab techniques used it is worth mentioning biochemical and toxicological assays, histology and omics and include the study of the genome, epigenome, transcriptome and metabolome in marine species of commercial interest.
