Ecology of Marine Microbes

The group was created in 1997 as a Quality Group (Generalitat de Catalunya) and became a CSIC group in 2004. Currently it includes 6 senior scientists, 3 RyC, 7 postdocs, 14 PhD students and 7 technicians. Its main goal is understanding the ecological role of marine microbes. The group applies complementary tools to samples from oceanographic cruises, coastal observatories and lab experiments. It also maintains well-equipped laboratories for molecular biology, culturing, flow cytometry, microscopy and bioinformatics. The group is funded by national and EU projects and has participated in the global circumnavigations Malaspina and TaraOceans, as well as in polar expeditions. During the period 2017-2021, the group has published 161 papers in ISI journals, most of them (81%) in Q1 journals, 42% in D1 journals and 23% in journals with IF >9. The group has a strong commitment to outreach and participates in events addressed to schools or general public.