Plankton ecology and environmental challenges

The EPRA Research Group (Plankton Ecology and Environmental Response) focuses on the study of plankton ecology and its interaction with the main processes that regulate and affect marine ecosystems. Its primary objective is to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of planktonic communities and marine microbiomes, with particular attention to their response to global change factors such as increasing carbon dioxide (CO₂), ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and eutrophication processes in coastal and oceanic environments. The group is distinguished by its integrative and multidisciplinary approach, which combines field observations, experimentation, genomic analyses, and environmental data modeling. One of its core research lines is the study of the role of plankton and marine microorganisms in the biogeochemical cycles of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N)