About IIM

The Institute of Marine Research (IIM-CSIC) is one of the main marine research centers in the Iberian Peninsula. Looking at the Atlantic from Vigo, a city with a strong connection with the sea, the IIM-CSIC faces the challenge of increasing our knowledge about the ocean, from its physical characteristics to the food we take from it and the processes that bind the whole system together.

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Research

Research is at the core of the Institute of Marine Research's work. Working along 3 Core Research Themes, which intertwine and connect to each other, the researchers and technicians at the IIM-CSIC look for answers within 9 different research lines.

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Innovation

While our research provides us with new knowledge about our sea and shores, at the Institute of Marine Research we are committed to go a step further, creating new collaborations with the industry and other economic activities, be they already 'established' industries, such as fisheries or aquaculture, or 'emerging' ones, such as ocean observation.

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Society

Science is not complete until it is shared with society. As a public research institution, the IIM understands that its commitment is with society, fostering a two-way relationship with its surrounding community and an open perspective on science.

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Work & Study

Marine scientists, lab technicians, biologists, chemists and engineers, but also economists, lawyers or communicators (both working and in training) contribute to the interdisciplinary nature of our center. With more than 200 employees, the IIM-CSIC is a large community of people who work together for the sake of science, knowledge and sustainability.

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News & Events

Do you want to be aware of the latest at the IIM? The Institute has a whole team involved in communication & outreach, sharing all news that arise and organizing events to reach all sectors of society: from other peers working in science to children in schools or our neighbors from Vigo.

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Marine Life and Ecosystems

Biodiversity & conservation for ecosystem resilience

Only a resilient ecosystem can cope with the wide diversity of threats it faces. Resilience, defined as the ability of ecosystems to resist permanent structural change and maintain ecosystem functions, is being progressively eroded. The threat of global change, but also the overexploitation of resources, pollution, habitat loss, etc,. stress the urgent need to preserve and recover ecosystem resilience, which demands a deeper knowledge about ecosystem functioning.

The Institute’s research along this line aims to achieve such deep understanding of ecosystem functioning. The ultimate goal is to increase ecosystem resilience, quantifying and valuing marine ecosystem services, especially those related to food production and biotechnology.

In order to do so, we investigate key life history parameters from an ecological perspective (early life, growth, reproduction, feeding, mortality, behavior) and analyze critical ecological interactions such as trophic webs or ecosystem carrying capacity. In addition, we study the spatio-temporal dynamics of organisms, populations, guilds and ecosystems, examining the role of habitat and biodiversity on ecosystem functions to provide advice on the development and evaluation of conservation measures, such as marine protected areas.

On top of that, the impact of global change on ecosystems is a transversal topic to all the research conducted within this line; a research work that uses a wide variety of tools, methodologies and approaches, from field research to molecular ecology.

Research groups

Active projects

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Inside this Research Line
Research Groups Research Projects Related Research Lines