Ecosystems and biogeochemistry

ISMAR has a long tradition focused on the  the study of the biological communities comprehensive study of biodiversity of marine ecosystemssystems, from transitional to deep-sea habitats, including extreme ecosystems inhabiting and from polar and to chemosynthetic environmentsenvironments. 

Emphasis is given to the study of the phenology, structure and functional role of planktonic and benthonic communities, and to their long-term variations, in relation with environmental variables, climatic change and anthropic impact. Within this context, a key role is played by researches addressed to the study of marine biodiversity, in connection with the main processes of the marine ecosystems (e.g.: primary production, carbon and nutrient cycles, trophic web structure), to their stability and fluctuations.

Within the studies dealing with climatic- and anthropic-driven ecosystem variability, ISMAR is also concerned with researches about alien species and potentially harmful algal species.