IBER-BAS is a national centre of research on biodiversity and sustainable use of bioresources. The Division of Functional Ecology and Bioresources of Marine and Coastal Ecosystems and the associated Laboratory of Marine Ecology (LME) is carrying out research in functional ecology and the ecosystem approach to management of marine bioresources. The main areas of expertise are: environmental monitoring of coastal zones and wetlands, biogeochemistry of coastal waters and sediment, structure and function of bacterial communities, structure and distribution of the macrophyte communities, anthropogenic impact assessments, fisheries research and stock assessment, food-web modeling, evaluation of Marine Protected Areas and integrated statistical ecosystem analysis.