The laboratory consists of:

• a chemical-lab, equipped with instruments for the study of the flow of organic matter through the aquatic ecosystem;

• a wet-lab, for the study of biodiversity and community/population ecology;

• a reading room (with more than 350 books and reports);

• a small PC-station room (with 9 PC workstations);

• an imaging room, for the observation of behavioural responses of organisms.

These spaces are used daily by about 30 people (graduates, master’s students, pH.D. candidates and post-doctoral researchers) with various technical and professional skills. In our Lab marine ecology research is conducted thanks to the use of advanced equipment, such as:

• Coulter Counter II for clearance rate experiments in filter-feeding organisms; Strathkelvin 782 meter, 1302 electrodes and a respirometry chamber to measure respiration of aquatic organisms (mainly benthic invertebrates such as mussels etc.);

• CHN analyser;

• spectrophotometer (Shimadzu 1800) and spectrofluorimeter (Jasco); equipment for chemical and trophic analysis in the sea and for sediment and animal tissue analysis (total organic matter, chlorophyll-a, nutrients, lipids, carbohydrates, proteins);

• 3 pumps and 12 beakers for water filtration (47 and 25 mm diameter); hardware (2 PC-stations) and software for analysing and interpreting image-video of behaviour;

• 1 optical microscope;

• 4 binoculars;

• 6 underwater cameras for recording behaviour of marine animals;

• 1 FLIR B2 thermal camera;

• 4 amplifiers to measure the heartbeat of invertebrates connected to a portable oscilloscope (FLUKE 125) plus 2 laptops equipped with Fluke View 3.0;

• 4 laptops for field measurements;

• 2 cells 3 m × 3 m (from 0-40 °C) with lamps to simulate different degrees of irradiance and fans to maintain humidity;

• 10 aquaria (80 L) and 20 aquaria (10 L) used for keeping experimental organisms;

• 1 intertidal aquarium (1 m × 1 m, h = 50 cm) to simulate tidal rhythms (in cell);

• equipment for Scope for Growth (16 beakers; in cell); Multiprobe instruments (Yellow Springs SD6000 plus 60 m of cable with fluorimeter) for acquisition of oceanographic data and sampling of waters (4 Niskin bottles, Secchi discs etc.), sediments (cores etc.), fauna (plankton and fish nets) and flora (nets);

• 1 hydrophone for recording noise in the marine environment;

• 1 telescope for field observations;

• a weather station.