Services
EMBRC-GR

Ecosystem access

Biological resources

Experimental facilities

Technology platforms

E-services

Training and library services

Ecosystem access

EMBRC-GR provides access to a diverse range of coastal marine habitats of Crete.

Coastal research vessels  (On-site and remote service)

  • Inflatable Boat

SCUBA diving facilities  (On-site and remote service)

For access to coastal ecosystems of Crete (Cretan and Libyan Seas)

  • Team of certified divers that can dive on request
  • Users can accompany the divers if appropriately certified; equipment can be provided 
  • Underwater imaging and sampling
  • underwater observation and documentation
  • collection of biological samples
  • installation of instruments and devices
  • design and implementation of underwater experiments.
  • We provide consultations on:
    • the selection of appropriate locations/sites
    • species/habitats distribution
    • selection of experimental parameters.

Submersibles

  • Underwater scanning and sampling by remotely operated vehicle (ROV)
  • Underwater seabed capture by Side Scan Sonar

Ecological assessment services

We provide ecological assessment in marine and transitional ecosystems through field surveys, including:

  • biodiversity assessment
  • identification and mapping of habitats
  • assessment of the ecological status
  • presence of pressures and threats

Habitat mapping services include

  • Side Scan Sonar operations
  • underwater drones
  • underwater photography and video.

We also provide visual analyses of results, as well as consultations on management, conservation and restoration actions.

Sampling equipment (On-site and remote service)

  • Sediment (grabs, box corers, corers, frames)
  • Hard substrate (innovative sampling gear ‘MANOSS’)
  • Water column (plankton nets, Niskin bottles, CTDs)

Environmental impact assessment and monitoring services

We coordinate and undertake Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and Environmental Studies (ES), including:

  • monitoring of water quality of swimming beaches
  • microbiological tests of bottled drinking waters
  • marine pollution monitoring of underwater outfalls (e.g., sewage, power plants, desalination facilities), ports and marinas

We also provide advice on monitoring and mitigation of impacted coastal systems, assisting with in situ surveys and sampling design.

Biological resources

EMBRC-GR offers access to living stock and preserved  (biobanks) culture collection of marine organisms from a variety of ecosystems and taxa. Other organisms can also be sampled directly from the field.

Species collected upon request (On-site and remote service)

  • Sampling of organisms from coastal habitats around Crete (Cretan and Libyan Seas) 

Biological sample identification  (On-site and remote service)

  • Invertebrate taxonomy (polychaetes, amphipods, decapods, sponges, invasive species)

Biobanks (On-site and remote service)

  • DNA collections
  • Sample series from the Aegean and Ionian seas (since 1989)

Conformity with regulations

EMBRC guarantees conformity with national and international regulations concerning collection, maintenance/cultivation and shipping of biological resources. Ethical standards and nature conservation requirements limit the availability and/or types of research on certain species such as mammals, turtles and those on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Strict adherence to ethical standards and 3R policies (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) is ensured.

Experimental facilities

EMBRC-GR provides access to state-of-the-art experimental facilities for aquaculture experiments (aquaria and tanks), environmental studies (mesocosms) and for commercial applications. Dedicated wet and dry laboratories are available for sample processing and their analysis.

Aquaria and tanks (on-site)

Tanks and labs for experiments on aquafeed testing, fish reproduction and pathology

 

  • Broodstock management
  • Pilot scale hatchery
  • Phyto- and zooplankton production
  • Nutrition and biochemistry
  • Feed production unit
  • Fish Behaviour
  • Fish health
  • Vaccine development
  • Toxicology and biomarkers
  • Sensory lab
  • Pilot netpen aquaculture farm
Marine Biology and Biotechnology​
  • Genetics & Molecular Biotechnology Lab
  • Environmental Microbiology Lab
  • Marine Ecology & Biodiversity Labs
  • Environmental Chemistry Lab
  • DNA sequencing platform
  • Bioimaging
  • High Performance Computing (HPC) system
  • Underwater Biotechnological Park
  • Cretaquarium (experimental aquaria)
  • Scientific diving unit

Technology platforms

EMBRC-GR gives access to the latest technologies for molecular biology and bio-imaging, as well as to platforms for biological assays and for structural or chemical analysis.

Molecular biology and omics (On-site and remote service)

  • Sanger sequencing and microsatellite genotyping (ABI3730)
  • MiSeq-Illumina: Library construction and sequencing for amplicons, transcriptomes, ddRAD and small genomes
  • MinION-Oxford Nanopore: Library construction and sequencing

Structural and chemical analysis (On-site and remote service)

  • Targeted analysis of biomolecules and metabolites (e.g phyto-pigments, hormones, biotoxins, fatty acids) with LC-MS/MS and GC-MS [Quantitative chemical analysis of target biomolecules and metabolites in marine organisms or environmental samples (e.g phyto-pigments, hormones, biotoxins, fatty acids) using LC-MS/MS and GC-MS techniques]
  • Analysis of basic biochemical parameters (e.g. total protein, total DNA, total carbohydrates) using absorbance/fluorescence-based assays at microplate format and analysis of total organic carbon in water samples using combustion-based TOC analyzer.

Bioassays (On-site and remote service)

  • Antibacterial and antioxidant capacity [Assessment of antibacterial and antioxidant capacity of individual compounds and biological extracts]

Imaging (On-site and remote service)

  • Micro CT imaging (Skyscan 1172); 
  • Underwater imaging, 
  • Optical microscopy

E-services

EMBRC offers access to data obtained from mid- and long-term observations of different marine ecosystems, specific software for data analysis and exploration as well as related bioinformatic expertise.

Data analysis tools and software (On-site and remote service)

  • Bioinformatic pipelines for analysis of NGS data (transcriptome and small genome assembly, gene expression profiling, dd-RAD data analysis, DNA metabarcoding of prokaryotes and eukaryotes)

Data sets (On-site and remote service)

Training and Expert Advice

EMBRC facilitates access to marine-related research opportunities, and supports the education of next generations of marine biologists. This is achieved through two initiatives:

  • Marine Training – A web-based platform developed by EMBRC to offer an overview of current marine and maritime education opportunities, while providing a supporting framework to foster new training initiatives and exchange best practices. It aims to train the next generation of ‘blue workers’ and re-train the current generation, and provide answers to trainees in search of training and trainers looking for support (eg on how to organise training initiatives).
  • The IMBRSea Masters Programme – The International Master in Marine Biological Resources (IMBRSea), is a joint master’s degree programme organised by eight leading European universities in the field of marine sciences; Ghent University (BE), Sorbonne University (FR), University of the Algarve (PT), University of Oviedo (ES), Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (IE), University of the Basque Country (ES), Polytechnic University of Marche (IT), and University of Bergen (NO), University of Western Brittany – UBO (FR) and University of Gothenburg – UGOT (SE), supported by 14 EMBRC operators.

EMBRC also offers training services such as conference room rental and on-site / remote access to library services.

Experimental design (On-site and remote service)

Expert advice on Mediterranean aquaculture (aquaculture, nutrition, diet formulation, reproduction, pathogens)

EMBRC​

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Contact us

EMBRC Greece
Institute of Marine Biology,
Biotechnology & Aquaculture
HCMR, Thalassocosmos
71500 Gournes Crete, Greece

Liaison Officer:
Panagiotis Kasapidis
liaison_gr@embrc.eu 
+30 2810 337718

Communication Officer:
Melanthia Stavroulaki
mstavroulaki@hcmr.gr 
+30 2810 337719

Postal correspondence:
IMBBC-HCMR
P.O.Box 2214, 71003 Heraklion, Crete, Greece

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