The basic aim of the group is the understanding of benthic ecosystems and exploring the biology of benthic organisms, through a wide approach encompassing from the molecular (cryptic speciation, population genetics, metagenetics) to the ecological (chemical ecology, interaction networks, landscape ecology) levels, and a special focus on the biology of the species (taxonomy, physiology, symbiosis).

Geographically, the studied areas include from high latitudes (specially, Antarctica) to temperate (with special emphasis in the Mediterranean) to tropical systems.

The group is very active in knowledge transfer to society, specially in fields related to environmental quality assessment and monitoring and in exploring the ecological basis of the production, by benthic organisms, of metabolites with potential biotechnological interest.