The SubBio Lab UBB group is currently investigating various facets on subterranean ecosystems: 

• Cave biology and palaecology: We perfom studies on biodiversity, dynamics, adaptations and evolutions of subterranean species to subterranean realm, using also fossil ostracods from cave sediments as biotic archives to reconstruct the paleoenvironment at the regional scale.  
• Groundwater ecology: We assess the effects of human impact and climate change on subterranean realm (shallow and deep karst and volcanic aquifers) and its fauna; we perform quantifying the ecotoxicological effects of various anthropogenic pollutants (microplastics, medical compounds, heavy metals) on subterranean organisms. We target to reveal the relationships between biodiversity and the functioning, stability and sustainability of subterranean ecosystems in the context of impact of coupled human activities & climate changes.  
• Hyporheic zone hydro-ecology: We perform investigations on: i) structure and dynamics of hyporheic communities from rivers and streams and investigate the role of the hyporheic zone as an intermediary transfer area of pollutants from the surface rivers to groundwater; ii) delineating the lateral and vertical spatial extents of the hyporheic zone and iii) characterizing the streambed architecture and provide detailed spatial information on vertical and horizontal continuity and connections between the hyporheic zone and associated aquifers. We combine the biological assessments of hyporheic invertebrate’s community’s structural patterns and ecological features with the non-invasive geophysical techniques obtained by electrical resistivity tomography (ERT).