Registry of Biodiversity Institutions, Collections and Databases: Institution

Description

The Institut Mediterrani d’Estudis Avançats (CSIC-UIB; acronym: IMEDEA) is a joint research center of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) and the Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB). Between 1985 and 1995 IMEDEA was preceded by the Institut d’Estudis Avançats de les Illes Balears (IEAIB). During the reorganization of this center in 1995, part of it became IMEDEA, which scheduled itself the goal of “executing high-quality scientific-technical research in the area of Natural Resources, with special emphasis on interdisciplinary research in the Mediterranean area”. Thanks to different initiatives carried out by researchers of the institute (Research Projects, Field Work, Scientific Exchanges, Acceptance of donations and deposits, etc.), different collections have been generated, which, together, constitute an important fund that is curated at IMEDEA; they are globally known as the IMEDEA collection. The collection currently contains more than 250,000 specimens that come from the fields of paleontology and zoology. The IMEDEA collection is the result of the effort of a group of researchers from the CSIC and the UIB, thanks to which the heritage fund available and recognized as such by the Cultural Heritage authorities has been and continues to grow.