About us: The Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology and Ecological Research (AMBER) conducts field-based experimental research in marine biology and ecology, with a strong emphasis on applied and solution-oriented science. Our work spans a wide range of topics, including jellyfish ecology, jellyfish bloom dynamics and their impacts on society, jellyfish stings and parasites, marine plankton and meiofauna, climate change and carbon sequestration, environmental interactions of aquaculture, microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) in aquatic systems and how to remove these, establishment of artifical reefs as nature-based solutions for coastal protection. AMBER also explores socioeconomic aspects of MNPs, jellyfish blooms and aquaculture-environment interactions. The lab is deeply involved in citizen science and science communication, notably through Meduzot Ba’am, a nationwide project combining researcher-led analysis with real-time public reporting of jellyfish swarms to improve coastal management, tourism, environmental education and public health.