Doñana Biological Station - CSIC

What Doñana Biological Station - CSIC does

The Estación Biológica de Doñana – CSIC (EBD-CSIC) is a public research institute founded in 1964 and headquartered in Seville, Spain, operating under Spain's largest public research body, the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC). The institute is dedicated to the study of ecology, evolution, and conservation of biodiversity, organized around two departments: Conservation Biology and Global Change, and Ecology and Evolution. It currently employs a 292-person team that includes 58 permanent researchers and manages 93 active research projects.

EBD-CSIC operates the ICTS-Doñana (Reserva Biológica de Doñana), designated as a Singular Scientific and Technical Infrastructure and recognized as Europe's largest field laboratory for biodiversity research. Its technical assets include a network of field stations distributed across the Doñana Biological Reserve, several specialized laboratories (Chemical Ecology, Stable Isotopes, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, GIS and Remote Sensing, and Molecular Ecology and Ecophysiology), curated scientific collections, and two newly launched open-access data portals — Hidromet (near real-time five-minute hydrometeorological data) and Meteo Palacio (45+ years of historical meteorological records since 1978). The institute has also developed a Deep Learning–based system for automated bird song detection.

As a non-commercial public research institution, EBD-CSIC does not sell products or services. Funding flows entirely from public sources — primarily CSIC institutional support and competitive grants from national programs and the European Union (notably 45 projects backed by NextGenerationEU/PRTR). Access to ICTS-Doñana infrastructure is granted through an independent Access Committee that evaluates research project applications, while environmental data is freely distributed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0. The institute was awarded the Severo Ochoa excellence accreditation for 2025–2031, and serves the international scientific research community, government agencies, and policy-makers as its principal stakeholder groups.

Name

Doñana Biological Station - CSIC

Legal name

Estación Biológica de Doñana - CSIC

Website

https://ebd.csic.es

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Doñana Biological Station - CSIC is a Spanish public research institute under CSIC that studies ecology, evolution, and biodiversity conservation. It operates Europe's largest field laboratory, ICTS-Doñana, and serves the international scientific research community, government agencies, and conservation policy-makers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Seville

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Public Research Funding: As a CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas) institute, the station receives government funding for research activities, projects, and infrastructure maintenance through national and European programs including PRTR/NextGenerationEU.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC) is a public Spanish research institute that conducts research in ecology, evolution, and biodiversity conservation and operates the ICTS-Doñana Singular Scientific and Technical Infrastructure. It offers access to environmental monitoring portals, accredited laboratories, scientific collections, and field stations for the national and international scientific community, government agencies, and conservation practitioners.

Product overview

Doñana Biological Station - CSIC (EBD-CSIC) is a research institute dedicated to ecology, evolution, and biodiversity conservation, belonging to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). The institution operates as a unified research organization rather than a commercial product company. Its core offerings include the ICTS-Doñana Environmental Monitoring Infrastructure, a network of specialized laboratories (Chemical Ecology, Stable Isotopes, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, GIS and Remote Sensing, Molecular Ecology and Ecophysiology), and two public data web portals: Hidromet (real-time hydrometeorological data) and Meteo Palacio (historical meteorological records since 1978). The institute also provides scientific collections and field stations for research support. Research activities are organized around Conservation Biology and Global Change, and Ecology and Evolution programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ICTS-Doñana Environmental Monitoring Infrastructure Singular Scientific and Technical Infrastructure (ICTS) operated by EBD-CSIC, providing access to long-term environmental monitoring and laboratory facilities for the scientific community in Spain and internationally.
• Hidromet Monitoring Portal Hydrometeorological data portal providing access to long-term monitoring data (e.g., water and weather data) generated by ICTS-Doñana.
• Meteo Palacio Monitoring Portal Meteorological data portal serving long-term weather records from the Doñana field station.
• Chemical Ecology Laboratory Specialized laboratory offering chemical ecology analyses for researchers and conservation programs.
• Stable Isotopes Laboratory Laboratory providing stable isotope analysis services for ecological and dietary studies.
• Molecular Ecology Laboratory Laboratory providing molecular ecology and conservation genetics analyses (DNA, population genetics) for researchers and conservation programs.
• GIS and Remote Sensing Laboratory Laboratory offering GIS, cartography, and remote sensing analysis for ecological and conservation applications.
• Bioinformatics Laboratory Laboratory providing bioinformatics analysis for biological and ecological research projects.
• Scientific Collections (EBD-CSIC) Long-term scientific collections of biological specimens accessible to the research community.
• Field Stations (Doñana and Brazo del Este) Field stations providing access to fieldwork sites and accommodation in Doñana and Brazo del Este for visiting researchers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 45 PRTR-funded projects demonstrating significant national and European research funding support
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and moderate.

• Fundación Maldonado Education Through ArtminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 June 2024Collaboration on AVEDoñana project (Artistas en Apoyo a Doñana) - a 5-year initiative bringing international artists to create works about Doñana's ecosystems for exhibition.
• CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe EBD is a research institute belonging to CSIC, Spain's largest public research organization. CSIC provides institutional oversight, funding mechanisms, and administrative support.
• ICTS-Doñana NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEBD operates ICTS-Doñana, part of Spain's national network of Unique Scientific and Technical Infrastructures recognized by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.
• Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration on urban ecology research, analyzing factors determining bee and wasp diversity in urban gardens.
• Australian Museum Research InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on paleontological research including discovery of new species from Miocene deposits at McGraths Flat, Australia.
• University of CanberraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership on Australian paleontological research and fossil analysis.
• Fundación BiodiversidadmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on biodiversity conservation projects including marine turtle nesting research, funded through the PRTR plan.
• University of MilanminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on West Nile virus surveillance and blood-feeding insect research in Andalusia.
• Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic ChallengemoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoordination on Doñana Action Framework monitoring and scientific assessment measures.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC): EBD-CSIC's parent organization and Spain's largest public research institution with institutes across multiple scientific disciplines. CSIC provides institutional oversight, funding mechanisms, and administrative framework for EBD-CSIC and its peer institutes.
• ETH Zurich: Swiss federal institute of technology conducting world-class research across sciences including ecology, evolutionary biology, and environmental science. Comparable as a large publicly funded research organization combining field-based ecological research with specialized laboratory capabilities.
• Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS): France's largest public research organization operating multiple ecology and biodiversity institutes. Comparable as a national umbrella research body with institutes conducting field-based ecological research and operating unique scientific infrastructure.

Direct peers

• Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies: Independent ecological research institute focused on freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems with long-term datasets. Comparable in combining field-based ecological research, long-term monitoring, and lab services for the scientific community.
• UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH): UK-based public research institute operating field stations and environmental monitoring networks, producing long-term datasets on biodiversity, hydrology, and climate. Directly comparable in mission, scale, and infrastructure-led research model.
• Senckenberg Nature Research Society: German research organization operating natural history museums and research institutes on biodiversity and earth sciences. Comparable in combining scientific collections, field stations, environmental monitoring, and large-scale biodiversity research infrastructure.
• Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ): German national research center conducting integrated environmental research on biodiversity, ecosystems, and global change. Comparable in scale, public funding model, and combination of field research, laboratory services, and open data infrastructure.
• Smithsonian Environmental Research Center: Long-running US-based ecological field station conducting interdisciplinary research on coastal and terrestrial ecosystems with long-term monitoring datasets. Highly comparable to EBD-CSIC in mission (biodiversity, global change), operating model (field station + labs), and data-intensive research outputs.
• Max Planck Institute for Biology: Premier German research institute conducting fundamental research in ecology, evolution, and molecular biology with extensive laboratory infrastructure. Comparable in research excellence focus, specialized lab services, and international scientific collaborations.

Emerging players

• Australian Museum Research Institute: Research arm of the Australian Museum conducting biodiversity and paleontological research. Active collaboration partner with EBD-CSIC on Miocene paleontological research at McGraths Flat, demonstrating direct comparability in collections-based biodiversity research.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Customer concentration

• Xbsky.app/profile/ebdonana.bsky.social
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCSsi9be3e-9gVXJpZWaycYQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/ebdonana
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ebdonana
• Instagraminstagram.com/ebdonana

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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