The Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn of Naples was established in 1872 by the German scientist Anton Dohrn. It is at present a public research organization controlled by the Ministero dell'Istruzione dell'Università e della Ricerca.
The Stazione Zoologica is among the top research institutions in the world in the fields of marine biology and ecology. Initiated by its founder with the mission to promote basic research by hosting scientists that needed marine organisms for their studies, it is now based on the research carried out by its own staff.
The present mission of the Stazione Zoologica is to conduct basic research in biology with a focus on marine organisms and their biodiversity, tightly linked with studies on biological evolution and marine ecosystem dynamics, using an integrated and interdisciplinary approach. The Stazione Zoologica also supports access to marine organisms for the international scientific community and provides high level training in its mission areas.
From May 1st 2011 the Stazione Zoologica is governed by a Statute that allowed the constitution of an active national scientific community of reference.
