The Biological Research Collection (COBI) is a repository of the University of Aveiro of natural history specimens and jointly curated collections such as frozen tissues and other physical samples, e.g. DNA libraries and digital images. The collection contains specimens from coastal to deep-sea environments collected under sampling programs of several Research Projects. The specimens are being prepared in a way that ensures their utility and are accessible to all qualified users. Specimen-associated information is managed through archiving in Specify 6 and GIS databases. COBI also has a bibliographic collection of 4015 references that gives support to the biological collection.
The collection includes over 5100 registers of over 970 taxa (the majority to species level) collected mainly in Portuguese waters and NE Atlantic, but also from other areas. Thirteen Phyla of invertebrate fauna are represented: Annelida, Arthropoda, Bryozoa, Cnidaria, Chordata, Echinodermata, Ectoprocta, Entoprocta, Mollusca, Nemertea, Platyhelminthes, Porifera and Sipuncula. This fauna was collected in a wide variety of habitats, from the intertidal to deep-sea environments, including submarine canyons, cold seeps, mud volcanoes, and hydrothermal vents.