Papers from the Echinoderm Conference. 8. Deep-sea echinoderms in the Tongue of the Ocean, Bahama Islands: a survey, using the research submersible Alvin

Since the first major Symposium on Echinoderm Biology was held in London in 1966, sponsored by the Royal Zoological Society, at least six subsequent meetings have been organised by echinodermologists.These have been held in Washington D.C., D.S.A. (2), Rovinj, Yugoslavia 0), Sydney, Australia 0), London 0); the last two meetings (Sydney and London), within the same year (978), and Brussels, Belgium.Also, at least four meetings are known to have been held in D.S.S.R.Such has been the surge of interest in the study of echinoderms over the past decade, that there is now a demand for the organisation of regular, and more frequent, meetings.The international representation at these meetings indicates the enormous involvement and co-operation which now exists between colleagues working in this exciting field, the world over.It is more than evident that the satisfaction and pleasure expressed by Professor Norman Millott, in his foreword to the first Symposium volume (1967), at the resurgence of interest in Echinoderm Biology has been clearly justified and can continue so to be.This volume presents twelve of the forty-one contributions offered at the Echinoderm Conference, Sydney, 1978.The papers are representative of the wide coverage of topics dealt with during the Conference, including echinoderm palaeontology, physiology, reproduction, ecology, behaviour and taxonomy.