Introduction

Abstract

Human activity extensively, and often irreversibly, alters marine biodiversity and ecosystems on a global scale. Notwithstanding a substantial research effort on the ecosystem consequences of altered biodiversity, it is vital that the marine community summarise and communicate its knowledge to policy makers. This Theme Section celebrates the establishment of the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity as a vehicle for integrating marine biodiversity science and co-ordinating future research efforts. © Inter-Research 2009.