Marine chemical ecology

Abstract

Marine chemical ecology has emerged as a vibrant subdiscipline of marine ecology over the past 20 yr. The first symposium devoted specifically to marine chemical ecology was held, in conjunction with the 29th Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting, at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, USA, from March 9 to 10, 2000, with over 70 symposium participants from around the world. Topics of oral presentations and posters ranged from chemical antipredatory defenses of algae and invertebrates to antifouling, allelopathy, sunscreening agents, antimicrobial defenses, and chemical cues for larval settlement and metamorphosis. Articles in this MEPS Theme Section were submitted as original research contributions to the symposium.