SCAR Biology Symposia

The first SCAR Biology Symposium was held jointly with IUBS (the International Union of Biological Sciences) in September 1962 and initially was held at irregular intervals.  Since 2001, the Biology Symposium has been held regularly every four years, alternating with SCAR’s Antarctic Earth Sciences symposium, ISAES.

The pattern was interrupted in 2021 due to continuing restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. XIII Biology Symposium was postponed from 2021 to 2023, with the expectation that the four-yearly pattern continues from then.

XIV Biology Symposium 2027

The 14th SCAR Symposium on Antarctic Biology will be held in Utah, USA.

More information will follow soon.

XIII Biology Symposium 2023

13th SCAR Symposium on Antarctic Biology

31 July to 3 August 2023, Christchurch, New Zealand

XII Biology Symposium 2017

12th SCAR Symposium on Antarctic Biology

10-14 July 2017, Leuven, Belgium

XI Biology Symposium 2013

11th SCAR Symposium on Antarctic Biology

15-19 July 2013, Barcelona, Spain

  • Symposium website
  • Proceedings of the Symposium – Special Issue on Life in Antarctica: Boundaries and Gradients in a Changing Environment. Josep-Maria Gili and Rebeca Zapata-Guardiola (eds), 2016. Polar Biology, Volume 39, Issue 1, January 2016.

X Biology Symposium 2009

10th SCAR Symposium on Antarctic Biology

26-31 July 2009, Sapporo, Japan

  • Proceedings of the Symposium – Antarctic Biology in the 21st Century – Advances in and beyond IPY. Mitsuo Fukuchi, Dominic Hodgson, Guido di Prisco, Graham Hosie, Peter Convey and Dana Bergstrom (eds), 2010. Special Issue, Polar Science, Volume 4, Issue 2, Pages 93-430, August 2010.

IX Biology Symposium 2005

9th SCAR Symposium on Antarctic Biology

25-29 July 2005, Curitiba, Brazil

  • Proceedings of the Symposium – Special Issue: IX SCAR International Biology Symposium. Evolution and Biodiversity in Antarctica. Fanta, E., Arntz, W., Detrich, W. and Kawall, H. (eds), 2007. Antarctic Science. 19 (2), June 2007.

VIII Biology Symposium 2001

8th SCAR Symposium on Antarctic Biology

27 August – 1 September 2001, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

  • Proceedings of the Symposium –  Antarctic Biology in a Global Context. Huiskes, A. H. L., Gieskes, W.W.C., Rozema, J., Schorno, R.M.L., van der Vies, S.M. and Wolff, W.J. (eds), 2003. Leiden, Backhuys Publishers, XIII + 338pp.

VII Biology Symposium 1998

7th SCAR Symposium on Antarctic Biology

September 1998, Christchurch, New Zealand

  • Proceedings of the Symposium – Antarctic ecosystems: models for wider ecological understanding. Davison, W., Howard-Williams, C. and Broady, P. (eds). 2000. Christchurch, New Zealand Natural Sciences, 334 pp.

VI Biology Symposium 1994

6th SCAR Symposium on Antarctic Biology

30 May – 3 June 1994, Venice, Italy

  • Proceedings of the Symposium – Antarctic communities: species, structure and survival. Battaglia, B., Valencia, J. and Walton, D. W. H.  (eds). 1997. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 464 pp.

V Biology Symposium 1988

5th SCAR Symposium on Antarctic Biology

29 August – 3 September 1988, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

  • Proceedings of the Symposium – Antarctic ecosystems: ecological change and conservation. Kerry, K. R. and Hempel, G. (eds), 1990. Berlin, etc., Springer-Verlag, 427 pp.

IV Biology Symposium 1983

4th SCAR/SCOR/IUBS/IABO/SA-SCAR Symposium on Antarctic Biology

12-16 September 1983, Wilderness, South Africa

  • Proceedings of the Symposium – Antarctic Nutrient Cycles and Food Webs. Siegfried, W. R., Condy, P. R. and Laws, R. M. (eds), 1985. Berlin, etc, Springer Verlag, 700 pp.

III Biology Symposium 1974

3rd SCAR/IUBS Symposium on Antarctic Biology

26-30 August 1974, Washington, USA

  • Proceedings of the Symposium – Adaptations within Antarctic Ecosystems. Llano, G. A. (ed), 1987. Washington DC, Smithsonian Institution, 1252 pp.

II Biology Symposium 1968

2nd SCAR Symposium on Antarctic Biology

29 July – 3 August 1968, Washington, USA

  • Proceedings of the Symposium – Antarctic Ecology. Holdgate, M. W. (ed), 1970. London and New York, Academic Press, 998 pp (2 volumes).

I Biology Symposium 1962

1st SCAR/IUBS Symposium on Antarctic Biology

2-8 September 1962, Paris, France

  • Proceedings of the Symposium – Biologie Antarctique/Antarctic Biology. R. Carrick, R., Holdgate, M. and Prevost, J. (eds), 1964. Paris, Hermann, 651 pp.