50 years of the European Marine Biology symposium – a continuing success story

The first European Marine Biology Symposium (EMBS) was initiated by Otto Kinne, Director of the Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, and held on Helgoland in the early autumn of 1966. The meeting was such a success that the EMBS has continued to be held annually ever since, moving around various locations. To date the EMBS has been organized in about 20 different European countries (Hummel & Hummel, 2016). The overall aim of the EMBS is to advance the science of Marine Biology within Europe. The EMBS provides a forum for the presentation of current marine biological research through a combination of oral and poster presentations, to encourage a wider interest in Marine Biology, an awareness of the need for the proper management of European seas and coasts, and the fostering of inter-European links and cooperation between researchers in Marine Biology. The scientific topics usually reflect the interest of the organizing institution, time series research in the case of the 50th EMBS.