The Annual Biology Symposium was held on 1 December  by the Department of Biology within the Faculty of Science at the University of Malta in collaboration with  the Science Students Society (S-cubed). The Symposium, which was sponsored by the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), featured presentations by some of this year's graduates on a number of research projects which constituted their degree dissertations.

During the opening session the audience was addressed by Prof. Joseph A. Borg, Head of the Department of Biology, Prof. Charles Sammut, Dean of the Faculty of Science, Prof. Godfrey Baldacchino, Pro‐Rector for International Development and Quality Assurance, and Dr José Herrera, Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change.

Following a presentation by S-Cubed, which comprised an overview of the organisation and activities of the Society, David Dandria, curator of the Biology Department museum, opened the first session with a keynote presentation entitled “What’s in a Name? – The Legacy of Carl Linnaeus”. The session, chaired by Prof. Patrick J. Schembri, continued with two presentations by B. Sc. Graduates. In the first Daryl Agius introduced the audience to an invasive alien foraminiferan species, Amphistegina, which has become very abundant in Maltese offshore waters. The second presentation, by Micaela Cassar, dealt with how seawater warming can be gauged by assessing the population density of sea urchins.

The second session, chaired by Dr Sandro Lanfranco got under way with another two presentations by B. Sc. graduates, one by an M.Sc graduate and one by a Ph. D. graduate. Pamela Cuschieri gave an account of her investigation of freshwater rockpools. On a completely different note, Nadine Farrugia described the distribution of deep-water cnidarians, relatives of jellyfish and sea-anemones, using a remotely operated vehicle in a depth range of between 200m and 950m.

The postgraduate presentations dealt with two completely different topics. M.Sc. graduate Claire Grima discussed how lifeform spectra, the range and variety of plant forms, can be used as a tool for the ecological restoration of plant communities in the Maltese countryside; she concluded that the attainment of a target ecosystem during ecological restoration can have a greater chance of success if lifeform spectra are taken into account. Ph.D. graduate Marija Mangion’s address dealt with a highly topical aspect of the Maltese fish-farming industry: the influence of tuna penning activities on the soft bottom habitat. Ms Mangion’s detailed study concluded that the seasonal nature of tuna penning and offshore location of the farms, together with reduction of feed wastage, can mitigate the potential adverse effects of the activity on sea-bottom biodiversity, while the spatial concentration of multiple tuna farms results in added negative impacts on the marine environment.

As in previous years a booklet, Biological Abstracts, was published, containing abstracts of all of this year's dissertations, including those which were not presented at the Symposium, a total of 35 abstracts. Anyone interested in purchasing a copy can contact the Department of Biology on 2340 2272. Both the Symposium and the publication of Biology Abstracts were generously supported by the Environment and Resources Authority.