It is a pleasure and a distinct honour for me to greet the participants, guests and ob­ servers of this Fourth International Symposium on Antarctic Biology which has adopted nutrient cycles and food webs as its central theme. On behalf of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and other bodies of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), I bid you welcome. SCAR is pleased to acknowledge the role of the co-sponsors for this Symposium which include the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR), the International Association of Biological Oceanography (IABO), and the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS). In addition, SCAR and its co-sponsors wish to acknowledge the financial support of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Department of Transport (DOT) of the South African govern­ ment. Nor should we forget to acknowledge also the role of the South African Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SASCAR) and one of its leaders and Vice President of SCAR, Mr. Jan de Wit, in arranging this charming venue for this Symposium.