The suggestion for a symposium on microbial ecology was first put forward by Professor J.A.R. Miles in 1972. After gaining support from the New Zealand Microbiological Society and the Royal Society of New Zealand. a national committee with international represen tatives and a local committee were formed. Sponsorship was obtained from UNEP, UNESCO, ICRO and IOMS. IUBS and ICOME and the culmina tion was the First International Microbial Ecology Symposium in 1977 attended by over 400 scientists from 30 countries. Certain facets of microbial ecology have been studied for over a century, but the...