Concluding remarks

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Royal Society 1960
• Subjects: Chiloé; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1960.0082; https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.1960.0082

It is, of course, altogether too early to try to summarize the results of this remarkable—and I think highly successful—conference. We look forward to seeing the contributions in print very soon so that we can draw conclusions at leisure from the papers that have been read and from the valuable discussions. I cannot remember any previous conference in which the contributions of botanists, zoologists, geologists, oceanographers and meteorologists bore so directly upon each other: the discussion never broke up into different kinds of scientist discussing different kinds of issues. Certain practical consequences are immediately apparent. Repeatedly we have heard of the pressing need of further investigation not only of the southern oceanic islands, but of land nearer the continents such as the island of Chiloé and even of Tasmania. For several have pointed out that while our information already seems not inconsiderable all too much of it depends upon limited observations and collections, often made many years ago. Likewise, we have been reminded that facts which are the key to our present biological relationships are likely to be found in Quaternary studies particularly in the subantarctic islands—where possible in Antarctica itself. Further, several in discussion have pointed out how much scientific progress in all this depends upon the encouragement and training of taxonomers.