Preface & Proceedings

Coming out of the long tunnel called the pandemic COVID-19, we finally organized a face-to-face International Conference on Copepoda (ICOC).The present 15th ICOC was successfully held at the International Conference Center Hiroshima during 2-7 June 2024, the second time an ICOC was hosted in Japan.The first one was the 4th ICOC held in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture in 1990, 34 years ago!The conference was highly unique to foreign participants, because it was the first one held out of Europe and North America.Since I joined it in my 20s and realized that all the participants really enjoyed not only scientific results but also oriental culture and nature, I decided to host one more in Japan in order to stimulate communities of copepodologists.My dream came true with the aid of the former WAC president Prof H Dam, the WAC executive members and many friends/colleagues.The total number of participants at the 15th ICOC was 223 from 28 countries.A hybrid system, that is, in-person and online/on demand participation, was introduced to this ICOC and worked well.Two keynote speeches were provided by Profs GA Boxshall and Y Oba, who presented "Copepods and sustainable development, in the era of climate change" and "Copepods have changed the marine bioluminescence world", respectively.The following four symposia were organized by Prof G Wyngaard (Evolutionary dynamics), Drs JK Passarelli and D Tang (Diversity, ecology, and evolution of symbiotic Copepoda), Prof W Kimmerer (Non-indigenous estuarine copepods: Modes of transport, geographic spread, and accommodation), and Prof DMP Galassi (Freshwater copepods: Redefining biology, and unveiling ecological and biogeographical patterns).Sixty-seven and 80 presentations were given for the oral and poster sessions, respectively.We also appreciate the enthusiasm of the symposium organizers and chairpersons.This conference was characterized by a large number of genetic studies and the introduction of new technologies.During the excursion, we greatly enjoyed a survey in the huge limestone cave Akiyoshido, the hot spring in Yuda and special meals in Iwakuni.A special exhibition of T Moris zinc plates and his monograph was also provided.