The conference theme - Echinoderms in a Changing World - focuses on major current issues including climate change and ocean acidification, as well as incorporating echinoderm physiology, biogeography, genetics, genomes and development as major focal points in marine research. Tasmania is a highly appropriate location given international attention to the circumstances of climate change driving range extension of an echinoderm into Tasmanian waters, where it poses a significant threat to biodiversity of shallow rocky reef systems and the sustainability of associated fisheries.