New frontiers in functional morphology of molluscs: A tribute to Drs. Vera Fretter and Ruth Turner

The symposium "New Frontiers in Functional Morphology of Molluscs" was held at the second World Congress of Malacology in Vienna, Austria, in August 2001. The symposium honored Drs. Vera Fretter and Ruth Turner, two outstanding women scientists who made significant contributions to the study of form and function of molluscs and played important roles in laying the groundwork for a growing field of research in functional morphology. The goals of the symposium were to focus attention on the vast potential of the use of molluscs as model systems in the study of form and function and to provide a forum for presenting new ideas and approaches and for proposing directions for future study. Symposium topics ranged from the processes of feeding in bivalves and gastropods to the biomechanics of byssal threads. These papers represent some of the diversity of research goals and methods in the field today and, it is hoped, will rejuvenate the field among the international community of malacologists.