Book excerpt: In July 2001 experts from all around the world met in Reykjavik, Iceland to discuss various issues of polychaete biology. In particular the latest developments in cladistic inference of polychaete phylogeny were presented. Some studies applied recent molecular techniques, revealing unknown genetic relationships between the different families of polychaetous annelids. This volume is of interest to specialists and students seeking an introduction to the latest developments in the field of systematics and ecology of polychaetous annelids. This book is one in a series presenting results from the International Polychaete conferences.