The International Society of Zoological Sciences (ISZS, website: http://www. globalzoology. org), together with its hosts, the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology(NWIPB), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Zoological Society of Qinghai Province, China organized the 9th International Symposium of Integrative Zoology,27-31 August 2017, Xining, Qinghai Province, China. The theme of the symposium is "Response and adaptation of animals to extreme environments."

Xining is the capital of Qinghai Province in China locating in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. It is also an important transition city in the Belt and Road(B&R) Initiative by the Chinese government. The Qinghai-Tibet plateau, also known as the Third Pole or "water tower", contains the headwaters of the drainage basins of most of the streams in surrounding regions. It owns the unique geological, climatic and biological components of the world.

The impacts of climate warming and extreme environments in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau are of great interest to the scientists and public.

Some session organizers

 Top from left：Abraham Haim, Marcel Holyoak, Dehua Wang, Michael SteeleBottom from left: Ding Wang, Weiguo Du, Hongxuan He, Hongmao Zhang