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Temperature imposes a constraint on the rates and outcomes of ecological processes that determine community-and ecosystem-level patterns. The application of metabolic scaling theory has advanced our understanding of the influence of temperature on pattern and process in marine communities. Metabolic scaling theory uses the fundamental and ubiquitous patterns of temperature-dependent metabolism to predict how environmental temperature influences patterns and processes at higher levels of biological organization. Here, we outline some of these predictions to review recent advances and illustrate how scaling theory might be applied to new challenges. For example, warming can alter species interactions and food-web structure and can also reduce total animal biomass supportable by a given amount of primary production by increasing animal metabolism and energetic demand. Additionally, within a species, larval development is faster in warmer water, potentially influencing dispersal and other demographic processes like population connectivity and gene flow. These predictions can be extended further to address major questions in marine ecology, and present an opportunity for conceptual unification of marine ecological research across levels of biological organization. Drawing on work by ecologists and oceanographers over the last century, a metabolic scaling approach represents a promising way forward for applying ecological understanding to basic questions as well as conservation challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While an appreciation of plant-soil feedbacks ( PSF) continues to expand for community and ecosystem ecology, the eco-evolutionary mechanisms and consequences of such feedbacks remain largely unknown or untested., Determining the cause and effect of plant phenotypes is central for understanding these eco-evolutionary dynamics since phenotypes respond to soil selective gradients that are, in turn, modified by plant traits. Genetic variation in plant phenotypes can change soil processes and biotic communities; oppositely, soil gradients and microbial communities can influence the expression and evolution of plant phenotypes., Although these processes represent the two halves of genetic based PSF, research in these areas has developed independently from one another. Greater connectivity between research on ecosystem consequences of plant genetic variation and soil selective gradients that drive plant phenotypic evolution will create novel and important opportunities to link ecology and evolution in natural systems., Papers in this special feature build on the inherent ecological and evolutionary processes involved in PSF, outlining many ways to identify and test mechanisms that connect ecosystem ecology and evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2050, which aspects of ecosystem change will we regret not having measured? Long-term monitoring plays a crucial part in managing Australia's natural environment because time is a key factor underpinning changes in ecosystems. It is critical to start measuring key attributes of ecosystems - and the human and natural process affecting them - now, so that we can track the trajectory of change over time. This will facilitate informed choices about how to manage ecological changes (including interventions where they are required) and promote better understanding by 2050 of how particular ecosystems have been shaped over time. There will be considerable value in building on existing long-term monitoring programmes because this can add significantly to the temporal depth of information. The economic and social processes driving change in ecosystems are not identical in all ecosystems, so much of what is monitored (and the means by which it is monitored) will most likely target specific ecosystems or groups of ecosystems. To best understand the effects of ecosystem-specific threats and drivers, monitoring also will need to address the economic and social factors underpinning ecosystem-specific change. Therefore, robust assessments of the state of Australia's environment will be best achieved by reporting on the ecological performance of a representative sample of ecosystems over time. Political, policy and financial support to implement appropriate ecosystem-specific monitoring is a perennial problem. We suggest that the value of ecological monitoring will be demonstrable, when plot-based monitoring data make a unique and crucial contribution to Australia's ability to produce environmental accounts, environmental reports (e.g. the State of the Environment, State of the Forests) and to fulfilling reporting obligations under international agreements, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity. This paper suggests what must be done to meet Australia's ecological information needs by 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Biogeography Society's biennial conferences are renown for being highly interdisciplinary and inspiring meetings. Biogeography is by its nature a holistic and interdisciplinary field and the conferences bring together biologists from a broad range of fields, e.g. experimental ecologists, historical biogeographers, evolutionary biologists, ecological modelers, conservation biologists, and paleobiologists, and covering essentially all types of organisms and ecosystems. The different backgrounds and perspectives combined with shared interests in terms of the basic research questions offer fertile grounds for developing new ideas. This was also the case for the 6th International Conference of the International Biogeography Society took place in Miami, Florida in January 2013. Ecography provided economic support, acting as a sponsor. In addition, Ecography was the officially designated journal for publishing some of the many exciting talks and posters presented at the conference. All of the papers in this special issue of Ecography arose from the IBS conference and reflect its combined high diversity in backgrounds and perspectives and high congruence in research questions. The papers have all been subject to external peer review, subsequent revision, and final editorial decisions of acceptance or rejection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]