Context dependence is widely invoked to explain disparate results in ecology. It arises when
the magnitude or sign of a relationship varies due to the conditions under which it is …

Metacommunity ecology addresses the situation where sets of local communities are
connected by the dispersal of a number of potentially interacting species. Aquatic systems …

River networks are hierarchical dendritic habitats embedded within the terrestrial landscape,
with varying connectivity between sites depending on their positions along the network. This …

Ecology is often said to lack general theories sufficiently predictive for applications. Here, we
examine the concept of a periodic table of niches and feasibility of niche classification …

Both arthropods and large grazing herbivores are important components and drivers of
biodiversity in grassland ecosystems, but a synthesis of how arthropod diversity is affected …

Species' ecological preferences are progressively important for understanding distribution
patterns, for conserving biodiversity or for assessing and evaluating the status of freshwater …

Although several studies have examined the functional diversity of freshwater
macroinvertebrates, the variety of methodologies combined with the absence of a synthetic …

A growing body of literature documents the pressing need to develop soil biogeochemistry
models that more accurately reflect contemporary understanding of soil processes and …

Identifying the traits that determine spatial distributions can be challenging when studying
organisms, like bacteria, for which phenotypic information is limited or non‐existent …

Aim Trait data are increasingly being used in studies investigating the impacts of global
changes on the structure and functioning of ecological communities. Despite a growing …