New article published in TREE!
We had a new article published in TREE. It's called Macroecology to Unite All Life, Large and Small by Ashley Shade, Robert R. Dunn, Shane A. Blowes, Petr Keil, Brendan J.M. Bohannan, Martina Herrmann, Kirsten Küsel, Jay T. Lennon, Nathan J. Sanders, David Storch, and Jonathan Chase.
Check out the iDiv press release here!
Macroecology is the study of the mechanisms underlying general patterns of ecology across scales. A major focus of research within macroecology is understanding biodiversity patterns and their underlying processes. The field of macroecology has been biased towards charismatic macroorganisms (also known as macrobes), and has largely ignored insights and breadth that can be gained by considering microorganisms.
We argue that microbial ecology and macroecology are united by common currencies (individuals and species), as well as by comparable challenges of documenting their distributions and abundances.
Future directions that would lead to a unified macroecology include: expansion of spatial and temporal scales to encompass the diversity of microbes; synthesis-driven, systematic comparisons of macrobial and microbial macroecological patterns and processes; and support of interdisciplinary approaches in training, publishing, and funding to equitably value macrobial and microbial insights into understanding the rules and exceptions of life.
