Marine fisheries in coastal ecosystems in many areas of the world have historically removed large‐bodied individuals, potentially impairing ecosystem functioning and the long‐term sustainability of fish populations. Reporting on size‐based indicators that link to food‐web structure can contribute to ecosystem‐based management, but the application of these indicators over large (cross‐ecosystem) geographical scales has been lim...

Marine reserves are a key tool for the conservation of marine biodiversity, yet only ~2.5% of the world's oceans are protected. The integration of marine reserves into connected networks representing all habitats has been encouraged by international agreements, yet the benefits of this design has not been tested empirically. Australia has one of the largest systems of marine reserves, providing a rare opportunity to assess how...

Soil organic matter ( SOM ) supports the Earth's ability to sustain terrestrial ecosystems, provide food and fiber, and retains the largest pool of actively cycling carbon. Over 75% of the soil organic carbon ( SOC ) in the top meter of soil is directly affected by human land use. Large land areas have lost SOC as a result of land use practices, yet there are compensatory opportunities to enhance productivity and SOC storage i...