Global analyses of leaf size suggest that large leaves predominate in favourably warm and wet climates, and small leaves occur at climatic extremes. However, these patterns are dominated by data from angiosperms and may obscure drivers of leaf size variation in older, less speciose groups, such as conifers. Here we employ a novel modelling framework, multi‐response phylogenetic mixed models (MRPMM), that identifies trait corre...

The extent to which any particular taxon supplies novel natural products depends on biological and evolutionary differences, and on decisions made by (or constraints on) biodiscovery scientists. The influences of different sources of variability on the biodiscovery process were examined in a study of the Cnidaria, a group recognised as an important source of novel marine natural products. The number of species with at least on...

Globally, collapse of ecosystems—potentially irreversible change to ecosystem structure, composition and function—imperils biodiversity, human health and well‐being. We examine the current state and recent trajectories of 19 ecosystems, spanning 58° of latitude across 7.7 M km 2 , from Australia's coral reefs to terrestrial Antarctica. Pressures from global climate change and regional human impacts, occurring as chronic ‘press...

Summary Recent measurements of natural populations of the marine cyanobacterium P rochlorococcus indicate this numerically dominant phototroph assimilates phosphorus ( P ) at significant rates in P ‐limited oceanic regions. To better understand uptake capabilities of P rochlorococcus under different P stress conditions, uptake kinetic experiments were performed on P rochlorococcus MED4 grown in P ‐limited chemostats and batch...

Traditional approaches to the study of food webs emphasize the transfer of local primary productivity in the form of living plant organic matter across trophic levels. However, dead organic matter, or detritus, a common feature of most ecosystems plays a frequently overlooked role as a dynamic heterogeneous resource and habitat for many species. We develop an integrative framework for understanding the impact of detritus that...

The geographical distribution of genetic variation within western lowland gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla ) was examined to clarify the population genetic structure and recent evolutionary history of this group. DNA was amplified from shed hair collected from sites across the range of the three traditionally recognized gorilla subspecies: western lowland ( G. g. gorilla ), eastern lowland ( G. g. graueri ) and mountain ( G....