Brian J. Enquist

TL;DR: The model provides a complete analysis of scaling relations for mammalian circulatory systems that are in agreement with data and predicts structural and functional properties of vertebrate cardiovascular and respiratory systems, plant vascular systems, insect tracheal tubes, and other distribution networks.

TL;DR: It is asserted that community ecology should return to an emphasis on four themes that are tied together by a two-step process: how the fundamental niche is governed by functional traits within the context of abiotic environmental gradients; and how the interaction between traits and fundamental niches maps onto the realized niche in the context a biotic interaction milieu.

TL;DR: TRY as discussed by the authors is a global database of plant traits, including morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants and their organs, which can be used for a wide range of research from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology to biogeography.

TL;DR: Fractal-like networks effectively endow life with an additional fourth spatial dimension, and design principles are independent of detailed dynamics and explicit models and should apply to virtually all organisms.

TL;DR: New T-statistics ('T' for trait) are introduced, based on the comparison of intraspecific and interspecific variances of functional traits across organizational levels, to operationally incorporate intrapecific variability into community ecology theory.