Complex adaptive system provides a unified framework for explaining ecosystem phenomena. Three ubiquitous features of ecosystems that arise from this framework are emergent patterns, critical transitions, and cooperative behavior. Focusing on marine ecosystems, we present numerous examples of each phenomenon, using the theory of complex adaptive systems to explain the universal features and com...

The environmental factors controlling soil biodiversity along resource gradients remain poorly understood in wet tropical ecosystems. Aboveground is expected to be driven by changes nutrient availability these ecosystems, however, much less known about the importance of driving biodiversity. Here, we combined a cross-continental survey across regions with three decades' field experiment adding ...