Abstract

Microbial ecology is currently undergoing a revolution, with repercussions spreading throughout microbiology, ecology and ecosystem science. The rapid accumulation of molecular data is uncovering vast diversity, abundant uncultivated microbial groups and novel microbial functions. This accumulation of data requires the application of theory to provide organization, structure, mechanistic insight and, ultimately, predictive power that is of practical value, but the application of theory in microbial ecology is currently very limited. Here we argue that the full potential of the ongoing revolution will not be realized if research is not directed and driven by theory, and that the generality of established ecological theory must be tested using microbial systems.

Author affiliations

1. James I. Prosser and Ken Killham are at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3UU, Scotland, UK.
2. Brendan J. M. Bohannan is at the Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403-5829, USA.
3. Tom P. Curtis is at the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Cassie Building, University of Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK.
4. Richard J. Ellis is at the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Centre for Population Biology, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7PY, UK.
5. Mary K. Firestone is at the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, 151 Hilgard Hall, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3110, USA.
6. Rob P. Freckleton and A. Mark Osborn are at the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
7. Jessica L. Green is at the School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, PO Box 2039, California 95344, USA.
8. Laura E. Green is at the Ecology and Epidemiology Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
9. Jack J. Lennon is at the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH, UK.
10. Martin Solan is at the Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen, Main Street, Newburgh, Aberdeenshire AB41 6AA, UK.
11. Christopher J. van der Gast is at the NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology at Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3SR, UK.
12. J. Peter W. Young is at the Department of Biology 3, University of York, PO Box 373, York YO10 5YW, UK.

Correspondence to: James I. Prosser¹ Email: j.prosser@abdn.ac.uk

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