Trait-based ecology, trait-free ecology, and in between

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Trait-based Ecology

Background:

• Trait-based ecology is a widely adopted phrase, yet its scope and definition are debated.
• While some ecological areas are trait-free (e.g., neutral theory), much of ecology inherently involves or can incorporate species traits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a spectrum of trait-based ecology, from trait-free to trait-centric approaches.
• To elucidate the productive dialogue between detailed process understanding and broad generalization enabled by trait-based ecology.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis and description of a spectrum of ecological approaches based on trait integration.
• Categorization of ecological topics into trait-free, trait-implicit, trait-explicit, and trait-centric.

Main Results:

• A spectrum from trait-free to trait-centric ecology is proposed, including trait-implicit and trait-explicit categories.
• Trait-centric ecology focuses on positioning strategies along trait dimensions for generalization.
• Trait-explicit ecology involves physiological, functional, community, and ecosystem studies using traits.

Conclusions:

• Trait-based ecology is productive due to the interplay between detailed trait-process understanding and broad species generalization.
• A key enduring question is identifying the most relevant traits for specific ecological processes.