Ecological Stoichiometry: the Biology of Elements from Molecules to the Biosphere

D ifferent areas in biology are often criticized for being either too myopic and not asking questions about how their results fit into a larger framework or for being too broad and ignoring important details. A few research programs are now attempting to make general claims derived from simple, micro-level phenomena. This is great progress for biology, resolving some of the tensions between different approaches. A merging of these fields may lead to even greater advances. One of the most exciting of these new programs is ecological stoichiometry (ES), which has been spearheaded by Sterner and Elser. Their recent book provides an overview of this developing field. With clear exposition they explain how analysis at the level of molecules can have broad implications for many macro-level ecological phenomena. Moreover, they keep their theory closely tied to available data and to the design of new experiments, thereby bridging the gap between two dividing perspectives in biology. As such, Ecological Stoichiometry contains a much needed overview of this research program as well as a good example of future directions in biology. Sterner and Elser use the first part of their book to develop the essential ideas behind ES. The foremost assumption is that an entire organism can be treated as a single, extremely large molecule. Humans, for example, are reducible to the formula: