Introducing genomics, proteomics and metabolomics in marine ecology

Genomics-enabled applications are becoming increasingly common in conjunction with research in marine ecology. In this Theme Section, we review the success of cases where techniques used to profile gene expression have been used to gain new insight into 3 areas of research: symbioses in marine invertebrates, physiological responses to environmental conditions, and examining the determinants of species-range boundaries in marine ecosystems. In addition, we briefly discuss the challenges facing new practitioners of these techniques, including an overview of essential equipment to conduct research in ecological genomics.