From Molecules to Ecosystems: Linking Physiology to Ecology

BIOPHYSICS, BIOENERGETICS AND MECHANISTIC APPROACHES TO ECOLOGY Biophysics – the study of how the structure of individual plants and animals contributes to their function – has rarely been considered on the ecological scale. However, Mark Denny from Stanford University, USA, has a broader vision. Because the mechanisms that underpin individual performance also play a part in ecological processes, Denny proposes that, ‘It’s time we move beyond biophysics as an explanation for how an individual organism behaves and start applying the same mechanistic approach to how individuals interact with each other and their environment, to explore the connection between biophysics and ecology’. Guided by this inspiration, Denny has gathered together a collection of reviews and original research addressing the mechanisms that underpin ecological structure and function with the intention of bridging the current knowledge gap between biophysics, biomechanics, physiology and ecology.