Based on a central infrastructure and coordination project Z, empirical assessments of terrestrial (green: SP 1, SP 2, SP 3 + grey: SP 7) and aquatic (blue: SP 4, SP 5 + grey: SP 6) compartments of the coastal food web were analysed. Extension of spatial community dynamics to global patterns was conducted by two macroecological projects (violet: SP 8, SP 9). Integration of trait data (arrows) was performed via a synthesis subproject (red: SP 10) focussing on allometric relationships (top-down integration) and on resource-use constraints (bottom-up constraints). These in turn provide predictions for global scale patterns.