We have witnessed a surge of interest in microbial ecology research in the past five years. Molecular tools have allowed researchers to rapidly improve our understanding of the complex biotic and abiotic interactions structuring microbial communities. Many microbial ecologists are now applying traditional ecological theory developed for plant and animal communities to identify patterns in composition, diversity, and dynamics both within and across microbial systems. Application of theoretical frameworks such as island biogeography, predator-prey interactions, and disturbance has met with moderate success. This session will present a series of case studies that apply traditional ecological theory to microbial community data. The goal is to present successful case studies as an advertisement to microbial and theoretical ecologists alike. The session can serve as evidence for microbial ecologists to show that their communities of interest are structured by coherent ecological forces, such that their composition or dynamics can be generalized and possibly predicted. The session will also function as a showcase of the endless possibilities that microbial systems provide for testing new ecological theory. Microbes have short generation times and their communities respond rapidly to chemical, physical, and biological drivers. These qualities allow for rapid and well-replicated experimental evaluation of ecological theory. In this way, our session will provide for interesting interaction between a longstanding (theoretical ecologists) and rapidly growing (microbial ecologists) membership of the ESA. Speakers have been selected to represent a diverse set of ecosystems (terrestrial, freshwater, and marine), ecological theories (disturbance, dispersal, predator-prey dynamics), and level of advancement in academia (Ph.D. student to tenured faculty).