There is nothing inherent to marine, aquatic, or terrestrial systems that makes one more conducive to theoretical exposition than another.  Reexamining examples of influential theory, I find that no habitat has primacy.  In fact, much theory is relevant and testable in any of them.  The failure of ecologists working in one environment to cite related findings from other habitats stems from a variety of circumstances, including limited exposure to varied natural environments, narrow training, shallow knowledge of the discipline’s history, limited curiosity, and lack of time/opportunity for comparative exploration.  Two other factors further constrain cross-fertilization of concepts between the subdisciplines: 1) limited space in journals to explore such connections, and 2) separate NSF programs fund studies in marine vs. terrestrial and aquatic ecology, lessening the requirement for comparative synthesis at the proposal stage.  Lastly, serendipitous personal experiences play a role in establishing the style of ecology one adopts. Growing up in a rural setting, near the seashore, I was fascinated by both environments.  Jacques Cousteau, an early hero, led me towards a career in marine biology, but an undergraduate degree in Zoology rebroadened my perspective.  My PhD advisor Joseph Connell taught me general concepts that could be tested in almost any habitat.  Discussing/participating in his studies on rocky seashores, coral reefs, and rainforests created a kaleidoscope of intellectual possibilities.  It stimulated my own investigations of succession on rocky seashores, host-parasite interactions on mudflats, and dynamics of mangrove forests.  Although conducted in different settings and with varied study organisms, they address the common theme of community dynamics in patchy environments.  I find that one can productively address questions rooted in general ecological theory in any system, but to be successful one must invest time and energy to learn the basic biology and natural history of the system, and cast preconceptions aside.