To date, the majority of paradigm shifting ideas in ecology has emerged from work in terrestrial, rather than marine, systems. While there are some fundamental differences between media (e.g., air versus land versus freshwater versus saltwater), ample opportunity exists for empirical comparisons and resulting theoretical advances. This session will feature marine and terrestrial scientists who place their work into a broader ecological context and/or those who have founded new ecological principles, or who actively engage in comparative work testing existing ecological theory in multiple media. This session has been organized in part because much of the marine literature cites only marine literature, as terrestrial literature cites only terrestrial literature, suggesting that investigators from both areas either may not be familiar with, or recognize the relevance of the other. The perceived division between marine and terrestrial systems may largely stem from practical differences in methodological approach rather than any ideological, ecologically meaningful division. Thus, a more integrative approach is likely to yield exciting advances, to enable the discovery of analogous features, and to highlight where theoretical differences emerge between these systems. This session has been organized in an effort to encourage ecologists from marine (surf) and terrestrial (turf) backgrounds to find a place on the same dinner plate.