Historical roots in natural history provided the foundation for over a century of ecological research focused predominantly from a taxonomic perspective. Although recognized a century ago, it was only in recent decades that scientific thought branched out to include ecological theories and frameworks built on traits rather than taxonomy. The notion is that species traits serve as a universal currency for studying the patterns and drivers of biodiversity across diverse taxonomies and geographies, enabling ecological generalization. In this presentation, I trace how LeRoy Poff’s foundational research in the 1990s sparked the emergence of trait-based approaches in freshwater ecology.