Marine ecosystems are experiencing a multitude of anthropogenic pressures and changing climatic conditions. As a result, coastal communities from pelagic and benthic environments are undergoing significant shifts in structure (i.e., species diversity) and function (i.e., trait diversity). These changes are ultimately affecting coastal ecosystem services, which stresses the need to develop ecological theory to better understand change and adapt to it. The objectives of this organized oral session are to analyze how drivers of change are currently affecting coastal communities and to project how these drivers may evolve through the 21st century. Talks will emphasize interactions between marine community structure and function, effects of climate change on community stability, feedback loops between habitat-modifying traits and abiotic conditions, and synergistic effects of multiple drivers of change. To synthesize understanding across ecosystems and ocean basins, this session convenes ecologists with expertise in rocky intertidal, nearshore subtidal, seabird, salt marsh, and estuarine communities of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.