Coastal woody encroachment reduces food quality for basal consumers

Woody plant encroachment (the replacement of grasses and forbs by woody shrubs trees) is reshaping communities in both terrestrial coastal environments, but little known about its effects on basal consumers. We used interactions between fiddler crabs (Uca spp.) the encroaching mangrove Avicennia germinans Gulf Mexico salt marshes to explore trophic consumers shrubs. In a series food preference trials, consumed over five times more marsh (Spartina alterniflora) matter when given choice diets. quality stored 50% less energy, as measured hepatopancreas lipid content, restricted diet. These results demonstrate that may have negative consequences for consumers, which lead deleterious population-level altered ecosystem carbon flows. As are generalist mangroves share many physical chemical characteristics with other species, be widespread environments undergoing shrub encroachment.