Die-Off of Southern U.S. Salt Marshes
نویسندگان
چکیده
منابع مشابه
Drought, snails, and large-scale die-off of southern U.S. salt marshes.
Salt marshes in the southeastern United States have recently experienced massive die-off, one of many examples of widespread degradation in marine and coastal ecosystems. Although intense drought is thought to be the primary cause of this die-off, we found snail grazing to be a major contributing factor. Survey of marsh die-off areas in three states revealed high-density fronts of snails on die...
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Massive anthropogenic and climate-related disturbances are now common in ecosystems worldwide, generating widespread die-off and subsequent community recovery dominated by remnant-patch dynamics rather than open-gap dynamics. Whether communities can recover and, if so, which factors mediate recolonization rate and extent remain unresolved. Here we evaluate recolonization dynamics of southern U....
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Die-offs of cordgrass are pervasive throughout western Atlantic salt marshes, yet understanding of the mechanisms precipitating these events is limited. We tested whether herbivory by the native crab, Sesarma reticulatum, is generating die-offs of cordgrass that are currently occurring on Cape Cod, Massachusetts (U.S.A.), by manipulating crab access to cordgrass transplanted into die-off areas ...
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Salt marsh plant communities have long been envisioned as dynamic, resilient systems that quickly recover from human impacts and natural disturbances. But are salt marshes sufficiently resilient to withstand the escalating intensity and scale of human impacts in coastal environments? In this study we examined the independent and interactive effects of emerging threats to New England salt marshe...
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Cordgrass die-offs in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, salt marshes have challenged the view that the primary production of New England salt marshes is controlled by physical factors. These die-offs have increased dramatically over the last decade and are caused by the common herbivorous marsh crab Sesarma reticulatum, but other factors that control crab impacts remain unclear. We examined the inf...
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