The reed Phragmites australis Cav. is aggressively invading salt marshes along the Atlantic Coast of North America. We examined the interactive role of habitat alteration (i.e., shoreline development) in driving this invasion and its consequences for plant richness in New England salt marshes. We surveyed 22 salt marshes in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, and quantified shoreline development, P...

Permits to destroy wetlands often require the creation of the same type of wetland elsewhere. An assumption underlying this practice is that such created wetlands will replace the ecological functions lost when the developed wetland was destroyed. Part of this ecological function is providing habitat for wildlife, including, in coastal areas, a suite of bird species tied to salt marshes for som...

Tidal channels are one of the most common and prominent geomorphic features on salt marshes. Because of their much smaller resistance to water flow compared with that of the densely vegetated marsh area, well developed tidal channels often function as arteries and carry significant amount of water as well as sediments during both the flood and ebb period of salt marshes hydraulic cycle. Therefo...

A study was conducted during the summer of 2009 (from July to September) to characterize mosquito communities among different habitats in five historically ditched tidal salt marshes and three adjacent wooded areas in the E.A. Vaughn Wetland Management Area on the Maryland Delmarva Peninsula, USA. Study marshes are characteristic of Atlantic coastal salt marshes that had undergone grid ditching...

There is currently a large regional effort to restore tidal marsh ecosystems in the San Francisco BayDelta Estuary involving the commitment of hundreds of millions of dollars and broad landscape-scale habitat manipulations. Although climate change has been on the horizon for many years, recent developments suggest that it must be taken seriously as a factor to be considered in future planning f...

The crustaceans and molluscs of 65 saltmarshes and brackish marshes around the coast of Tasmania and the major Bass Strait islands were surveyed. Over 50 species were collected, but only eight (three talitrid amphipods, one crab and four gastropods) were confined to saltmarshes; the typical saltmarsh assemblage consisted of two talitrid amphipods, three oniscoid isopods, two crabs, two prosobra...

Coastal salt marshes are a buffer between the uplands and adjacent coastal waters in New England (USA). With increasing N loads from developed watersheds, salt marshes could play an important role in the water quality maintenance of coastal waters. In this study we examined seasonal relationships between denitrification enzyme activity (DEA) in salt marshes of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, an...

Relative sea-level rise is resulting in the intrusion of saline waters into marshes historically dominated by fresh water. Saltwater intrusions can potentially affect resident marsh species, especially when storm-related tidal surges cause rapid changes in salinity. We examined the role of historical salinity exposure on the survival of Gambusia affinis from two locations in coastal Louisiana. ...

There was a net influx of suspended particulate matter to the uppermost part of the Rhode River estuary during the several years of this study. Most of the influx was due to episodic discharges of suspended sediment from the watershed during heavy rains. In contrast, tidal exchange of particulate matter was not related to rainstorms. Sediment composition data and historical records indicate tha...