Article
Environmental Sciences
Joshua Moody, Danielle Kreeger
Summary: Ribbed mussels contribute to nutrient cycling and vertical accretion in salt marshes through their filter-feeding activity, but their distribution and habitats impact the landscape-level distribution of their filtration activity. This study assessed the spatial variability of ribbed mussel filtration in New Jersey and Rhode Island salt marshes, finding differences in filtration rates and contributions across different habitats.
ESTUARIES AND COASTS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Ryann E. L. Rossi, Charles A. Schutte, Jordan Logarbo, Caleb Bourgeois, Brian J. Roberts
Summary: The study reveals a mutualistic relationship between Gulf ribbed mussels (G. granosissima) and smooth cordgrass (S. alterniflora), in which the mussels enhance the growth and productivity of cordgrass, leading to improved salt marsh stability and function.
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
(2022)
Article
Limnology
Eva Julia Marie Ostertag, Kai Jensen, Viktoria Unger, Stefanie Nolte
Summary: This study investigates the effects of active soil and passive air warming on seedling emergence and survival in salt marshes. The results show that warming has a significant influence on Shannon diversity, but no significant effects on seedling number and survival. However, there are trends that differ between zones, with seedling numbers slightly higher in the warming treatments in the pioneer zone and decreased in the high marsh. Median survival also differs significantly between species.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Olivia U. Mason, Patricia Chanton, Loren N. Knobbe, Julian Zaugg, Behzad Mortazavi
Summary: Coastal salt marshes are highly productive ecosystems that provide essential services such as soil carbon storage, flood protection, and nutrient filtering. This study examined nutrient filtering in marsh sediments by analyzing microbial community structure, diversity, denitrification rates, and metabolic potential in different vegetation patches. The results showed that microbial communities in Spartina and Juncus sediments had similar diversity and richness, but differed in evenness, with Juncus sediments having the most even communities. Additionally, denitrification rates were higher in Juncus sediments, indicating that microbial abundances and the core microbiome may play a role in marsh nitrogen removal. Sequencing data suggested a potentially important role of Planctomycetes in nitrogen removal in salt marshes. Ecosystem perturbations that affect marsh vegetation distribution could impact microbial diversity and ecosystem functions.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ahmed T. Abbas, Anais Cardenas, Darius LaFond, Brandon Guasaquillo, Leila Belgaid, Priscilla Lee, Mary Alldred, Chester B. Zarnoch
Summary: The mutualism between Smooth Cordgrass and Ribbed Mussels can increase ecosystem services by removing excess nitrogen through denitrification. However, mussel beds can persist in areas where cordgrass has been lost due to sea-level rise and eutrophication. The function of these remnant mussel beds, in the absence of cordgrass, remains unclear. This study found that remnant mussel beds had larger mussels and similar rates of denitrification compared to mudflats, suggesting that the presence of mussels may not enhance nitrogen removal in eroded marsh sediments.
WETLANDS ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Caroline R. Narron, Jessica L. O'Connell, Deepak R. Mishra, David L. Cotten, Peter A. Hawman, Lishen Mao
Summary: Remote sensing is crucial for understanding coastal wetland ecosystems, but tidal inundation affects the reliability of remote sensing-based models. To address this issue, we developed the Flats index to identify and filter flooded pixels. We also demonstrated innovative applications of the index in detecting flooding frequency and patterns.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Aaron Macy, Michael J. Osland, Julia A. Cherry, Just Cebrian
Summary: The study suggests that planting mangroves in the northern Gulf of Mexico may not be the most efficient use of limited resources. Restoration efforts may benefit from focusing initially on restoring abiotic conditions, followed by using marsh plants to jump-start ecosystem development.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Sean Khan Ooi, Aidan Barry, Beth A. Lawrence, Chris S. Elphick, Ashley M. Helton
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between salt marsh vegetation zones and denitrification potential, and to predict the impact of sea-level rise on denitrification rates. The results showed that vegetation zones were the best predictor of denitrification potential, and the shift in vegetation zones may affect denitrification potential.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
Ya-Lei Li, Zhen-Ming Ge, Li-Na Xie, Shi-Hua Li, Li-Shan Tan
Summary: Coastal marshes are important in sequestering carbon, but are vulnerable to global change. This study investigated the effects of waterlogging and salinity on soil CO2 effluxes in Spartina alterniflora marshes. Waterlogging suppressed soil respiration during inundation but increased it during reaeration, while salinity levels had varying effects. The study found that changes in root biomass and microbial activities played a key role in soil respiration variations under different hydrological treatments.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Etelvina Figueira, Diana Matos, Paulo Cardoso, Carina Sa, Celia Fernandes, Roma Tauler, Carmen Bedia
Summary: This study identifies that plants in salt marshes use a mechanism to restrict mercury from entering root cells, with a remodeling of root lipids contributing to this efficiency. The remodeled root lipids protect cellular metabolism from mercury toxicity, reducing the need for cells to counteract mercury effects (such as antioxidant mechanisms).
ENVIRONMENTAL AND EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sarah C. Crosby, Nicole C. Spiller, Devan S. Healy, Lauren Brideau, Luke M. Stewart, Jamie M. P. Vaudrey, Kasey E. Tietz, Peter J. Fraboni
Summary: Excess nitrogen in coastal waters poses a threat to ecosystems, particularly salt marshes, but studies in Long Island Sound suggest that its role in driving salt marsh loss may be less significant than previously thought. Eutrophication continues to be a critical issue for these ecosystems despite aggressive nitrogen reduction efforts in the region.
ESTUARIES AND COASTS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Pei Zhang, Zaichao Yang, Jihua Wu
Summary: Livestock grazing generally enhances ecosystem multifunctionality in salt marshes, with a stronger impact in the middle marshes than in the high ones. Despite some indicators decreasing under grazing, activities of soil microbes and nematodes, soil nitrogen pool, nitrogen mineralization, decomposition, and soil respiration all increased.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tianjiao Adams, Huy D. Vu, Steven C. Pennings
Summary: The study shows that the population density of Orchelimum fidicinium, an important salt marsh orthopteran on the East Coast of the US, varies greatly over space and time. Plant biomass is found to be the best predictor of O. fidicinium density, while factors such as food quality, animal prey, and abiotic factors have minimal impact on their densities.
ESTUARIES AND COASTS
(2021)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Yijing Ding, Yanan Wang, Xushun Gu, Yuanyuan Peng, Shanshan Sun, Shengbing He
Summary: The study found that a salinity of 7% and 10% can promote the organic carbon release from reed biomass. The highest nitrate removal was observed at a salinity of 7%, and this removal rate increased from 54.06% to 74.37% after adding reed biomass. Additionally, the lowest nitrous oxide emission flux was also observed at this salinity, with a rate of 0.23 mg/(m2 h). Microbiological analysis showed that salinity had an impact on the microbial community, with an increase in the relative abundance of Chloroflexi and Actinobacteria and a decrease in Proteobacteria. The main functional genera of denitrification also changed with increasing salinity.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Fernando J. Hidalgo, Alejandro D. Canepuccia, Juan Arcusa, Eugenia Fanjul, Graciela Alvarez, Oscar O. Iribarne
Summary: The study found that black fire ant nests have a positive impact on plant growth in salt marshes by affecting sediment characteristics. Plants growing in contact with ant mounds showed better growth, with longer stems and higher root biomass.
ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE
(2021)