COMPLEXITY AND NEKTON USE OF MARSH EDGE HABITATS IN
... has presented a unique challenge for marine resource managers. The majority of these species exhibit a range of life-history strategies involving ontogenetic shifts in habitat use, as well as tidal, seasonal, and annual migration patterns. Because these species use resources from a variety of habita ...
... has presented a unique challenge for marine resource managers. The majority of these species exhibit a range of life-history strategies involving ontogenetic shifts in habitat use, as well as tidal, seasonal, and annual migration patterns. Because these species use resources from a variety of habita ...
Environmental Science: Section 1
... competing for food, nesting space, and mates in a salt marsh is an example of the __________ population level of environmental organization. ...
... competing for food, nesting space, and mates in a salt marsh is an example of the __________ population level of environmental organization. ...
Salt marsh die-off
Salt marsh die-off is a term that has been used in the US and UK to describe the death of salt marsh cordgrass leading to subsequent degradation of habitat, specifically in the low marsh zones of salt marshes on the coasts of the Western Atlantic. Cordgrass normally anchors sediment in salt marshes; its loss leads to decreased substrate hardness, increased erosion, and collapse of creek banks into the water, ultimately resulting in decreased marsh health and productivity.Die-off can affect several species of cordgrass (genus Spartina), including S. alterniflora, S. densiflora, and S. townsendii. There are several competing hypotheses predicting the causes and mechanisms of salt marsh die-off throughout the western Atlantic. These hypotheses place different emphasis on the effects of top-down or bottom-up processes for salt marsh die-off. Combined with salt marsh dieback of the high marsh, salt marsh die-off is a serious threat to the ecosystem services that marshes provide to local coastal communities.