Context-dependent effects of the loss of Spartina alterniflora on salt marsh invertebrate communities

McFarlin, Caroline R.; Bishop, T. Dale; Hester, Mark W.; Alber, Merryl

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2015.05.045

Cited by 20 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Considering our overall analyses in the present paper, and individual datasets extending into 2014−2015, we find that full recovery had yet to occur by 2015. In the case of the Deis et al (2015) data, where Spartina alterniflora stem density and aboveground biomass (primary habitat constituents for marsh periwinkles; see Kiehn & Morris 2009, Stagg & Mendelssohn 2012, McFarlin et al 2015 were reported to have recovered by 2012−2013 in their heavily oiled sites , Lin et al 2016; both pertaining to the Deis et al 2015 study), periwinkle size structure had still not recovered 2 to 3 yr later. This conforms to prior recovery projections, as well as observations that periwinkle recovery may depend on but lag vegetation recovery (Zengel et al 2014(Zengel et al , 2016a.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, because the snails depend on the marsh vegetation as their principal habitat (Kiehn & Morris 2009, Stagg & Mendelssohn 2012, McFarlin et al 2015, snail recovery is unlikely until plant recovery is complete. Third, recruitment and immigration of new snails into the population and their subsequent growth to larger adults may be slow enough that it takes a number of years for the population to rebuild.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Five years of Deepwater Horizon oil spill effects on marsh periwinkles Littoraria irrorata

Zengel¹,

Weaver²,

Pennings³

et al. 2017

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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The Deepwater Horizon spill (2010) was the largest marine oil spill in US waters to date and one of the largest worldwide. To examine effects of the oil spill on an important salt marsh species over time, we conducted a meta-analysis on marsh periwinkles Littoraria irrorata using published and unpublished sources spanning more than 5 yr (2010−2015), including newly available Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) and Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) data sets. We tested the hypotheses that the spill decreased mean periwinkle density, reduced mean snail shell length, and changed periwinkle size distribution. Averaged across multiple studies, sites, marsh zones (edge versus interior), and years, our synthesis revealed a negative effect of heavy oiling on periwinkles. Snail densities were reduced by 73% in heavily oiled sites across all study-zone-by-year combinations, including adverse effects for both the oiled marsh edge and oiled marsh interior, with impacts observed over more than 5 yr. Mean periwinkle shell length was somewhat reduced at the oiled marsh edge in a few cases; however, periwinkle size distributions displayed greater relative proportions of smaller adults and sub-adults, and fewer large adults, across all years. Given the spatial and temporal extent of data analyzed, this synthesis provides evidence that the Deepwater Horizon spill suppressed populations of marsh periwinkles in heavily oiled marshes for over 5 yr, and that impacts were ongoing and recovery was incomplete, likely affecting other ecosystem components, including marsh productivity, organic matter and nutrient cycling, marsh−estuarine food webs, and associated predators.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Five years of Deepwater Horizon oil spill effects on marsh periwinkles Littoraria irrorata

Zengel¹,

Weaver²,

Pennings³

et al. 2017

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…, McFarlin et al. ). Higher densities could lead to lower adult growth rates and consequently smaller adults (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These two regions support relatively similar salt marsh communities, with the flora dominated by smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora , black needlerush, Juncus roemerianus , and a handful of other plant species, and the fauna dominated by the same or congeneric species of crabs, snails, and insects (Kunza and Pennings , McCall and Pennings , McFarlin et al. ). However, these similarities may belie underlying differences in abiotic forcing between the two regions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Marine ecoregion and Deepwater Horizon oil spill affect recruitment and population structure of a salt marsh snail

Pennings

Zengel²,

Oehrig³

et al. 2016

Ecosphere

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Abstract. Marine species with planktonic larvae often have high spatial and temporal variation in recruitment that leads to subsequent variation in the ecology of benthic adults. Using a combination of published and unpublished data, we compared the population structure of the salt marsh snail, Littoraria irrorata, between the South Atlantic Bight and the Gulf Coast of the United States to infer geographic differences in recruitment and to test the hypothesis that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill led to widespread recruitment failure of L. irrorata in Louisiana in 2010. Size-frequency distributions in both ecoregions were bimodal, with troughs in the distributions consistent with a transition from sub-adults to adults at~13 mm in shell length as reported in the literature; however, adult snails reached larger sizes in the Gulf Coast. The ratio of sub-adults to adults was 1.5-2 times greater in the South Atlantic Bight than the Gulf Coast, consistent with higher recruitment rates in the South Atlantic Bight. Higher recruitment rates in the South Atlantic Bight could contribute to higher snail densities and reduced adult growth in this region. The ratio of sub-adults to adults in Louisiana was lower in 2011 than in previous years, and began to recover in 2012-2014, consistent with widespread recruitment failure in 2010, when large expanses of spilled oil were present in coastal waters. Our results reveal an important difference in the ecology of a key salt marsh invertebrate between the two ecoregions, and also suggest that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill may have caused widespread recruitment failure in this species and perhaps others with similar planktonic larval stages.

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Hindcast‐validated species distribution models reveal future vulnerabilities of mangroves and salt marsh species

Hodel

Soltis

2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Rapid climate change is threatening biodiversity via habitat loss, range shifts, increases in invasive species, novel species interactions, and other unforeseen changes. Coastal and estuarine species are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to sea level rise and may be severely impacted in the next several decades. Species distribution modeling can project the potential future distributions of species under scenarios of climate change using bioclimatic data and georeferenced occurrence data. However, models projecting suitable habitat into the future are impossible to ground truth. One solution is to develop species distribution models for the present and project them to periods in the recent past where distributions are known to test model performance before making projections into the future. Here, we develop models using abiotic environmental variables to quantify the current suitable habitat available to eight Neotropical coastal species: four mangrove species and four salt marsh species. Using a novel model validation approach that leverages newly available monthly climatic data from 1960 to 2018, we project these niche models into two time periods in the recent past (i.e., within the past half century) when either mangrove or salt marsh dominance was documented via other data sources. Models were hindcast‐validated and then used to project the suitable habitat of all species at four time periods in the future under a model of climate change. For all future time periods, the projected suitable habitat of mangrove species decreased, and suitable habitat declined more severely in salt marsh species.

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Context-dependent effects of the loss of Spartina alterniflora on salt marsh invertebrate communities

Cited by 20 publications

References 65 publications

Five years of Deepwater Horizon oil spill effects on marsh periwinkles Littoraria irrorata

Five years of Deepwater Horizon oil spill effects on marsh periwinkles Littoraria irrorata

Marine ecoregion and Deepwater Horizon oil spill affect recruitment and population structure of a salt marsh snail

Hindcast‐validated species distribution models reveal future vulnerabilities of mangroves and salt marsh species

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