The vegetational zonation of the East Pen Island salt marshes, Hudson Bay

1976 ◽  
Vol 54 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 5-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Kershaw
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marsh ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
High Tide ◽  
Freshwater Marsh ◽  
Hudson Bay ◽  
Carex Aquatilis ◽  
Salt Pans ◽  
Meltwater Runoff ◽  
Permafrost Table ◽  
Puccinellia Phryganodes

The extensive salt marshes at East Pen Island in Hudson Bay are described in quantitative terms and the well-marked sequence of species is characterized. The lower marsh is dominated by Puccinellia phryganodes and Carex subspathacea, with Hippurus vulgaris and Senecio congestus abundant in the salt pans. The midmarsh has well-developed swards of Dupontia fisheri and Celamagrostis neglecta, which give way to stands of Carex aquatilis in a well-developed freshwater marsh below the first beach ridge. The results are compared with other arctic salt marshes, and the development of a wide freshwater marsh in the upper zone of the salt marsh is described. This feature is perhaps unique to the Hudson Bay marshes and is a function of meltwater runoff from the surface of the permafrost table. This results in the high, standing water table at the top of the marsh, which is maintained by the permafrost table of the salt marsh itself.A transit survey of the marsh relates the quadrat samples to a high-tide datum point and allows interpretation of the vegetation sequence in terms of saltwater inundation. The depth of the active layer of the salt marsh is also described.

Vegetational development and the effect of geese on vegetation at La Pérouse Bay, Manitoba

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (13) ◽  
pp. 1439-1450 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. L. Jefferies ◽  
A. Jensen ◽  
K. F. Abraham
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marshes ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Hudson Bay ◽  
Salicornia Europaea ◽  
Carex Aquatilis ◽  
Eriophorum Angustifolium ◽  
Lesser Snow Geese ◽  
Puccinellia Phryganodes ◽  
Water Saturated

The salt marshes at La Pérouse Bay, Manitoba, are described. Unconsolidated, water-saturated sediment is colonized by Hippuris tetraphylla, Puccinellia phryganodes, and Carex subspathacea. These sediments undergo frost heave, and on elevated mounds, Elymus arenarius var. mollis and Salix brachycarpa become established. This last species is the dominant one of the low willow tundra, which is the characteristic vegetation of the coastal strip. Where drainage is impeded in the upper marsh, relatively high salinities occur and species such as Salicornia europaea agg. and Triglochin maritima are present.A population of 10 000 to 20 000 lesser snow geese (Anser caerulescens) feed, in summer, on Puccinellia phryganodes, Carex subspathacea, Potentilla egedii, and Elymus arenarius var. mollis. The birds strip the shallow turf of Puccinellia in low lying areas between clumps of willow. This terracing of the surface creates depressions which become filled with water and ice. The role of geese in producing these ponds in the upper levels of salt marshes in the Arctic does not appear to have been reported previously. The ponds are subsequently colonized by Carex aquatilis and Triglochin maritima. The salt marsh gives way to an extensive fresh water marsh dominated by species of Salix, Eriophorum angustifolium, Calamagrostis neglecta, and Dupontia fisheri. The results are compared with data from other salt marshes in Hudson Bay and in the Arctic.

Fungi from decomposing Spartina alterniflora

1973 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert V. Gessner ◽  
R. D. Goos
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marsh ◽  
Rhode Island ◽  
Spartina Alterniflora ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Tidal Creek ◽  
East Coast ◽  
High Tide ◽  
The United States ◽  
Dominant Plant Species

Spartina alterniflora, the dominant plant species of the tidal salt marshes on the east coast of the United States, contributes significantly to estuarine primary productivity. Energy stored by the plant is released through decomposition as detritus or decomposer biomass. The role of fungi in these transformations has not been elucidated and was investigated in the present study. Dried, dead grass was confined in nylon bags, exposed on a salt marsh and in an adjacent tidal creek in southern Rhode Island, and a quantitative and qualitative study made of the fungi found to be associated with the decomposing grass. Twenty-seven species of fungi were isolated. The average number of fungal colonies/g dry wt. of grass was found to be higher in material exposed on the salt marsh and subjected to immersion only at high tide (2436) than from material immersed in an adjacent creek (1021). The grass lost about 50% dry wt. after 6 months of exposure on the marsh.

Urbanization impacts on production and recruitment of Fundulus heteroclitus in salt marsh creeks

2020 ◽  
Vol 645 ◽  
pp. 187-204
Author(s):  
PJ Rudershausen ◽  
JA Buckel
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marsh ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Fundulus Heteroclitus ◽  
Multiple Factor Analysis ◽  
Southeastern Usa ◽  
Density Dependent ◽  
Dependent Relationship ◽  
Juvenile Abundance ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Throw Trap

It is unclear how urbanization affects secondary biological production in estuaries in the southeastern USA. We estimated production of larval/juvenile Fundulus heteroclitus in salt marsh areas of North Carolina tidal creeks and tested for factors influencing production. F. heteroclitus were collected with a throw trap in salt marshes of 5 creeks subjected to a range of urbanization intensities. Multiple factor analysis (MFA) was used to reduce dimensionality of habitat and urbanization effects in the creeks and their watersheds. Production was then related to the first 2 dimensions of the MFA, month, and year. Lastly, we determined the relationship between creek-wide larval/juvenile production and abundance from spring and abundance of adults from autumn of the same year. Production in marsh (g m-2 d-1) varied between years and was negatively related to the MFA dimension that indexed salt marsh; higher rates of production were related to creeks with higher percentages of marsh. An asymptotic relationship was found between abundance of adults and creek-wide production of larvae/juveniles and an even stronger density-dependent relationship was found between abundance of adults and creek-wide larval/juvenile abundance. Results demonstrate (1) the ability of F. heteroclitus to maintain production within salt marsh in creeks with a lesser percentage of marsh as long as this habitat is not removed altogether and (2) a density-dependent link between age-0 production/abundance and subsequent adult recruitment. Given the relationship between production and marsh area, natural resource agencies should consider impacts of development on production when permitting construction in the southeastern USA.

scholarly journals Topological and Morphological Controls on Morphodynamics of Salt Marsh Interiors

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 311
Author(s):  
Ben R. Evans ◽  
Iris Möller ◽  
Tom Spencer
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marsh ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Marsh Surface ◽  
Coastal Environments ◽  
Coastal System ◽  
Morphological Segmentation ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Over Time

Salt marshes are important coastal environments and provide multiple benefits to society. They are considered to be declining in extent globally, including on the UK east coast. The dynamics and characteristics of interior parts of salt marsh systems are spatially variable and can fundamentally affect biotic distributions and the way in which the landscape delivers ecosystem services. It is therefore important to understand, and be able to predict, how these landscape configurations may evolve over time and where the greatest dynamism will occur. This study estimates morphodynamic changes in salt marsh areas for a regional domain over a multi-decadal timescale. We demonstrate at a landscape scale that relationships exist between the topology and morphology of a salt marsh and changes in its condition over time. We present an inherently scalable satellite-derived measure of change in marsh platform integrity that allows the monitoring of changes in marsh condition. We then demonstrate that easily derived geospatial and morphometric parameters can be used to determine the probability of marsh degradation. We draw comparisons with previous work conducted on the east coast of the USA, finding differences in marsh responses according to their position within the wider coastal system between the two regions, but relatively consistent in relation to the within-marsh situation. We describe the sub-pixel-scale marsh morphometry using a morphological segmentation algorithm applied to 25 cm-resolution maps of vegetated marsh surface. We also find strong relationships between morphometric indices and change in marsh platform integrity which allow for the inference of past dynamism but also suggest that current morphology may be predictive of future change. We thus provide insight into the factors governing marsh degradation that will assist the anticipation of adverse changes to the attributes and functions of these critical coastal environments and inform ongoing ecogeomorphic modelling developments.

scholarly journals Mechanistic strategies of microbial communities regulating lignocellulose deconstruction in a UK salt marsh

Microbiome ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Leadbeater ◽  
Nicola C. Oates ◽  
Joseph P. Bennett ◽  
Yi Li ◽  
Adam A. Dowle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marsh ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Surface Sediments ◽  
Gene Profiling ◽  
Oxidative Enzymes ◽  
Lignocellulose Degradation ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Enzymatic Mechanisms

Abstract Background Salt marshes are major natural repositories of sequestered organic carbon with high burial rates of organic matter, produced by highly productive native flora. Accumulated carbon predominantly exists as lignocellulose which is metabolised by communities of functionally diverse microbes. However, the organisms that orchestrate this process and the enzymatic mechanisms employed that regulate the accumulation, composition and permanence of this carbon stock are not yet known. We applied meta-exo-proteome proteomics and 16S rRNA gene profiling to study lignocellulose decomposition in situ within the surface level sediments of a natural established UK salt marsh. Results Our studies revealed a community dominated by Gammaproteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Deltaproteobacteria that drive lignocellulose degradation in the salt marsh. We identify 42 families of lignocellulolytic bacteria of which the most active secretors of carbohydrate-active enzymes were observed to be Prolixibacteracea, Flavobacteriaceae, Cellvibrionaceae, Saccharospirillaceae, Alteromonadaceae, Vibrionaceae and Cytophagaceae. These families secreted lignocellulose-active glycoside hydrolase (GH) family enzymes GH3, GH5, GH6, GH9, GH10, GH11, GH13 and GH43 that were associated with degrading Spartina biomass. While fungi were present, we did not detect a lignocellulolytic contribution from fungi which are major contributors to terrestrial lignocellulose deconstruction. Oxidative enzymes such as laccases, peroxidases and lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases that are important for lignocellulose degradation in the terrestrial environment were present but not abundant, while a notable abundance of putative esterases (such as carbohydrate esterase family 1) associated with decoupling lignin from polysaccharides in lignocellulose was observed. Conclusions Here, we identify a diverse cohort of previously undefined bacteria that drive lignocellulose degradation in the surface sediments of the salt marsh environment and describe the enzymatic mechanisms they employ to facilitate this process. Our results increase the understanding of the microbial and molecular mechanisms that underpin carbon sequestration from lignocellulose within salt marsh surface sediments in situ and provide insights into the potential enzymatic mechanisms regulating the enrichment of polyphenolics in salt marsh sediments.

Epibiosis on eggs and brooding care in the burrowing crab Chasmagnathus granulatus (Brachyura:Varunidae): comparison between mudflats and salt marshes

2007 ◽  
Vol 87 (4) ◽  
pp. 893-901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola V. Silva ◽  
Tomás A. Luppi ◽  
Eduardo D. Spivak
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marsh ◽  
Filamentous Fungi ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Maternal Care ◽  
Spartina Densiflora ◽  
Incubation Chamber ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Key Species ◽  
Burrowing Crab ◽  
Chasmagnathus Granulatus

Chasmagnathus granulatus is a semiterrestrial intertidal burrowing crab that inhabits both the unvegetated mudflats and the cordgrass (Spartina densiflora) salt marshes in Mar Chiquita Lagoon (Argentina), where it is considered the ecologically key species. The mass of C. granulatus eggs incubated by females is colonized by epibiotic micro-organisms and accumulates detritus. The type of epibionts that use eggs as a substrate, the infestation degree, the maternal care behaviour and the protection of the incubation chamber were compared between females living on mudflats and on Spartina-dominated areas. In both places, the epibiosis by bacteria and filamentous fungi and peritrichid colonial ciliate was significantly higher in the periphery than in the centre of the brood mass. The accumulation of detritus was higher in the periphery in mudflat females but not in salt marsh females. Moreover, the level of detritus was significantly higher in mudflat than in salt marsh females only in the periphery of the brood. The infestation level of bacteria and fungi, and peritrichids, increased throughout the embryonic development only in mudflat females. The periphery of the brood mass was significantly more contaminated in mudflat than in marsh females, while the central region of the brood mass did not differ between habitats. The pleopods were significantly more contaminated by bacteria and filamentous fungi and peritrichid colonial ciliates in premoult females than in postmoult females, independently from the collection site. The percentage of females with abnormal embryos was significantly higher in mudflats (26.7%) than in marshes (12.3%). Females with late embryos spent more time flapping the abdomen and probing the embryos with the chela. Non-ovigerous females did not perform specific maternal care activities. The volume of brood mass both in early or late stage of development is greater than that of the incubation chamber and, consequently, peripheral embryos are more exposed.

scholarly journals The first report of ants (Formicidae: Hymenoptera) in salt marshes and salt pans in central parts of Iran

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
MOHAMMAD REZA MOHSENI ◽  
SHAHROKH PASHAEI RAD
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Vegetation Density ◽  
Chemical Parameters ◽  
Salt Pans ◽  
Mountain Station ◽  
Physical And Chemical Parameters ◽  
Physical And Chemical ◽  
First Time

The present study was conducted in Salt marshes and Salt pans in central parts of Iran. 121 specimens of ants were collected by trapping and hand during spring, summer and autumn 2017 to 2019. Nine species belong to two subfamilies of Myrmicinae and Formicinae were identified. The vegetation, physical and chemical parameters of soil such as salinity, Ph, and other factors were investigated. Darband Shoor Mountain station with five species had the highest diversity and vegetation density and the lowest salinity of soil (72.14 ds/m) whereas Salt Lake station had only one species, with no vegetation and the highest salinity of soil (153.15 ds/m). Cataglyphis lividus (André, 1881) was the dominant species in all the stations except in Darband Shoor Mountain station. All the species were reported for the first time from salt marshes and salt pans in the central parts of Iran and were approved by Prof. Brian Taylor, in Royal Entomological Society of London, England.

scholarly journals NATURE-BASED COASTAL PROTECTION: WAVE DAMPING BY FLEXIBLE SALT MARSH VEGETATION

2020 ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Thomas J van Veelen ◽  
Harshinie Karunarathna ◽  
William G Bennett ◽  
Tom P Fairchild ◽  
Dominic E Reeve
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marsh ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Coastal Vegetation ◽  
Coastal Protection ◽  
Coastal Zones ◽  
Wave Damping ◽  
Marsh Vegetation ◽  
Efficient Manner ◽  
Wave Energy Dissipation

The ability of coastal vegetation to attenuate waves has been well established (Moller et al., 2014). Salt marshes are vegetated coastal wetlands that can act as nature- based coastal defenses. They exhibit a range of plant species, which have been shown to differ in the amount of wave damping they provide (Mullarney & Henderson, 2018). Recent studies have shown that plant flexibility is a key parameter that controls wave energy dissipation (Paul et al., 2016). Yet, no model exists that includes plant flexibility in computationally efficient manner for large-scale coastal zones. Therefore, we have developed a new model for flexible vegetation based on the key mechanisms in the wave-vegetation interaction and applied it to an estuary with diverse salt marsh vegetation.Recorded Presentation from the vICCE (YouTube Link): https://youtu.be/AjnFx3aFSzs

Late Holocene sea-level changes and isostasy in western Denmark

2006 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 288-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Roland Gehrels ◽  
Katie Szkornik ◽  
Jesper Bartholdy ◽  
Jason R. Kirby ◽  
Sarah L. Bradley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marsh ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Glacial Isostatic Adjustment ◽  
Sea Level Changes ◽  
Relative Sea Level ◽  
Isostatic Adjustment ◽  
Tidal Embayment ◽  
Made In

AbstractCores and exposed cliff sections in salt marshes around Ho Bugt, a tidal embayment in the northernmost part of the Danish Wadden Sea, were subjected to 14C dating and litho- and biostratigraphical analyses to reconstruct paleoenvironmental changes and to establish a late Holocene relative sea-level history. Four stages in the late Holocene development of Ho Bugt can be identified: (1) groundwater-table rise and growth of basal peat (from at least 2300 BC to AD 0); (2) salt-marsh formation (0 to AD 250); (3) a freshening phase (AD 250 to AD 1600?), culminating in the drying out of the marshes and producing a distinct black horizon followed by an aeolian phase with sand deposition; and (4) renewed salt-marsh deposition (AD 1600? to present). From 16 calibrated AMS radiocarbon ages on fossil plant fragments and 4 calibrated conventional radiocarbon ages on peat, we reconstructed a local relative sea-level history that shows a steady sea-level rise of 4 m since 4000 cal yr BP. Contrary to suggestions made in the literature, the relative sea-level record of Ho Bugt does not contain a late Holocene highstand. Relative sea-level changes at Ho Bugt are controlled by glacio-isostatic subsidence and can be duplicated by a glacial isostatic adjustment model in which no water is added to the world's oceans after ca. 5000 cal yr BP.

Coastal salt-marshes plant communities of the Salicornietea fruticosae class in Apulia (Italy)

Biologia ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saverio Sciandrello ◽  
Valeria Tomaselli
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marsh ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Salt Marsh Vegetation ◽  
Marsh Vegetation ◽  
Apulia Region ◽  
Coastal Salt Marshes ◽  
Ecological Features ◽  
Halocnemum Strobilaceum

AbstractAn overview of the salt-marsh herbland and scrub vegetation belonging to the class Salicornietea fruticosae Br.-Bl. et Tx. ex A. Bolòs y Vayreda 1950 in Apulia is presented. Data available from literature have been supplemented with original relevés performed in different locations of the Apulia region. On the basis of a total of 297 relevés, fifteen communities have been defined, according to the traditional phytosociological system based on dominant and/or diagnostic taxa. For comparison purposes, the salt-marsh vegetation has been classified using numerical methods. The results obtained show that most of the clusters correspond to specific associations, and confirm the division into vegetation alliances and orders. Numerical analysis also allowed us to assign the proper allocation of some associations and plant communities drawn from literature. Five alliances, with plant communities characterized by specific ecological features, have been discriminated: Sarcocornion alpini and Arthrocnemion glauci (lower marshes), Salicornion fruticosae (middle marshes), Inulion crithmoidis and Suaedion brevofoliae (upper marshes). In addition, during the field work, a population of Halocnemum strobilaceum (Arthrocnemo-Halocnemetum strobilacei), new record for the Apulia region, has been found.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document