scholarly journals Survival and osmoregulation of the purple marsh crab (Sesarma reticulatum) at varying salinity and pH

2017 ◽  
Vol 95 (12) ◽  
pp. 985-989 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.A. Shaughnessy ◽  
E.C. Anderson ◽  
M. Kasparian ◽  
J.M. LaMontagne ◽  
J.S. Bystriansky
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Trophic Cascade ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Fundamental Niche ◽  
Ion Concentrations ◽  
Physiological Tolerance ◽  
Physiological Limits ◽  
Top Predators ◽  
Sesarma Reticulatum

Overfishing of top predators along the western Atlantic coastline has led to a trophic cascade in salt marshes, with increases in herbivorous purple marsh crab (Sesarma reticulatum (Say, 1817)) abundances in North American estuaries leading to overgrazing of cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora Loisel.) and shoreline erosion. To evaluate potential physiological limits on the range of S. reticulatum within an estuary, we evaluated survival and physiological tolerance of S. reticulatum from the Ashepoo–Combhee–Edisto (ACE) River Basin in South Carolina, USA, to combinations of salinity (5‰ and 30‰) and pH (pH 6.6, 7.6, and 8.6) challenges, representative of estuarine extremes. Survival, haemolymph ion concentrations, and gill Na+,K+-ATPase (NKA) and vacuolar-type H+-ATPase (VHA) activity were measured after a 48 h exposure to each experimental condition. Survival was nearly 100% and osmoregulatory control was maintained across estuarine salinity and pH ranges. Sesarma reticulatum appeared to be robust to all potential combinations of salinity and pH stressors examined in this study, and therefore are likely unrestricted in their fundamental niche based on these stressors throughout an estuary.

GROUNDWATER EXPORTS OF DOC FROM SALT MARSHES: A SURVEY OF SOUTH CAROLINA TIDAL CREEKS

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia Wilson ◽  
◽  
Meghan Shanahan ◽  
Erik M. Smith
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Tidal Creeks

First record of Acanthosiphonia echinata (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta) in the Mediterranean Sea, molecular and morphological characterization

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion A. Wolf ◽  
Alessandro Buosi ◽  
Adriano Sfriso
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
First Record ◽  
Morphological Characterization ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Seaweed Farming ◽  
Mitochondrial Coi ◽  
Ship Route ◽  
The Mediterranean

AbstractIn this study we report the first finding of the red alga Acanthosiphonia echinata in the Mediterranean Sea. Specimens were identified using the DNA barcoding method and, in particular, the plastidial rbcL and the mitochondrial COI-5P markers. This species has been considered to be restricted to the western Atlantic and was reported in blooms from North Carolina to South Carolina. In 2015 the introduction of this species in Southeast Asia (Indonesia) was reported. Probably this taxon was introduced in the Mediterranean Sea from Indonesian populations associated with seaweed farming activities or hull fouling, via the western Atlantic-Mediterranean-Indonesia ship route.

scholarly journals Trait-mediated trophic cascade creates enemy-free space for nesting hummingbirds

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (8) ◽  
pp. e1500310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold F. Greeney ◽  
M. Rocio Meneses ◽  
Chris E. Hamilton ◽  
Eli Lichter-Marck ◽  
R. William Mannan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Habitat Fragmentation ◽  
Breeding Success ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Trophic Cascade ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Top Predators ◽  
Enemy Free Space

The indirect effects of predators on nonadjacent trophic levels, mediated through traits of intervening species, are collectively known as trait-mediated trophic cascades. Although birds are important predators in terrestrial ecosystems, clear examples of trait-mediated indirect effects involving bird predators have almost never been documented. Such indirect effects are important for structuring ecological communities and are likely to be negatively impacted by habitat fragmentation, climate change, and other factors that reduce abundance of top predators. We demonstrate that hummingbirds in Arizona realize increased breeding success when nesting in association with hawks. An enemy-free nesting space is created when jays, an important source of mortality for hummingbird nests, alter their foraging behavior in the presence of their hawk predators.

Zonation of shrubs in western Atlantic salt marshes

Oecologia ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 126 (4) ◽  
pp. 587-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven C. Pennings ◽  
Darrin J. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Western Atlantic

scholarly journals Recovery and Phylogenetic Analysis ofnifH Sequences from Diazotrophic Bacteria Associated with Dead Aboveground Biomass of Spartina alterniflora

2001 ◽  
Vol 67 (11) ◽  
pp. 5308-5314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles R. Lovell ◽  
Michael J. Friez ◽  
John W. Longshore ◽  
Christopher E. Bagwell
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Spartina Alterniflora ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Azospirillum Brasilense ◽  
Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Diazotrophic Bacteria ◽  
The North ◽  
Standing Dead ◽  
Gradient Gel Electrophoresis

ABSTRACT DNA was extracted from dry standing dead Spartina alterniflora stalks as well as dry Spartinawrack from the North Inlet (South Carolina) and Sapelo Island (Georgia) salt marshes. Partial nifH sequences were PCR amplified, the products were separated by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), and the prominent DGGE bands were sequenced. Most sequences (109 of 121) clustered with those from α-Proteobacteria, and 4 were very similar (>99%) to that of Azospirillum brasilense. Seven sequences clustered with those from known γ-Proteobacteria and five with those from known anaerobic diazotrophs. The diazotroph assemblages associated with dead Spartina biomass in these two salt marshes were very similar, and relatively few major lineages were represented.

Grazer facilitation of fungal infection and the control of plant growth in south-western Atlantic salt marshes

2009 ◽  
Vol 97 (4) ◽  
pp. 781-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Daleo ◽  
Brian Silliman ◽  
Juan Alberti ◽  
Mauricio Escapa ◽  
Alejandro Canepuccia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Growth ◽  
Fungal Infection ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Western Atlantic

The Intertidal Burrowing Crab Neohelice (=Chasmagnathus) granulata Positively Affects Foraging of Rodents in South Western Atlantic Salt Marshes

2008 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 920-930 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro D. Canepuccia ◽  
Maria S. Fanjul ◽  
Eugenia Fanjul ◽  
Florencia Botto ◽  
Oscar O. Iribarne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Chasmagnathus Granulata ◽  
Burrowing Crab

Positive interactions of the smooth cordgrass Spartina alterniflora on the mud snail Heleobia australis, in South Western Atlantic salt marshes

2007 ◽  
Vol 353 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro D. Canepuccia ◽  
Mauricio Escapa ◽  
Pedro Daleo ◽  
Juan Alberti ◽  
Florencia Botto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spartina Alterniflora ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Smooth Cordgrass ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Mud Snail

scholarly journals Beyond the fish-Daphnia paradigm: testing the potential for Neoplea striola (Hemiptera: Pleidae) to cause a trophic cascade in subtropical ponds

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chase J. Rakowski ◽  
Mathew A. Leibold
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Trophic Cascade ◽  
Trophic Cascades ◽  
Zooplankton Community ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Food Web Interactions ◽  
Top Predators ◽  
Invertebrate Predators ◽  
Consumption Rates ◽  
Central Texas

AbstractTrophic cascades, or indirect effects of predators on non-adjacent lower trophic levels, are thought to pervade diverse ecosystems, though they tend to be stronger in aquatic ecosystems. Most research on freshwater trophic cascades focused on temperate lakes where Daphnia tend to dominate the zooplankton community, and these studies identified that Daphnia plays a key role in facilitating trophic cascades by linking fish to algae with strong food web interactions. However, Daphnia are rare or absent in most tropical and subtropical lowland freshwaters, and many invertebrate predators have received little attention in food web research despite being common and widespread. Therefore, we aimed to test whether trophic cascades are possible in small warmwater ponds where small invertebrates are the top predators and Daphnia are absent. We collected naturally occurring plankton communities from small fishless water bodies in central Texas and propagated them in replicate pond mesocosms. We removed zooplankton from some mesocosms, left the plankton community intact in others, and added one of two densities of the predaceous insect Neoplea striola to others. Following an incubation period we then compared biomasses of plankton groups to assess food web effects between the trophic levels including whether Neoplea caused a trophic cascade by reducing zooplankton. The zooplankton community became dominated by copepods which prefer large phytoplankton and exhibit a fast escape response. Perhaps due to these qualities of the copepods and perhaps due to slow consumption rates by Neoplea on key grazers, no food web effects were found other than zooplankton marginally reducing large phytoplankton. More research is needed to understand the behavior and ecology of Neoplea, but trophic cascades may generally be weak or absent in subtropical and tropical lowland freshwaters where Daphnia is rare.

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