A call to expand global change research in LTER coastal wetlands

Abstract

Global change stressors are altering the structure of ecological communities with significant implications for the functions and services that ecosystems provide. Coastal zones are particularly susceptible to such stressors, yet our collective understanding of the long-term effects of global change on these systems and, in particular, the consumer species found within them, is limited. The US Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network provides an opportunity to address this research need. Leveraging publicly available LTER data, I summarize ongoing LTER research in coastal wetlands with an emphasis on studies assessing how global change variables impact consumer species and trophic interactions; identifies research gaps; and introduces a framework for future long-term global change research in coastal LTER sites. In so doing, this piece highlights important new directions for long-term ecological studies in coastal ecosystems and provides an impetus for future research to fill in crucial knowledge gaps.