Does invasion of oligohaline tidal marshes by reed grass, Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud., affect the availability of prey resources for the mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus L.?

Fell, Paul E.; Weissbach, Sonja P.; Jones, D. Breese; Fallon, Mark A.; Zeppieri, Julie A.; Faison, Edward K.; Lennon, Kristen A.; Newberry, Kate J.; Reddington, Linda K.

doi:10.1016/s0022-0981(97)00138-x

Cited by 102 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Moreover, there is evidence supporting the view that P. australis does not have a deleterious effect on the ability of marshes to function as habitat for fauna and especially nekton. Fell et al (1998) and Warren et al (2001) reported that fish foraging and the abundance of invertebrates were not affected by the expansion of P. australis. Other authors have found that fish species composition was also not affected by common reed invasion (Meyer et al, 2001) or that nekton densities are similar to those in some non-P. australis dominated wetlands (Hanson et al, 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the invasive plant Elymus athericus modify fish diet in tidal salt marshes?

Laffaille

Pétillon

Parlier

et al. 2005

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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International audienceThe invasion of Mont-Saint-Michel Bay salt marshes (France) by a grass species (Elymus athericus) has led to important changes in vegetation cover, which is likely to modify the habitat for many invertebrates. Some of them constitute the main food items for several fish species, such as young sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and sand goby (Pomatoschistus minutus), that feed in salt marsh creeks during high tides. As a result, fish nursery functions of salt marshes could be modified by the E. athericus invasion. In order to test this hypothesis, gut contents of the two most abundant fish species (sea bass and sand goby) were compared before and after E. athericus invasion in the same salt marsh creek and using the same methodology. The accessibility and availability of the main food item, the semi-terrestrial amphipod Orchestia gammarella, were estimated and compared between invaded (dominated by E. athericus) and original areas (dominated by Atriplex portulacoides). Gut content analysis showed a significantly greater percentage of fish leaving with empty guts from E. athericus areas than from A. portulacoides areas. The sea bass diet composition study showed a major shift in the relative importance of the main food items: before E. athericus invasion, diets were dominated by the semi-terrestrial species O. gammarella, whereas after the E. athericus invasion they were dominated by a marine mysid Neomysis integer. The same trend was found for sand gobies, with a shift of the main food item from O. gammarella before invasion to the polychaete Hediste diversicolor after invasion. These trophic changes may be explained by the lower accessibility and availability of O. gammarella in invaded communities than in natural ones. The E. athericus invasion, observed throughout northern Europe, is thus likely to disturb trophic function of natural salt marshes for fish. This preliminary study of the E. athericus invasion is also an illustration that invasive species are an urgent problem in conservation biology

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the invasive plant Elymus athericus modify fish diet in tidal salt marshes?

Laffaille

Pétillon

Parlier

et al. 2005

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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show abstract

“…To quantify the response of saltmarsh epifauna to fish reduction and nutrient addition, passive collectors (litterbags; after Fell et al 1998) were deployed in the creek-bank Spartina alterniflora habitat for 2 wk in all treatment creeks in 2005 and 2006. Each litterbag (29 × 13.5 cm, 5 mm Delta weave mesh) was filled with 15 to 20 g of dried S. alterniflora leaves and stems.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the effects of these factors on epifauna (surfacedwelling invertebrates such as amphipods) remains relatively unknown, possibly because, due to their mobility, large-scale manipulations are required to effectively capture epifauna responses. Top-down control of epifauna such as amphipods may be exerted by the killifish Fundulus heteroclitus L. (Kneib 1982, Allen et al 1994, Fell et al 1998), a common predator in the tidal marshes of the western Atlantic (Allen et al 1994). Topdown control may also be exerted on epifauna by aerial predators (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large-scale manipulations reveal that top-down and bottom-up controls interact to alter habitat utilization by saltmarsh fauna

Johnson¹,

Fleeger²,

Deegan³

2009

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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We used ecosystem-wide predator removal and nutrient enrichment to examine topdown and bottom-up forces on saltmarsh fauna. We reduced the killifish Fundulus heteroclitus bỹ 60%, which elicited significant increases (2 to 4 ×) in hydrobiid snails Hydrobia spp., suggesting topdown control. The talitrid amphipod Uhlorchestia spartinophila was the most abundant species of epifauna in the creek-bank Spartina alterniflora habitat. Our elevated water column nutrients (~70 µmol l -1 , ~10 × background) and predator reduction treatments alone both yielded nonsignificant increases in amphipod abundance, suggesting weak top-down and bottom-up control over this species. However, treatments interacted antagonistically in this habitat such that amphipod abundances were lower than would be expected by an additive response to both treatments. We found corresponding amphipod abundance increases in the adjoining creek-wall habitat, suggesting that amphipods move under the influence of our treatments from the marsh edge onto the creek wall, possibly as a result of an increased incidence of a parasitic (i.e. trematode Levinseniella sp.) infection. Coincident to increased amphipods on creek walls, semipalmated sandpipers Calidris pusilla, amphipod predators, increasingly foraged in creek channels in combined treatments (~30 × higher than controls based on unreplicated creek systems). Our results suggest that top-down and bottom-up effects may at times be difficult to detect in small, single-factor studies because of inter-habitat movements of target species and redundant predation. Because the effects of stressors may not be limited to one part of the landscape even for small, motile fauna, landscape-level studies may generally be needed to capture responses to anthropogenic activities. KEY WORDS: Ecosystem experiments · Multi-stressors · Parasites · Epifauna · Salt marshResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher

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“…Fewer than 10 insect species are known to feed on P. australis in North America but the density of insects in P. australis stands can be high, with sensitivity varying by macroinvertebrate taxon (Chambers et al, 1999). Snails, amphipods, and isopods are common to abundant in P. australis habitat, exhibiting comparable abundances with resident marsh vegetation (Fell et al, 1998). This could be because P. australis provides better habitat for grazing invertebrates than cattail habitat: P. australis patches have exhibited high diatom density, and related high densities of snails (Holomuzki and Klarer, 2010).…”

Section: Effects On Avian Food Sources 192-a Invertebratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term effects of a Phragmites australis invasion on birds in a Lake Erie coastal marsh

Robichaud

Rooney

2017

Journal of Great Lakes Research

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Does invasion of oligohaline tidal marshes by reed grass, Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud., affect the availability of prey resources for the mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus L.?

Cited by 102 publications

References 31 publications

Does the invasive plant Elymus athericus modify fish diet in tidal salt marshes?

Does the invasive plant Elymus athericus modify fish diet in tidal salt marshes?

Large-scale manipulations reveal that top-down and bottom-up controls interact to alter habitat utilization by saltmarsh fauna

Long-term effects of a Phragmites australis invasion on birds in a Lake Erie coastal marsh

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