Effects of invasive cordgrass on crab distributions and diets in a Chinese salt marsh

Qin, Haiming; Chu, Tianjiang; Wang, Xu; Lei, Guangchun; Chen, Zhongbin; Quan, Weimin; Chen, Jiakuan; Wu, Jihua

doi:10.3354/meps08771

Cited by 32 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Our results suggested that crabs mediated the interactions between native and invasive plants through soil reworking. Herbivory by crabs was observed to be negligible (see monocultures in Figure 2, 3), although Helice might partially feeds on these plants [19]. Therefore, herbivory was unlikely to alter the relationship between invasive and native plants in this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…The crab Helice is one of the most abundant crab species at Chongming Dongtan, feeding on fresh plant, fauna and detritus [19]. The dietary composition of Helice is flexible, depending on food availability.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The crab community consists mainly of Helice tientsinensis (“ Helice ” hereafter), Chiromantes dehaani , Parasesarma plicatum and Uca arcuata , with the average density being approximately 20 ind. m −2 [19]. Borrowing and soil transporting by crabs accelerate the turnover of sediments from deep layers to the surface, thereby playing an important role in regulating soil conditions [20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Crabs Mediate Interactions between Native and Invasive Salt Marsh Plants: A Mesocosm Study

et al. 2013

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Soil disturbance has been widely recognized as an important factor influencing the structure and dynamics of plant communities. Although soil reworkers were shown to increase habitat complexity and raise the risk of plant invasion, their role in regulating the interactions between native and invasive species remains unclear. We proposed that crab activities, via improving soil nitrogen availability, may indirectly affect the interactions between invasive Spartina alterniflora and native Phragmites australis and Scirpus mariqueter in salt marsh ecosystems. We conducted a two-year mesocosm experiment consisting of five species combinations, i.e., monocultures of three species and pair-wise mixtures of invasive and native species, with crabs being either present or absent for each combination. We found that crabs could mitigate soil nitrogen depletion in the mesocosm over the two years. Plant performance of all species, at both the ramet-level (height and biomass per ramet) and plot-level (density, total above- and belowground biomass), were promoted by crab activities. These plants responded to crab disturbance primarily by clonal propagation, as plot-level performance was more sensitive to crabs than ramet-level. Moreover, crab activities altered the competition between Spartina and native plants in favor of the former, since Spartina was more promoted than native plants by crab activities. Our results suggested that crab activities may increase the competition ability of Spartina over native Phragmites and Scirpus through alleviating soil nitrogen limitation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Crabs Mediate Interactions between Native and Invasive Salt Marsh Plants: A Mesocosm Study

et al. 2013

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“…Net production efficiency (NPE) was calculated as the percentage of assimilated energy allocated to production (i.e., P/A). The stomach content information of crabs was from Qin et al (2010). Assimilation efficiency is 70% for animal detritus, 10% for vascular plant and amorphous detritus (Benke & Wallace, 1980;Wallace et al, 1987).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, the effects of invasive plants have been recorded. Wang et al (2008) and Qin et al (2010) found that the exotic Spartina altemiflora Loisel. could provide a suitable habitat for crabs by providing suitable food resources and environmental conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Population dynamics and secondary production of crabs in a Chinese salt marsh

Wu¹,

Sheng²,

Huang³

et al. 2013

Crustac

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In many salt marsh ecosystems, crabs are the most prominent members of the macrobenthic community, influencing material cycling and energy flow. Studies on population dynamics and secondary production are important for quantitative evaluation of the ecological function of crabs; however, few studies have been conducted in salt marsh ecosystems. In this study, we investigated the secondary production and population dynamics of two Thoracotremata species in an Asian salt marsh. A year-round sampling on a monthly basis in the Dongtan salt marshes of the Yangtze River estuary yielded 12 species of crabs belonging to 7 families and 10 genera. The dominant crabs were Chiromantes dehaani (67.57%) and Hélice tientsinensis (17.28%). The overall size frequency distribution was bimodal for C. dehaani and unimodal for H. tientsinensis. The estimated annual production of C. dehaani and H. tientsinensis was 43.981 g and 4.247 g ash-free dry weight (AFDM) m~^ year" ', respectively. The annual P/B ratio was 1.22 for C. dehaani and 0.75 for H. tientsinensis. In total, the annual secondary production of all crabs at the Dongtan salt marshes was estimated to be approximately 49.405 g AFDM m"^ year" '. The consumption of vascular plants by C. dehaani and H. denLnnensis was 480.831 and 42.640 g AFDM m"^ year"'. About 20.4% of plant primary production was ingested by these two herbivorous crabs. The production of C. dehaani was high compared with those reported from other coastal wetland ecosystems. This suggests that the ecological functions of C. dehaani at the Yangtze River estuary salt marshes need more quantitative studies to be fully described. RÉSUMÉDans de nombreux écosystèmes lagunaires, les crabes sont les représentants les plus dominants de la communauté macro benthique, influençant le cycle de matériaux et le flux d'énergie. Les études en dynamique des populations et production secondaire sont importantes afin de quantifier la fonction écologique des crabes ; cependant, peu d'études ont porté sur les écosystèmes lagunaires. Dans cette étude nous avons investigué la production secondaire et la dynamique des populations de deux espèces Thoracotremata dans des lagunes asiatiques. Des échantillonnages mensuels pendant toute une année dans les lagunes de Dongtan de l'estuaire de la rivière Yangtze ont fourni 12 espèces de ')

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Native herbivores enhance the resistance of an anthropogenically disturbed salt marsh to Spartina alterniflora invasion

et al. 2019

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The extent by which human activities create an inroad for the invasion of exotic plant species and the mechanisms that drive a disturbed ecosystem's resistance to exotic invasion is largely unknown. We investigated the mechanisms by which salt marsh resists cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) invasion by two key factors: anthropogenic disturbance by ditching and herbivory by the native crab Helice tientsinensis. In northern China, although abiotic resistance (i.e., hyper-stresses) inhibited the landward invasion of cordgrass to high marshes, our transplant experiments showed that anthropogenic ditching created windows of opportunity for cordgrass invasion to high marshes by enhancing propagule pressure and providing favorable (i.e., low-salinity and high-inundation) microhabitats for colonization. Furthermore, a native herbivore exclusion experiment showed that crab grazing strongly suppressed seedling establishment and growth of cordgrass in ditched high marshes, which gradually created native biotic resistance to cordgrass invasion. We conclude that grazing by native herbivores can enhance the resistance of high marshes to cordgrass invasion triggered by anthropogenic ditching disturbance in northern China. These findings highlight that it is critical to investigate ecosystem resistance associated with anthropogenic disturbance to better understand the multiple mechanisms of exotic plant invasion, and we call for integration of these findings into invasion control strategies.

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Effects of invasive cordgrass on crab distributions and diets in a Chinese salt marsh

Cited by 32 publications

References 45 publications

Crabs Mediate Interactions between Native and Invasive Salt Marsh Plants: A Mesocosm Study

Crabs Mediate Interactions between Native and Invasive Salt Marsh Plants: A Mesocosm Study

Population dynamics and secondary production of crabs in a Chinese salt marsh

Native herbivores enhance the resistance of an anthropogenically disturbed salt marsh to Spartina alterniflora invasion

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