Nursery habitat use by juvenile blue crabs in created and natural fringing marshes

Bilkovic, Donna Marie; Isdell, Robert E.; Stanhope, David; Angstadt, Kory; Havens, Kirk J.; Chambers, Randolph M.

doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2021.106333

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…While there are nuances among different species (Guthrie et al, accepted), the overall trends suggest that across taxa and time, living shorelines do provide quality habitat for ecologically and economically important species. The similar abundances of juvenile fish, forage fish, and blue crabs in living shorelines relative to natural marshes also suggests that these created habitats are able to serve as important nursery habitat, refuge, and foraging opportunities for many species (Bilkovic et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Living shorelines achieve functional equivalence to natural fringe marshes across multiple ecological metrics

Isdell

Bilkovic

Guthrie

et al. 2021

PeerJ

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Nature-based shoreline protection provides a welcome class of adaptations to promote ecological resilience in the face of climate change. Along coastlines, living shorelines are among the preferred adaptation strategies to both reduce erosion and provide ecological functions. As an alternative to shoreline armoring, living shorelines are viewed favorably among coastal managers and some private property owners, but they have yet to undergo a thorough examination of how their levels of ecosystem functions compare to their closest natural counterpart: fringing marshes. Here, we provide a synthesis of results from a multi-year, large-spatial-scale study in which we compared numerous ecological metrics (including habitat provision for fish, invertebrates, diamondback terrapin, and birds, nutrient and carbon storage, and plant productivity) measured in thirteen pairs of living shorelines and natural fringing marshes throughout coastal Virginia, USA. Living shorelines were composed of marshes created by bank grading, placement of sand fill for proper elevations, and planting of S. alterniflora and S. patens, as well as placement of a stone sill seaward and parallel to the marsh to serve as a wave break. Overall, we found that living shorelines were functionally equivalent to natural marshes in nearly all measured aspects, except for a lag in soil composition due to construction of living shoreline marshes with clean, low-organic sands. These data support the prioritization of living shorelines as a coastal adaptation strategy.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Living shorelines achieve functional equivalence to natural fringe marshes across multiple ecological metrics

Isdell

Bilkovic

Guthrie

et al. 2021

PeerJ

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“…On the long term this behavior might have negative effects on the system functioning and on the Callinectes sapidus population itself due to the habitat loss. Seagrass meadows represent a potential nursery and feeding area for C. sapidus, offering a suitable habitat especially for the early blue crab life stages (post-larvae stages) (Read, 2011;Bilkovic et al, 2021). Further research should be performed after longer period.…”

Section: Community Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Donor-side and user-side evaluation of the Atlantic blue crab invasion on a Mediterranean lagoon

Cannarozzi

Paoli

Vassallo

et al. 2023

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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“…Results from a larger project examining ecosystem‐level differences in soils (Chambers et al, 2021), plants, fish, and invertebrates (Bilkovic, Isdell, Guthrie, et al, 2021; Bilkovic, Isdell, Stanhope, et al, 2021; Guthrie et al, 2022; Isdell et al, 2021) have shown that, relative to NFMs, LSs provide similar richness and abundance of potential prey species for avian predators. Here, we estimated the extent to which LSs mimic NFMs with respect to use by herons and shorebirds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparable use of tidal living shorelines and natural‐fringe marshes by herons and shorebirds

Leu,

Isdell,

Galvin

et al. 2023

Ecosphere

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Living shorelines (LSs) increasingly are implemented as a defense against coastal erosion and rising seas; however, their ecological function for wading birds has not been evaluated. Here, we compared heron and shorebird use of LSs (created fringe salt marshes with a wave break fronting the planted marshes) to natural‐fringe marshes (NFMs) in the Chesapeake Bay. We assessed the use between May and August in 2018 and 2019 at 13 tidal marsh pairs, each consisting of one LS and NFM site, with sites within pairs having similar surrounding land use and wave exposure. In each year, we assessed diurnal use with video cameras recording at least four 30‐min segments/day for a total of 677 h of video, and nocturnal/diurnal use with acoustic recording equipment recording 10‐min sound files every 2 h/day for a total of 160 h of recording. We quantified diurnal use by measuring the total time a species spent at a site, and nocturnal/diurnal use by estimating the probability of detection (i.e., presence/absence). We detected four heron and five shorebird species when data were aggregated across pairs and sampling methods. Using Bayesian mixed models, time of use did not differ between LS and NFM sites for great blue herons (Ardea herodias) and yellow‐crowned night‐herons (Nyctanassa violacea). In contrast, time of use was higher for green herons (Butorides virescens) and spotted sandpipers (Actitis macularis) at LS sites but tended to be higher for great egrets (Ardea alba) at NFM sites. The probability of detection did not differ between LS and NFM sites for great blue herons and great egrets (combined as “Ardea spp.” due to difficulty in differentiating calls under noisy conditions), yellow‐crowned night‐herons, and spotted sandpipers. Green herons and killdeer (Charadrius vociferous), however, tended to be detected more frequently at LS sites. Collectively, our research indicates that LSs are functionally equivalent to NFMs for herons and shorebirds. We hypothesize that the low‐profile rock sills of LS provide platforms for resting and preening and offer prey even when vegetated marshes are unavailable to short‐legged species during flooding tides. In addition to their established reduction of coastal erosion, LSs provide habitat for herons and shorebird species.

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Nursery habitat use by juvenile blue crabs in created and natural fringing marshes

Cited by 6 publications

References 69 publications

Living shorelines achieve functional equivalence to natural fringe marshes across multiple ecological metrics

Living shorelines achieve functional equivalence to natural fringe marshes across multiple ecological metrics

Donor-side and user-side evaluation of the Atlantic blue crab invasion on a Mediterranean lagoon

Comparable use of tidal living shorelines and natural‐fringe marshes by herons and shorebirds

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