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Osland MJ, Hughes AR, Armitage AR, Scyphers SB, Cebrian J, Swinea SH, Shepard CC, Allen MS, Feher LC, Nelson JA, O'Brien CL, Sanspree CR, Smee DL, Snyder CM, Stetter AP, Stevens PW, Swanson KM, Williams LH, Brush JM, Marchionno J, Bardou R. The impacts of mangrove range expansion on wetland ecosystem services in the southeastern United States: Current understanding, knowledge gaps, and emerging research needs. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2022; 28:3163-3187. [PMID: 35100489 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Climate change is transforming ecosystems and affecting ecosystem goods and services. Along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts of the southeastern United States, the frequency and intensity of extreme freeze events greatly influence whether coastal wetlands are dominated by freeze-sensitive woody plants (mangrove forests) or freeze-tolerant grass-like plants (salt marshes). In response to warming winters, mangroves have been expanding and displacing salt marshes at varying degrees of severity in parts of north Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. As winter warming accelerates, mangrove range expansion is expected to increasingly modify wetland ecosystem structure and function. Because there are differences in the ecological and societal benefits that salt marshes and mangroves provide, coastal environmental managers are challenged to anticipate the effects of mangrove expansion on critical wetland ecosystem services, including those related to carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, storm protection, erosion reduction, water purification, fisheries support, and recreation. Mangrove range expansion may also affect wetland stability in the face of extreme climatic events and rising sea levels. Here, we review the current understanding of the effects of mangrove range expansion and displacement of salt marshes on wetland ecosystem services in the southeastern United States. We also identify critical knowledge gaps and emerging research needs regarding the ecological and societal implications of salt marsh displacement by expanding mangrove forests. One consistent theme throughout our review is that there are ecological trade-offs for consideration by coastal managers. Mangrove expansion and marsh displacement can produce beneficial changes in some ecosystem services, while simultaneously producing detrimental changes in other services. Thus, there can be local-scale differences in perceptions of the impacts of mangrove expansion into salt marshes. For very specific local reasons, some individuals may see mangrove expansion as a positive change to be embraced, while others may see mangrove expansion as a negative change to be constrained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Osland
- Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA
| | - A Randall Hughes
- Northeastern University Marine Science Center, Nahant, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Anna R Armitage
- Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, Texas, USA
| | - Steven B Scyphers
- Northeastern University Marine Science Center, Nahant, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Just Cebrian
- Northern Gulf Institute, Mississippi State University, Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, USA
| | - Savannah H Swinea
- Northeastern University Marine Science Center, Nahant, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | | | - Laura C Feher
- Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA
| | - James A Nelson
- University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA
| | | | | | | | - Caitlin M Snyder
- Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve, Eastpoint, Florida, USA
| | | | - Philip W Stevens
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
| | - Kathleen M Swanson
- Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve, Port Aransas, Texas, USA
| | | | - Janell M Brush
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Joseph Marchionno
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Rémi Bardou
- Northeastern University Marine Science Center, Nahant, Massachusetts, USA
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James WR, Santos RO, Rehage JS, Doerr JC, Nelson JA. E-scape: Consumer-specific landscapes of energetic resources derived from stable isotope analysis and remote sensing. J Anim Ecol 2021; 91:381-390. [PMID: 34783357 PMCID: PMC9299161 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Energetic resources and habitat distribution are inherently linked. Energetic resource availability is a major driver of the distribution of consumers, but estimating how much specific habitats contribute to the energetic resource needs of a consumer can be problematic. We present a new approach that combines remote sensing information and stable isotope ecology to produce maps of energetic resources (E-scapes). E-scapes project species-specific resource use information onto the landscape to classify areas based on energetic importance. Using our E-scapes, we investigated the relationship between energetic resource distribution and white shrimp distribution and how the scale used to generate the E-scape mediated this relationship. E-scapes successfully predicted the size, abundance, biomass, and total energy of a consumer in salt marsh habitats in coastal Louisiana, USA at scales relevant to the movement of the consumer. Our E-scape maps can be used alone or in combination with existing models to improve habitat management and restoration practices and have potential to be used to test fundamental movement theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Ryan James
- Department of Biology, University of Louisiana Lafayette, Lafayette, LA, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, Institute of Environment, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA.,Department of Earth and Environment, Institute of Environment, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Rolando O Santos
- Department of Biological Sciences, Institute of Environment, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | - Jennifer S Rehage
- Department of Earth and Environment, Institute of Environment, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Jennifer C Doerr
- National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Galveston Laboratory, Galveston, TX, USA
| | - James A Nelson
- Department of Biology, University of Louisiana Lafayette, Lafayette, LA, USA
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Ecosystem Engineers in the World Coasts: Case Studies and Conceptual Linkages. DIVERSITY 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/d12060243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Research on physical ecosystem engineering—i.e., the structural modification of environments by organisms—has flourished during the last two decades. At present, the importance of physical ecosystem engineers for the biodiversity and the functioning of ecosystems is well recognized by scientists. This Special Issue contains fifteen papers that illustrate the diversity of physical ecosystem engineering processes that occur in the world coastal habitats—from coastal dunes to the shallow subtidal zone. It includes 2 reviews comparing ecosystem engineering attributes and impacts across taxa and 13 case studies that inform our general understanding of the variation in engineering impacts, compound engineering effects, novel engineering interactions, and engineered structural legacies.
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