Munching, nibbling and burrowing their way through life, the humble marsh crab can now add “keystone species” to its ecological resume. As sea level rise has inundated shorelines on the East Coast of the United States, marsh crabs have emerged as important players in shaping how marshes respond to climate change. Kristin HuizengaI am a […]
Mangroves are encroaching on salt marsh habitats worldwide, but what does this change in plant community mean for the plants, ecosystem processes, and other inhabitants of these areas? Find out a bit of the answer to that question in today’s oceanbites! Rebecca FlynnI am a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (B.S.) and the […]
The hybrid shoreline stabilization method called rip rap sill combines rock structures with native vegetation. This study found that fish biodiversity and abundance in rip rap sills was more similar to a native marsh than a built rip rap. Kari St.LaurentI received a Ph.D. in oceanography in 2014 from the Graduate School of Oceanography (URI) […]
Will salt marshes survive sea level rise? Previous studies have emphatically answered “No!” suggesting a 20-50% loss by the year 2100. However, Kirwan and colleagues have challenged this notion, finding that salt marshes are not nearly as fragile as previously thought, and that salt marshes will not succumb to the rising sea without a fight! […]
Vegetated coastal ecosystems, such as salt marshes, can trap and store carbon for millennia. This perspective investigates how the effects from the global loss of predators has cascaded down to these habitats, often resulting in lower carbon storage. Kari St.LaurentI received a Ph.D. in oceanography in 2014 from the Graduate School of Oceanography (URI) and […]