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Consumer control of salt marshes driven by human disturbance.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Bertness, MD; Silliman, BR
Published in: Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology
June 2008

Salt marsh ecosystems are widely considered to be controlled exclusively by bottom-up forces, but there is mounting evidence that human disturbances are triggering consumer control in western Atlantic salt marshes, often with catastrophic consequences. In other marine ecosystems, human disturbances routinely dampen (e.g., coral reefs, sea grass beds) and strengthen (e.g., kelps) consumer control, but current marsh theory predicts little potential interaction between humans and marsh consumers. Thus, human modification of top-down control in salt marshes was not anticipated and was even discounted in current marsh theory, despite loud warnings about the potential for cascading human impacts from work in other marine ecosystems. In spite of recent experiments that have challenged established marsh dogma and demonstrated consumer-driven die-off of salt marsh ecosystems, government agencies and nongovernmental organizations continue to manage marsh die-offs under the old theoretical framework and only consider bottom-up forces as causal agents. This intellectual dependency of many coastal ecologists and managers on system-specific theory (i.e., marsh bottom-up theory) has the potential to have grave repercussions for coastal ecosystem management and conservation in the face of increasing human threats. We stress that marine vascular plant communities (salt marshes, sea grass beds, mangroves) are likely more vulnerable to runaway grazing and consumer-driven collapse than is currently recognized by theory, particularly in low-diversity ecosystems like Atlantic salt marshes.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology

DOI

EISSN

1523-1739

ISSN

0888-8892

Publication Date

June 2008

Volume

22

Issue

3

Start / End Page

618 / 623

Related Subject Headings

  • Wetlands
  • Snails
  • Rodentia
  • Plants
  • Human Activities
  • Horses
  • Geese
  • Food Chain
  • Ecology
  • Conservation of Natural Resources
 

Citation

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Bertness, M. D., & Silliman, B. R. (2008). Consumer control of salt marshes driven by human disturbance. Conservation Biology : The Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology, 22(3), 618–623. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.00962.x
Bertness, Mark D., and Brian R. Silliman. “Consumer control of salt marshes driven by human disturbance.Conservation Biology : The Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology 22, no. 3 (June 2008): 618–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.00962.x.
Bertness MD, Silliman BR. Consumer control of salt marshes driven by human disturbance. Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology. 2008 Jun;22(3):618–23.
Bertness, Mark D., and Brian R. Silliman. “Consumer control of salt marshes driven by human disturbance.Conservation Biology : The Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology, vol. 22, no. 3, June 2008, pp. 618–23. Epmc, doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.00962.x.
Bertness MD, Silliman BR. Consumer control of salt marshes driven by human disturbance. Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology. 2008 Jun;22(3):618–623.
Journal cover image

Published In

Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology

DOI

EISSN

1523-1739

ISSN

0888-8892

Publication Date

June 2008

Volume

22

Issue

3

Start / End Page

618 / 623

Related Subject Headings

  • Wetlands
  • Snails
  • Rodentia
  • Plants
  • Human Activities
  • Horses
  • Geese
  • Food Chain
  • Ecology
  • Conservation of Natural Resources