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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil Advance Access originally published online on February 27, 2008
ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2008 65(5):746-752; doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsn009
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© 2008 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Oxford Journals. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Physical factors mediate effects of grazing by a non-indigenous snail species on saltmarsh cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) in New England marshes

Megan C. Tyrrell, Michele Dionne and Jessica A. Edgerly

Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, 342 Laudholm Farm Road, Wells, ME 04090, USA

Correspondence to M. C. Tyrrell: tel: +1 207 8418129; fax: +1 207 6462930; e-mail: mtyrrell{at}alumni.macalester.edu.

Tyrrell, M. C., Dionne, M., and Edgerly, J. A. 2008. Physical factors mediate effects of grazing by a non-indigenous snail species on saltmarsh cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) in New England marshes. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 746–752.

In the southeastern US, grazing by a common indigenous littorinid snail has caused large declines in the biomass of saltmarsh cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). In northeastern marshes, a closely related but non-indigenous snail may also negatively affect production of this key marsh-building plant. We manipulated densities of the gastropod Littorina littorea at two sites to investigate the effect of its grazing on plant production and sediment accumulation. The effects of the manipulation differed between sites. The site with longer inundation periods, lower elevation, and poorer drainage attributable to smaller sediment grain size had more stressful conditions for S. alterniflora. At that site, protection from snail grazing resulted in higher end-of-season plant biomass than all the other treatments and controls. Rates of sediment accumulation were also lower at that site, and the difference between sites increased as the season progressed. At the site where physical conditions were benign, snail manipulation had no effect on S. alterniflora biomass. The nature of the physical conditions at a site may influence the susceptibility of S. alterniflora to grazing pressure by this ubiquitous snail species. Accelerating anthropogenic impacts, such as sea-level rise, could further stress saltmarsh plants, leaving them increasingly susceptible to herbivory.

Keywords: cordgrass, grazing, introduced species, inundation, Littorina littorea, periwinkle, saltmarsh, sediment accumulation, sediment grain size, Spartina alterniflora

Received 14 June 2007; accepted 31 December 2007; advance access publication 27 February 2008.


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