Herbivory affects salt marsh succession dynamics by suppressing the recovery of dominant species

DALEO, P.; ALBERTI J.; PASCUAL, J.; CANEPUCCIA, A.D.; IRIBARNE, O.

OECOLOGIA

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2014 vol. 175 p. 335 - 343

0029-8549

Disturbance can generate heterogeneous environments and profoundly influence plantdiversity by creating patches at different successional stages. Herbivores, in turn, can governplant succession dynamics by determining the rate of species replacement, ultimatelyaffecting plant community structure. In a south-western Atlantic salt marsh, weexperimentally evaluated the role of herbivory in governing salt marsh plant communityrecovery following disturbance and assessed if herbivory affects the relative importance ofsexual and clonal reproduction on these dynamics. Our results show that herbivory stronglyaffects salt marsh secondary succession by suppressing seedlings and limiting clonalcolonization of the dominant marsh grass, allowing subordinate species to dominate disturbedpatches. These results demonstrate that herbivores can have an important role in salt marshcommunity structure and function, and can be a key force during succession dynamics.