Microdistribution of the Beach Plant Cakile maritima (Brassicaceae) as Influenced by a Rodent Herbivore

Abstract

The microdistribution of a beach plant, Cakile maritima, was examined relative to patches of an introduced beachgrass, Ammophila arenaria. Sampling was done with belt transects oriented parallel to the beachfront to minimize the influence of physical factors along the land/sea gradient. No Cakile individuals were found within Ammophila patches, and a 3–4 m wide zone of decreased abundance occurred outside of patch borders. I hypothesized that this microdistribution was due to foraging behavior of deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus, which nest in Ammophila patches and forage outward from them. Manipulative experiments using fruits and seedlings of Cakile confirmed that herbivory was higher inside patches and in border areas. Seedlings protected from herbivory by wire cages survived and grew equally well both inside and outside of Ammophila patches, demonstrating that differences in other habitat factors were not of major importance in determining Cakile microdistribution. Herbivory by mice was concluded to be of primary importance in determining the microdistribution of Cakile relative to Ammophila. Rodent herbivory may influence microdistributions of beach plants along the land/sea gradient, and may also be partly responsible for decreased plant species richness often observed in Ammophila-dominated areas on the West Coast.