Plum Island Estuary Research Articles

Capturing the Dynamics of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) in Tidal Saltmarsh Estuaries Using Remote‐Sensing‐Informed Models

AbstractThe fluxes of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) through tidal marsh‐influenced estuaries remain poorly quantified and have been identified as a missing component in carbon‐cycle models. The extreme variability inherent to these ecosystems of the land‐ocean interface challenge our ability to capture DOC‐concentration dynamics and to calculate accurate DOC fluxes. In situ discrete and continuous measurements provide high‐quality estimates of DOC concentration, but these strategies are constrained spatially and temporally and can be costly to operate. Here, field measurements and high‐spatial‐resolution remote sensing were used to train and validate a predictive model of DOC‐concentration distributions in the Plum Island Estuary (PIE), a mesotidal saltmarsh‐influenced estuary in Massachusetts. A large set of field measurements collected between 2017 and 2023 was used to develop and validate an empirical algorithm to retrieve DOC concentration with a ±15% uncertainty from Sentinel‐2 imagery. Implementation on 141 useable images produced a 6‐year time series (2017–2023) of DOC distributions along the thalweg. Analysis of the time series helped identify river discharge, tidal water level (WL), and a marsh enhanced vegetation index 2 as predictors of DOC distribution in the estuary, and facilitated the training and validation of a simple model estimating the distribution. This simple model was able to predict DOC along the PIE thalweg within ±16% of the in situ measurements. Implementation for three years (2020–2022) illustrated how this type of remote‐sensing‐informed models can be coupled with the outputs hydrodynamic models to calculate DOC fluxes in tidal marsh‐influenced estuaries and estimate DOC export to the coastal ocean.

A multi-algorithm approach for modeling coastal wetland eco-geomorphology

Coastal wetlands play an important role in the global water and biogeochemical cycles. Climate change makes it more difficult for these ecosystems to adapt to the fluctuation in sea levels and other environmental changes. Given the importance of eco-geomorphological processes for coastal wetland resilience, many eco-geomorphology models differing in complexity and numerical schemes have been developed in recent decades. However, their divergent estimates of the response of coastal wetlands to climate change indicate that substantial structural uncertainties exist in these models. To investigate the structural uncertainty of coastal wetland eco-geomorphology models, we developed a multi-algorithm model framework of eco-geomorphological processes, such as mineral accretion and organic matter accretion, within a single hydrodynamics model. The framework is designed to explore possible ways to represent coastal wetland eco-geomorphology in Earth system models and reduce the related uncertainties in global applications. We tested this model framework at three representative coastal wetland sites: two saltmarsh wetlands (Venice Lagoon and Plum Island Estuary) and a mangrove wetland (Hunter Estuary). Through the model–data comparison, we showed the importance of using a multi-algorithm ensemble approach for more robust predictions of the evolution of coastal wetlands. We also found that more observations of mineral and organic matter accretion at different elevations of coastal wetlands and evaluation of the coastal wetland models at different sites in diverse environments can help reduce the model uncertainty.

Quantifying the Importance of Ice-Rafted Debris to Salt Marsh Sedimentation Using High Resolution UAS Imagery

Salt marshes are vulnerable to sea-level rise, sediment deficits, and storm impacts. To remain vertically resilient, salt marshes must accrete sediment at rates greater or equal to sea-level rise. Ice-rafted debris (IRD), sediment that has been moved and deposited from ice sheets, is one of many processes that contribute to salt marsh sediment accretion in northern latitudes. On 4 January 2018, a winter storm caused major ice mobilization in the Plum Island Estuary (PIE), Massachusetts, USA, which led to large deposits of ice-rafted sediment. We aimed to quantify the volume and mass of deposited sediment, and evaluate the significance of IRD to sediment supply in Plum Island using pixel-based land-cover classification of aerial imagery collected by an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) and a Digital Elevation Model. Field measurements of patch thickness, and the area of IRD determined from the classification were used to estimate annual sediment accretion from IRD. Results show that IRD deposits are localized in three areas, and estimates show that IRD contributes an annual sediment accretion rate of 0.57 ± 0.14 mm/y to the study site. New England salt marsh accretion rates typically vary between 2–10 mm/y, and the average PIE sediment accretion rate is 2.5–2.7 mm/y. Therefore, this event contributed on average 20% of the annual volume of material accreted by salt marshes, although locally the deposit thickness was 8–14 times the annual accretion rate. We show that pixel-based classification can be a useful tool for identifying sediment deposits from remote sensing. Additionally, we suggest that IRD has the potential to bring a significant supply of sediment to salt marshes in northern latitudes and contribute to sediment accretion. As remotely sensed aerial imagery from UASs becomes more readily available, this method can be used to efficiently identify and quantify deposited sediment.

Integrated Modeling of Dynamic Marsh Feedbacks and Evolution Under Sea‐Level Rise in a Mesotidal Estuary (Plum Island, MA, USA)

AbstractAround the world, wetland vulnerability to sea‐level rise (SLR) depends on different factors including tidal regimes, topography, creeks and estuary geometry, sediment availability, vegetation type, etc. The Plum Island estuary (PIE) is a mesotidal wetland system on the east coast of the United States. This research applied a newly updated Hydro‐MEM (integrated hydrodynamic‐marsh) model to assess the impacts of intermediate‐low (50 cm), intermediate (1 m), and intermediate‐high (1.5 m) SLR on marsh evolution by the year 2100. Model advancements include capturing vegetation change, inorganic and below and aboveground organic matter portion of marsh platform accretion, and mudflat creation. Although the results indicate a low vulnerability marsh at the PIE, the vegetation changes from high to low marsh under all SLR scenarios (2%–22%), with the higher bounds belonging to higher rise scenarios. Lower SLR produces more productive marsh (13% gain in high productivity regions), whereas the highest SLR scenario causes increased tidal inundation, which leads to loss in productivity (12% change from high to low productivity regions), generation of mudflats (17% of the domain land), and marsh migration to higher lands. Sensitive nonlinear tidal flow changes, which may be increased or decreased with SLR as a result of mudflat creation, marsh migration, and bottom friction change, emphasize the importance of integrated modeling approaches that include dynamic marsh feedbacks in hydrodynamic modeling and varying hydrodynamic effects on the marsh system.

Can Identifying Discrete Behavioral Groups With Individual-Based Acoustic Telemetry Advance the Understanding of Fish Distribution Patterns?

Identifying patterns of organismal distribution can provide valuable insights for basic and applied marine and coastal ecology because understanding where animals are located is foundational to both research and science-based conservation. Understanding variation in distributional patterns can lead to a better assessment of ecological drivers and an improved ability to predict consequences of natural and altered relationships. Here, our purpose is to explore if quantifying coexisting groups of individual fish predators advances our understanding of field distribution patterns. Toward this end, we quantified locations of 59 acoustically tagged striped bass (Morone saxatilis) within a 26-stationary unit telemetry receiver array in Plum Island Estuary (PIE), MA, United States. We then used cluster analyses on spatial and temporal-spatial metrics from this dataset to (1) assess if distinct groups of individuals coexisted, (2) quantify group characteristics, and (3) test associations between groups and distribution (e.g., physical site type and region). Based on multiple lines of evidence, we identified four groups of striped bass with different space use patterns that persisted across seasons (summer and fall). Similar-sized striped bass clustered at spatial and temporal scales at which individuals within distinct groups could, and did, physically overlap. In addition, distributional groups were linked to components of physical site type and region suggesting that discrete groups of individuals can interact differently with the environment within the same ecological system. The identification of these distinct groups of individuals creates a baseline from which to explore further ecological implications of grouping behavior for research and conservation in geographically large, temporally dynamic, and spatially heterogeneous marine and coastal environments.

Resolving Estuarine Nitrogen Use by Phytoplankton Communities Using a Whole Ecosystem Tracer Approach

The use of nutrients by diverse phytoplankton communities in estuarine systems, and their response to changes in physical and biogeochemical processes in these natural systems, is a significant ongoing area of research. We used a whole ecosystem 15NO3− tracer experiment to determine the uptake of different nitrogen (N) forms in phytoplankton functional groups over a mid- to neap tidal cycle in a salt marsh creek in Plum Island Estuary, Massachusetts, USA. We quantified the biomass and δ15N for three groups corresponding to micro- (20–200 μm; microP), nano- (3–20 μm; nanoP), and picophytoplankton (< 3 μm; picoP). All three size classes showed distinct use of recycled N sources throughout the 11-day sampling period and minimal direct assimilation of the 15NO3− tracer. MicroP consistently used high amounts of creek-derived 15NH4+, even with a shift at neap tide from diatom- to dinoflagellate-dominated communities (including members of the harmful genus Alexandrium). NanoP use of recycled 15NH4+ increased over the mid-neap tidal cycle, while picoP use decreased. Both biomass and NH4+ use (as highest δ15N values) of all size groups were maximized during neap tide. This study demonstrates partitioning of recycled N use among size-based phytoplankton groups in the estuary, with distinct effects of tidal cycle on the nutrient uptake of each group, and with important implications for the roles of diverse phytoplankton communities in estuarine nutrient cycling.

Sediment selection: range-expanding fiddler crabs are better burrowers than their historic-range counterparts

Climate change plays a large role in driving species range shifts; however, the physical characteristics of an environment can also influence and alter species distributions. In New England salt marshes, the mud fiddler crab Minuca pugnax is expanding its range north of Cape Cod, MA, into the Gulf of Maine (GoM) due to warming waters. The burrowing lifestyle of M. pugnax means sediment compaction in salt marshes may influence the ability of crabs to dig, with more compact soils being resistant to burrowing. Previous studies indicate that salt marshes along the GoM have a higher sediment compaction relative to marshes south of Cape Cod. Physical characteristics of this habitat may be influencing the burrowing performance of M. pugnax and therefore the continuation of their northward range expansion into the GoM. We conducted a controlled laboratory experiment to determine if compaction affects the burrowing activity of M. pugnax in historical and range-expanded populations. We manipulated sediment compaction in standardized lab assays and measured crab burrowing performance with individuals collected from Nantucket (NAN, i.e. historical range) and the Plum Island Estuary (PIE, i.e. expanded range). We determined compaction negatively affected burrowing ability in crabs from both sites; however, crabs from PIE have a higher probability of burrowing in higher sediment compactions than NAN crabs. In addition, PIE crabs were more likely to burrow overall. We conclude that site level differences in compaction are likely altering burrowing behavior in the crab’s expanded-range territory by way of local adaptation or phenotypic plasticity.

Modeling long‐term salt marsh response to sea level rise in the sediment‐deficient Plum Island Estuary, MA

AbstractAn accelerating global rate of sea level rise (SLR), coupled with direct human impacts to coastal watersheds and shorelines, threatens the continued survival of salt marshes. We developed a new landscape‐scale numerical model of salt marsh evolution and applied it to marshes in the Plum Island Estuary (Massachusetts, U.S.A.), a sediment‐deficient system bounded by steep uplands. To capture complexities of vertical accretion across the marsh platform, we employed a novel approach that incorporates spatially variable suspended sediment concentrations and biomass of multiple plant species as functions of elevation and distance from sediment sources. The model predicts a stable areal extent of Plum Island marshes for a variety of SLR scenarios through 2100, where limited marsh drowning is compensated by limited marsh migration into adjacent uplands. Nevertheless, the model predicts widespread conversion of high marsh vegetation to low marsh vegetation, and accretion deficits that indicate eventual marsh drowning. Although sediment‐deficient marshes bounded by steep uplands are considered extremely vulnerable to SLR, our results highlight that marshes with high elevation capital can maintain their areal extent for decades to centuries even under conditions in which they will inevitably drown.

Determining the drivers of suspended sediment dynamics in tidal marsh-influenced estuaries using high-resolution ocean color remote sensing

Sediment budgets are a critical metric to assess coastal marsh vulnerability to sea level rise and declining riverine sediment inputs. However, calculating accurate sediment budgets is challenging in tidal marsh-influenced estuaries where suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) typically vary on scales of hours and hundreds of meters, and where SSC dynamics are driven by a complex and often site-specific interplay of hydrodynamic and meteorological conditions. The mapping of SSC using ocean-color remote sensing is well established and can help capture the spatio-temporal variability of SSC and determine the dominant drivers regulating sediment budgets. However, the coarse spatial resolution of traditional ocean-color sensors (1-km) generally precludes their use in coastal-marsh estuaries. Here, using the Plum Island Estuary (Massachusetts, USA) as an example, we demonstrate that high-spatial-resolution maps of SSC derived from Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Sentinel-2A/B Multispectral Instruments (MSI) can be used to determine the main drivers of SSC dynamics in tidal marsh-influenced estuaries, despite the long revisit time of these sensors. Local empirical algorithms between SSC and remote-sensing reflectance were derived and applied to a total of 46 clear-sky scenes collected by the OLI and the MSI between 2013 and 2018. The analysis revealed that this 5-year record was sufficient to capture a representative range of meteorological and tidal conditions required to determine the main drivers of SSC dynamics in this mid-latitude system. The interplay between river and tidal flows dominated SSC dynamics in this estuary, whereas wind-driven resuspension had a more moderate effect. The SSC was higher during spring because of increased river discharge due to snowmelt. Tidal asymmetry also enhanced sediment resuspension during flood tides, possibly favoring deposition on marsh platforms. Together, water level, water-level rate of change, river discharge and wind speed were able to explain >60% of the variability in the main channel SSC, thereby facilitating future prediction of SSC from these readily available variables. This study demonstrates that the existing multi-year records of high-resolution remote sensing can provide a representative depiction of SSC dynamics in hydrodynamically-complex and small-scale estuaries that moderate-resolution ocean color remote sensing and in situ measurements are unable to capture.

Confluences function as ecological hotspots: geomorphic and regional drivers can help identify patterns of fish distribution within a seascape

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 629:133-148 (2019) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13088 Confluences function as ecological hotspots: geomorphic and regional drivers can help identify patterns of fish distribution within a seascape Ryland Taylor1,*, Martha Mather2, Joseph Smith3, Kayla Gerber4 1Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA 2US Geological Survey, Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA 3National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Fish Ecology Division, Hammond, OR 97121, USA 4Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources, Bowling Green, KY 42104, USA *Corresponding author: rylandbtksu@gmail.com ABSTRACT: Quantifying heterogeneity in animal distributions through space and time is a precursor to addressing many important research and management issues. Obtaining these distributional data is especially difficult for mobile organisms that use broader geographic extents. Here, we asked if the merger between 2 research directions—(1) quantifying spatial linkages between fish and geomorphic features (e.g. confluences) and (2) analyzing larger-scale, multi-metric organismal patterns—can provide a broader geographic context for ecological issues that depend on understanding dynamic fish distribution. To address these objectives, we collected data from 59 tagged striped bass Morone saxatilis that were detected by a 26 acoustic receiver array deployed within Plum Island Estuary, MA, USA. We examined these telemetry data using generalized linear mixed models and chi-squared, cluster, and network analyses. Geomorphic site types informed the estuary-wide distribution of striped bass in that tagged fish spent the most time at confluence junctions; however, they did not spend the same amount of time at all junctions. Relative to integrating multiple metrics, number of tagged fish, residence time, and number of movements were not the same across all receivers. When all 3 metrics were considered together, 4 distinct clusters of distributional patterns emerged. Network analyses connected geomorphology and multi-metric seascape patterns. Confluence junctions in the Rowley and Middle regions were the most connected (high centrality) and most used sites (high residence time). Although confluence junctions function as ecological hotspots, researchers and managers will benefit from interpreting geomorphology within a larger geographic context. KEY WORDS: Striped bass · Geomorphic · Distribution · Confluence · Region Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousNextCite this article as: Taylor R, Mather M, Smith J, Gerber K (2019) Confluences function as ecological hotspots: geomorphic and regional drivers can help identify patterns of fish distribution within a seascape. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 629:133-148. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13088 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 629. Online publication date: October 24, 2019 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2019 Inter-Research.

Identifying Salt Marsh Shorelines from Remotely Sensed Elevation Data and Imagery

Salt marshes are valuable ecosystems that are vulnerable to lateral erosion, submergence, and internal disintegration due to sea level rise, storms, and sediment deficits. Because many salt marshes are losing area in response to these factors, it is important to monitor their lateral extent at high resolution over multiple timescales. In this study we describe two methods to calculate the location of the salt marsh shoreline. The marsh edge from elevation data (MEED) method uses remotely sensed elevation data to calculate an objective proxy for the shoreline of a salt marsh. This proxy is the abrupt change in elevation that usually characterizes the seaward edge of a salt marsh, designated the “marsh scarp.” It is detected as the maximum slope along a cross-shore transect between mean high water and mean tide level. The method was tested using lidar topobathymetric and photogrammetric elevation data from Massachusetts, USA. The other method to calculate the salt marsh shoreline is the marsh edge by image processing (MEIP) method which finds the unvegetated/vegetated line. This method applies image classification techniques to multispectral imagery and elevation datasets for edge detection. The method was tested using aerial imagery and coastal elevation data from the Plum Island Estuary in Massachusetts, USA. Both methods calculate a line that closely follows the edge of vegetation seen in imagery. The two methods were compared to each other using high resolution unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) data, and to a heads-up digitized shoreline. The root-mean-square deviation was 0.6 meters between the two methods, and less than 0.43 meters from the digitized shoreline. The MEIP method was also applied to a lower resolution dataset to investigate the effect of horizontal resolution on the results. Both methods provide an accurate, efficient, and objective way to track salt marsh shorelines with spatially intensive data over large spatial scales, which is necessary to evaluate geomorphic change and wetland vulnerability.

Marsh channel morphological response to sea level rise and sediment supply

A 2D tidal-dispersion model is implemented to simulate the morphodynamics of marsh channels and their response to changes in Sea Level Rise (SLR) rate and sediment supply. The model is applied to the mesotidal marshes of Plum Island Estuary (MA, USA). The peak tidal flow predicted by the model agrees with that measured in a channel for different spring-neap conditions. The model also reproduces the present channel geometry, which is characterized by a spatially variable width to depth ratio. The model suggests that an increase in sediment supply during colonial times (17th century) narrowed the channels of the existing fringing marshes. This narrowing was however temporary, and channels returned to their pre-disturbed width by the end of the 19th century. The model highlights that Suspended Sediment Concentration (SSC) within the channels did not respond uniformly to the changes in sediment supply, and that gradients in SSC can be used to infer sediment input to or export from the marsh. The model also reproduces the spatial patterns of channel widening that occurred since the beginning of the 20th century as a result of the increase in SLR rate from ∼1 to ∼2.6 mm/yr. Under the present SLR rate and sediment supply, the largest channels (>20 m wide) in Plum Island Estuary are predicted to widen by 5–10 m over the next centuries. Both an increase in SLR rate and a drop in sediment supply will increase the amount of widening, but will create different widening fingerprints: the latter will cause more spatially variable widening than the former. As such, spatial patterns of channel widening might theoretically be used to infer whether marsh loss is mainly driven by an increase in SLR rate or a decrease in sediment supply.

Measuring Nitrogen in Coastal Ecosystems with Mudsnails

Measuring Nitrogen in Coastal Ecosystems with <i>Mudsnails</i>

Quantifying Site-Specific Physical Heterogeneity Within an Estuarine Seascape

Quantifying physical heterogeneity is essential for meaningful ecological research and effective resource management. Spatial patterns of multiple, co-occurring physical features are rarely quantified across a seascape because of methodological challenges. Here, we identified approaches that measured total site-specific heterogeneity, an often overlooked aspect of estuarine ecosystems. Specifically, we examined 23 metrics that quantified four types of common physical features: (1) river and creek confluences, (2) bathymetric variation including underwater drop-offs, (3) land features such as islands/sandbars, and (4) major underwater channel networks. Our research at 40 sites throughout Plum Island Estuary (PIE) provided solutions to two problems. The first problem was that individual metrics that measured heterogeneity of a single physical feature showed different regional patterns. We solved this first problem by combining multiple metrics for a single feature using a within-physical feature cluster analysis. With this approach, we identified sites with four different types of confluences and three different types of underwater drop-offs. The second problem was that when multiple physical features co-occurred, new patterns of total site-specific heterogeneity were created across the seascape. This pattern of total heterogeneity has potential ecological relevance to structure-oriented predators. To address this second problem, we identified sites with similar types of total physical heterogeneity using an across-physical feature cluster analysis. Then, we calculated an additive heterogeneity index, which integrated all physical features at a site. Finally, we tested if site-specific additive heterogeneity index values differed for across-physical feature clusters. In PIE, the sites with the highest additive heterogeneity index values were clustered together and corresponded to sites where a fish predator, adult striped bass (Morone saxatilis), aggregated in a related acoustic tracking study. In summary, we have shown general approaches to quantifying site-specific heterogeneity.

Discontinuities concentrate mobile predators: quantifying organism–environment interactions at a seascape scale

AbstractUnderstanding environmental drivers of spatial patterns is an enduring ecological problem that is critical for effective biological conservation. Discontinuities (ecologically meaningful habitat breaks), both naturally occurring (e.g., river confluence, forest edge, drop‐off) and anthropogenic (e.g., dams, roads), can influence the distribution of highly mobile organisms that have land‐ or seascape scale ranges. A geomorphic discontinuity framework, expanded to include ecological patterns, provides a way to incorporate important but irregularly distributed physical features into organism–environment relationships. Here, we test if migratory striped bass (Morone saxatilis) are consistently concentrated by spatial discontinuities and why. We quantified the distribution of 50 acoustically tagged striped bass at 40 sites within Plum Island Estuary, Massachusetts during four‐monthly surveys relative to four physical discontinuities (sandbar, confluence, channel network, drop‐off), one continuous physical feature (depth variation), and a geographic location variable (region). Despite moving throughout the estuary, striped bass were consistently clustered in the middle geographic region at sites with high sandbar area, close to channel networks, adjacent to complex confluences, with intermediate levels of bottom unevenness, and medium sized drop‐offs. In addition, the highest striped bass concentrations occurred at sites with the greatest additive physical heterogeneity (i.e., where multiple discontinuities co‐occurred). The need to incorporate irregularly distributed features in organism–environment relationships will increase as high‐quality telemetry andGISdata accumulate for mobile organisms. The spatially explicit approach we used to address this challenge can aid both researchers who seek to understand the impact of predators on ecosystems and resource managers who require new approaches for biological conservation.

Long‐term nutrient enrichment alters nematode trophic structure and body size in a Spartina alterniflora salt marsh

AbstractThe effects of long‐term experimental nutrient enrichment on nematode trophic guilds and morphometrics were examined in intertidal saltmarsh creeks of Plum Island Estuary, Massachusetts, USA. Nematodes from the marsh‐edge Spartina alterniflora habitat in a reference creek (n = 3300) were sampled annually and compared with nematodes (n = 3100) from a creek in which nitrate and phosphate loading rates were increased approximately 10–15× for 6 years. Trophic guilds in both creeks were dominated by epistrate (diatom) feeders and predators, and natural temporal variability across years was high. However, after 4 years of nutrient enrichment, a shift in the nutrient‐enriched creek was detected from a dominance of epistrate feeders to an increased proportion of predators, even though neither the benthic microalgae biomass nor the total density of nematodes was affected by fertilization. Nematodes also became longer, and longer relative to their diameter over time with nutrient enrichment because of the shift in trophic structure as short‐stout epistrate feeders were replaced with longer, more slender predators. These changes may have been directly related to nutrient enrichment effects on benthic algae or indirectly to the many other effects of enrichments on ecosystem structure or function. Our research indicates that nutrient enrichment alters the nematode community and this alternation may directly or indirectly affect the response of benthic algae to nutrient enrichment and as well as other ecosystem services.

Saltmarsh pool and tidal creek morphodynamics: Dynamic equilibrium of northern latitude saltmarshes?

Many saltmarsh platforms in New England and other northern climates (e.g. Canada, northern Europe) exhibit poor drainage, creating waterlogged regions where short-form Spartina alterniflora dominates and stagnant pools that experience tidal exchange only during spring tides and storm-induced flooding events. The processes related to pool formation and tidal creek incision (via headward erosion) that may eventually drain these features are poorly understood, however it has been suggested that an increase in pool occurrence in recent decades is due to waterlogging stress from sea-level rise. We present evidence here that saltmarshes in Plum Island Estuary of Massachusetts are keeping pace with sea-level rise, and that the recent increase in saltmarsh pool area coincides with changes in drainage density from a legacy of anthropogenic ditching (reversion to natural drainage conditions). Gradients, in addition to elevation and hydroperiod, are critical for saltmarsh pool formation. Additionally, elevation and vegetative changes associated with pool formation, creek incision, subsequent drainage of pools, and recolonization by S. alterniflora are quantified. Pool and creek dynamics were found to be cyclic in nature, and represent platform elevation in dynamic equilibrium with sea level whereby saltmarsh elevation may be lowered (due to degradation of organic matter and formation of a pool), however may be regained on short timescales (101–2yr) with creek incision into pools and restoration of tidal exchange. Rapid vertical accretion is associated with sedimentation and S. alterniflora plant recolonization.

Diverse Dietary Responses by Saltmarsh Consumers to Chronic Nutrient Enrichment

We examined the effect of whole-ecosystem nutrient enrichment on herbivory in saltmarsh creek-wall habitats in the Plum Island Estuary (Massachusetts, USA). Located between the macrophyte-dominated high marsh and adjoining mudflats, creek walls are steep vertical habitats vegetated with productive filamentous algae and associated epiphytes. Annual nitrate and phosphate loading rates were increased approximately ×10–15 in creeks mimicking short-term (2-month) and chronic (6-year) eutrophication. We assessed the diets of epifaunal invertebrates (three gastropods and one amphipod species) that potentially graze on benthic algae using natural isotope abundance data and per capita grazing rate measurements derived from 13C prelabeled algae. Substantial dietary contributions from benthic algae were observed in all consumers even though previous research has indicated most rely on Spartina detritus as the principal food resource. The amphipod Orchestia grillus and the snail Melampus bidentatus grazed benthic algae in excess of 500 μg algal C g C−1 h−1, whereas the snail Nassarius obsoletus and hydrobiid snails grazed at lower rates. Few dietary changes were detected with short-term enrichment. Algal grazing rates of N. obsoletus and M. bidentatus increased with chronic enrichment probably as a functional response to increased algal productivity. O. grillus grazed at a high rate and parasitic infection did not affect its consumption of benthic algae. The abundance and frequency of occurrence of O. grillus on creek-wall habitats increased with chronic nutrient enrichment suggesting amphipods contribute to top–down control on benthic algae and slow algal growth as nutrient enrichment occurs.

Chronic Nutrient Enrichment Increases the Density and Biomass of the Mudsnail, Nassarius obsoletus

In summer 2009, the effects of 6 years of landscape-level experimental nutrient enrichment on the eastern mudsnail, Nassarius obsoletus (formerly Ilyanassa obsoleta), were examined. The experiment was conducted in five tidal creeks (two nutrient-enriched, three reference creeks) in the Plum Island Estuary, Massachusetts, USA. (42°44′ N, 70°52′ W). After 6 years of enrichment, N. obsoletus size structure differed between treatment creeks with adult snails on average 14 % larger in enriched creeks. N. obsoletus densities (in individuals per square meter) and biomass (in grams dry weight per square meter) were four times higher in nutrient-enriched versus reference creeks. Nutrient enrichment did not significantly affect the biomass of benthic microalgae (a N. obsoletus food resource), but snail density was significantly correlated with benthic microalgal biomass, suggesting bottom–up control of snails. N. obsoletus is abundant on the east and west coast of North America; thus, N. obsoletus density and biomass may be useful variables for monitoring eutrophication effects on North American estuaries.

Natural abundance stable isotopes and dual isotope tracer additions help to resolve resources supporting a saltmarsh food web

We used a combination of natural abundance stable isotopes (NASI) and multiple isotope additions to examine the importance of local and tidally imported basal resources to infauna in a tidal, saltmarsh creek within the Plum Island Estuary, Massachusetts, U.S.A. NASI analysis was conducted on primary producers and infauna prior to isotope additions. While algal resources as a group had distinct NASI values compared to Spartina spp. resources, various algal resources [sediment-associated algae (local) and phytoplankton (tidally imported)] had similar NASI leading to low dietary resolution with mixing models. To separate primary producer isotope values, we conducted a large-scale, 42 day 15N-addition to the whole saltmarsh creek, which enriched tidally imported (i.e., phytoplankton) and local algae resources. We also conducted small-scale additions of enriched 13C to 1-m 2 plots within the creek receiving the 15N addition to separately label local resources. Enriched 15N and 13C were taken up by filamentous algae and associated epiphytic diatoms and benthic microalgae creating distinct isotope values in local algal resources. In addition, changes in 15N-tracer uptake by phytoplankton during the first week of the 15N-addition provided a unique enrichment pattern that was followed through the food web. Both NASIs and isotope additions indicated that Spartina spp. was not an important basal food resource to infauna, lending credence to the notion that saltmarsh food webs don't often rely on macrophyte detritus. Isotope additions indicated that various types of algae, both local and tidally imported, were important to the diets of infauna, including polychaetes, tanaids and harpacticoid copepods. Isotope additions increased diet resolution and revealed less accurate basal resource contributions determined with NASI alone. While many food web studies rely on NASI, we feel that the combination of NASI and isotope additions is needed in systems with similar primary producer values to more accurately determine resource contributions, to increase resolution of dietary contributions and to determine the dietary importance of local basal resources.