File:Positive interactions in salt-marsh ecosystems.jpg

English: Positive interactions in salt-marsh ecosystems
(1) Mussels provide nutrients to marsh grasses, reduce sulfide stress (Derksen-Hooijberg et al., 2018), enhance biodiversity (Angelini et al., 2015), and increase marsh resistance to drought (Angelini et al., 2016). Cordgrass facilitates mussel establishment (Bertness and Grosholz, 1985) and reduces heat stress (Angelini et al., 2015). (2) Predators such as blue and green crabs act as important top-down controls on herbivores and help prevent run-away grazing on marsh grasses (Silliman and Bertness, 2002; Bertness and Coverdale, 2013). (3) High densities of salt-marsh plants increase wave attenuation, promote sedimentation, and thus increase sediment accumulation (Borsje et al., 2011). (4) Fiddler crabs can mitigate stress caused by snail grazing (Gittman and Keller, 2013) and the facultative effect of mussels and fiddler crabs can be increased when present together (Hughes et al., 2014). (5) Fiddler crab burrowing can increase oxygen in marsh sediments (Bertness, 1985). Further, crab burrowing can faciliate mycorrhizal fungi, which can account for ~35% of plant growth (Daleo et al., 2007). (6) Biodiverse assemblages increase biomass and nitrogen accumulation (Callaway et al., 2003). (7) Marsh grasses mixed with other plants can provide a refuge for snails from predators and indirectly protect grasses from grazing (Hughes, 2012). (8) Close by marsh grasses can help reduce communal stress as they provide shade (Whitcraft and Levin, 2007) and oxygen to sediments (Howes et al., 1986). (9) Spartina alterniflora can act as a nurse plant for other species (Egerova et al., 2003). (10) Salt marshes provide nutrients to neighboring ecosystems (van de Koppel et al., 2015) and long-distance facilitation from nearby systems such as oyster reefs can reduce wave stress (Meyer et al., 1997).