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Stacy Zhang
Division of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA

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Journal article
Published: 26 February 2019 in Diversity
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Invertebrate diversity can be a key driver of ecosystem functioning, yet understanding what factors influence local biodiversity remains uncertain. In many marine and terrestrial systems, facilitation cascades where primary foundation and/or autogenic ecosystem engineering species promote the settlement and survival of a secondary foundation/engineering species have been shown to enhance local biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. We experimentally tested if a facilitation cascade occurs among eelgrass (Zostera marina), pen clams (Atrina rigida), and community diversity in temperate seagrass beds in North Carolina, U.S.A., and if this sequence of direct positive interactions created feedbacks that affected various metrics of seagrass ecosystem function and structure. Using a combination of surveys and transplant experiments, we found that pen clam density and survivorship was significantly greater in seagrass beds, indicating that eelgrass facilitates pen clams. Pen clams in turn enhanced local diversity and increased both the abundance and species richness of organisms (specifically, macroalgae and fouling invertebrate fauna)—the effect of which scaled with increasing clam density. However, we failed to detect an impact of pen clams on other seagrass functions and hypothesize that functioning may more likely be enhanced in scenarios where secondary foundation species specifically increase the diversity of key functional groups such as epiphyte grazers and/or when bivalves are infaunal rather than epifaunal. Our findings add to the growing amount of literature that demonstrates that secondary foundation species are important drivers of local biodiversity in marine ecosystems. Further experimentation is needed that directly examines (i) the role of functional versus overall diversity on seagrass functions and (ii) the relative importance of life-history strategy in determining when and where engineering bivalves increase biodiversity and/or functioning of seagrass beds.

ACS Style

Y. Stacy Zhang; Brian R. Silliman. A Facilitation Cascade Enhances Local Biodiversity in Seagrass Beds. Diversity 2019, 11, 30 .

AMA Style

Y. Stacy Zhang, Brian R. Silliman. A Facilitation Cascade Enhances Local Biodiversity in Seagrass Beds. Diversity. 2019; 11 (3):30.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Y. Stacy Zhang; Brian R. Silliman. 2019. "A Facilitation Cascade Enhances Local Biodiversity in Seagrass Beds." Diversity 11, no. 3: 30.

Journal article
Published: 01 April 2018 in Sustainability
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Coastal ecosystems have drastically declined in coverage and condition across the globe. To combat these losses, marine conservation has recently employed habitat restoration as a strategy to enhance depleted coastal ecosystems. For restoration to be a successful enterprise, however, it is necessary to identify and address potential knowledge gaps and review whether the field has tracked scientific advances regarding best practices. This enables managers, researchers, and practitioners alike to more readily establish restoration priorities and goals. We synthesized the peer-reviewed, published literature on habitat restoration research in salt marshes, oyster reefs, and seagrasses to address three questions related to restoration efforts: (i) How frequent is cross-sector authorship in coastal restoration research? (ii) What is the geographic distribution of coastal restoration research? and (iii) Are abiotic and biotic factors equally emphasized in the literature, and how does this vary with time? Our vote-count survey indicated that one-third of the journal-published studies listed authors from at least two sectors, and 6% listed authors from all three sectors. Across all habitat types, there was a dearth of studies from Africa, Asia, and South America. Finally, despite many experimental studies demonstrating that species interactions can greatly affect the recovery and persistence of coastal foundation species, only one-fourth of the studies we examined discussed their effects on restoration. Combined, our results reveal gaps and discrepancies in restoration research that should be addressed in order to further propel coastal restoration science.

ACS Style

Y. Zhang; William Cioffi; Rebecca Cope; Pedro Daleo; Eleanor Heywood; Carmen Hoyt; Carter Smith; Brian. Silliman. A Global Synthesis Reveals Gaps in Coastal Habitat Restoration Research. Sustainability 2018, 10, 1040 .

AMA Style

Y. Zhang, William Cioffi, Rebecca Cope, Pedro Daleo, Eleanor Heywood, Carmen Hoyt, Carter Smith, Brian. Silliman. A Global Synthesis Reveals Gaps in Coastal Habitat Restoration Research. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (4):1040.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Y. Zhang; William Cioffi; Rebecca Cope; Pedro Daleo; Eleanor Heywood; Carmen Hoyt; Carter Smith; Brian. Silliman. 2018. "A Global Synthesis Reveals Gaps in Coastal Habitat Restoration Research." Sustainability 10, no. 4: 1040.

Journal article
Published: 18 March 2014 in PeerJ
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Additional Information and Declarations can be found on page 9 DOI 10.7717/peerj.308 Copyrigh

ACS Style

Stacy Zhang; Kelly E. Speare; Zachary T. Long; Kimberly A. McKeever; Megan Gyoerkoe; Aaron Ramus; Zach Mohorn; Kelsey L. Akins; Sarah M. Hambridge; Nicholas Graham; Kirsty Nash; Elizabeth R. Selig; John F. Bruno. Is coral richness related to community resistance to and recovery from disturbance? PeerJ 2014, 2, e308 .

AMA Style

Stacy Zhang, Kelly E. Speare, Zachary T. Long, Kimberly A. McKeever, Megan Gyoerkoe, Aaron Ramus, Zach Mohorn, Kelsey L. Akins, Sarah M. Hambridge, Nicholas Graham, Kirsty Nash, Elizabeth R. Selig, John F. Bruno. Is coral richness related to community resistance to and recovery from disturbance? PeerJ. 2014; 2 ():e308.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Stacy Zhang; Kelly E. Speare; Zachary T. Long; Kimberly A. McKeever; Megan Gyoerkoe; Aaron Ramus; Zach Mohorn; Kelsey L. Akins; Sarah M. Hambridge; Nicholas Graham; Kirsty Nash; Elizabeth R. Selig; John F. Bruno. 2014. "Is coral richness related to community resistance to and recovery from disturbance?" PeerJ 2, no. : e308.