Sea-level rise and the emergence of a keystone grazer alter the geomorphic evolution and ecology of southeast US salt marshes
Sinéad M. Crotty, Collin Ortals, Thomas M. Pettengill, Luming Shi, Maitane Olabarrieta, Matthew A. Joyce, Andrew H. Altieri, Elise S. Morrison, Thomas S. Bianchi, Christopher Craft, Mark D. Bertness, Christine Angelini
Abstract
Significance Human disturbances, climate change, and their combined effects on species distributions and environmental conditions are increasingly modifying the organization of our world’s oceans, forests, grasslands, wetlands, tundras, and reefs. Here, we reveal that these contemporary conditions can trigger the emergence of novel keystone species. Across the southeastern US coastal plain, sea-level rise is outpacing salt marsh vertical accretion, causing these grasslands to be tidally inundated for longer and softening marsh substrates to levels optimal for crab burrowing. Using field experiments, measurements, surveys, and models, we show that these conditions amplify the burrowing and grazing effects of a previously inconspicuous crab, enabling it to redefine predator–prey interactions, eco-geomorphic feedbacks, and the mechanisms by which salt marshes are responding to climate change.