Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Human Actions Alter Tidal Marsh Seascapes and the Provision of Ecosystem Services

  • Special Issue: Concepts and Controversies in Tidal Marsh Ecology Revisited
  • Published:
Estuaries and Coasts Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Tidal marshes are a key component of coastal seascape mosaics that support a suite of socially and economically valuable ecosystem services, including recreational opportunities (e.g., fishing, birdwatching), habitat for fisheries species, improved water quality, and shoreline protection. The capacity for tidal marshes to support these services is, however, threatened by increasingly widespread human impacts that reduce the extent and condition of tidal marshes across multiple spatial scales and that vary substantially through time. Climate change causes species redistribution at continental scales, changes in weather patterns (e.g., rainfall), and a worsening of the effect of coastal squeeze through sea level rise. Simultaneously, the effects of urbanization such as habitat loss, eutrophication, fishing, and the spread of invasive species interact with each other, and with climate change, to fundamentally change the structure and functioning of tidal marshes and their food webs. These changes affect tidal marshes at local scales through changes in plant community composition, complexity, and condition and at regional scales through changes in habitat extent, configuration, and connectivity. However, research into the full effects of these multi-scaled, interactive stressors on ecosystem service provision in tidal marshes is in its infancy and is somewhat geographically restricted. This hinders our capacity to quickly and effectively curb loss and degradation of both tidal marshes and the services they deliver with targeted management actions. We highlight ten priority research questions seeking to quantify the consequences and scales of human impacts on tidal marshes that should be answered to improve management and restoration plans.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aman, J., and K.W. Grimes. 2016. Measuring impacts of invasive European green crabs on Maine salt marshes: A novel approach. Report to the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund. Wells: Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arkema, K.K., G. Guannel, G. Verutes, S.A. Wood, A. Guerry, M. Ruckelshaus, P. Kareiva, M. Lacayo, and J.M. Silver. 2013. Coastal habitats shield people and property from sea-level rise and storms. Nature Climate Change 3 (10): 913–918.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barbier, E.B. 2015. Valuing the storm protection service of estuarine and coastal ecosystems. Ecosystem Services 11: 32–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barbier, E.B., S.D. Hacker, C. Kennedy, E.W. Koch, A.C. Stier, and B.R. Silliman. 2011. The value of estuarine and coastal ecosystem services. Ecological Monographs 81 (2): 169–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bellwood, D.R., R.P. Streit, S.J. Brandl, and S.B. Tebbett. 2018. The meaning of the term ‘function’ in ecology: A coral reef perspective. Functional Ecology 33: 948–961.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bilkovic, D.M., M. Mitchell, P. Mason, and K. Duhring. 2016. The role of living shorelines as estuarine habitat conservation strategies. Coastal Management 44 (3): 161–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bishop, M.J., M. Mayer-Pinto, L. Airoldi, L.B. Firth, R.L. Morris, L.H.L. Loke, S.J. Hawkins, L.A. Naylor, R.A. Coleman, S.Y. Chee, and K.A. Dafforn. 2017. Effects of ocean sprawl on ecological connectivity: Impacts and solutions. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 492: 7–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borgström, S., A. Zachrisson, and K. Eckerberg. 2016. Funding ecological restoration policy in practice—Patterns of short-termism and regional biases. Land Use Policy 52: 439–453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bostrom, C., S.J. Pittman, C. Simenstad, and R.T. Kneib. 2011. Seascape ecology of coastal biogenic habitats: Advances, gaps, and challenges. Marine Ecology Progress Series 427: 191–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, C.J., M.I. Saunders, H.P. Possingham, and A.J. Richardson. 2013. Managing for interactions between local and global stressors of ecosystems. PLoS One 8 (6): e65765.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Charles, H., and J.S. Dukes. 2009. Effects of warming and altered precipitation on plant and nutrient dynamics of a New England salt marsh. Ecological Applications 19 (7): 1758–1773.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colombano, et al. this issue. Climate change effects on tidal marsh structure, function and persistence into the uncertain future. Estuaries and Coasts.

  • Costanza, R., O. Perez-Maqueo, M.L. Martinez, P. Sutton, S.J. Anderson, and K. Mulder. 2008. The value of coastal wetlands for hurricane protection. Ambio 37 (4): 241–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crosby, S.C., D.F. Sax, M.E. Palmer, H.S. Booth, L.A. Deegan, M.D. Bertness, and H.M. Leslie. 2016. Salt marsh persistence is threatened by predicted sea-level rise. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 181: 93–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dafforn, K.A., T.M. Glasby, L. Airoldi, N.K. Rivero, M. Mayer-Pinto, and E.L. Johnston. 2015. Marine urbanization: An ecological framework for designing multifunctional artificial structures. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 13 (2): 82–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dangremond, E.M., L.T. Simpson, T.Z. Osborne, and I.C. Feller. 2019. Nitrogen enrichment accelerates mangrove range expansion in the temperate–tropical ecotone. Ecosystems 23: 703–714.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Deegan, L.A., D.S. Johnson, R.S. Warren, B.J. Peterson, J.W. Fleeger, S. Fagherazzi, and W.M. Wollheim. 2012. Coastal eutrophication as a driver of salt marsh loss. Nature 490 (7420): 388–392.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Findlay, S., P. Groffman, and S. Dye. 2003. Effects of Phragmites australis removal on marsh nutrient cycling. Wetlands Ecology and Management 11 (3): 157–165.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gabler, C.A., M.J. Osland, J.B. Grace, C.L. Stagg, R.H. Day, S.B. Hartley, N.M. Enwright, A.S. From, M.L. McCoy, and J.L. McLeod. 2017. Macroclimatic change expected to transform coastal wetland ecosystems this century. Nature Climate Change 7 (2): 142–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gedan, K.B., and B.R. Silliman. 2009. Patterns of salt marsh loss within coastal regions of North America. In Human impacts on salt marshes: A global perspective, ed. B.R. Silliman, M.D. Bertness, and E.D. Grosholz, 253–265. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gedan, K.B., B.R. Silliman, and M.D. Bertness. 2009. Centuries of human-driven change in salt marsh ecosystems. Annual Review of Marine Science 1: 117–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilby, B.L., A.D. Olds, R.M. Connolly, N.A. Yabsley, P.S. Maxwell, I.R. Tibbetts, D.S. Schoeman, and T.A. Schlacher. 2017. Umbrellas can work under water: Using threatened species as indicator and management surrogates can improve coastal conservation. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 199: 132–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilby, B.L., A.D. Olds, R.M. Connolly, C.J. Henderson, and T.A. Schlacher. 2018. Spatial restoration ecology: Placing restoration in a landscape context. Bioscience 68: 1007–1019.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hagan, S.M., S.A. Brown, and K.W. Able. 2007. Production of mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus): Response in marshes treated for common reed (Phragmites australis) removal. Wetlands 27 (1): 54–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halpern, B.S., M. Frazier, J. Afflerbach, J.S. Lowndes, F. Micheli, C. O'Hara, C. Scarborough, and K.A. Selkoe. 2019. Recent pace of change in human impact on the world’s ocean. Scientific Reports 9 (1): 11609.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, C.J., T. Stevens, S.Y. Lee, B.L. Gilby, T.A. Schlacher, R.M. Connolly, J. Warnken, P.S. Maxwell, and A.D. Olds. 2019. Optimising seagrass conservation for ecological functions. Ecosystems 22 (6): 1368–1380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs, R.J., E. Higgs, and J.A. Harris. 2009. Novel ecosystems: Implications for conservation and restoration. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 24 (11): 599–605.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huxham, M., D. Whitlock, M. Githaiga, and A. Dencer-Brown. 2018. Carbon in the coastal seascape: How interactions between mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and tidal marshes influence carbon storage. Current Forestry Reports 4 (2): 101–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Irlandi, E.A., and M.K. Crawford. 1997. Habitat linkages: The effect of intertidal saltmarshes and adjacent subtidal habitats on abundance, movement, and growth of an estuarine fish. Oecologia 110 (2): 222–230.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jamieson, G.S., E.D. Grosholz, D.A. Armstrong, and R.W. Elner. 1998. Potential ecological implications from the introduction of the European green crab, Carcinus maenas (Linneaus), to British Columbia, Canada, and Washington, USA. Journal of Natural History 32 (10-11): 1587–1598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jinks, K.I., M.A. Rasheed, C.J. Brown, A.D. Olds, T.A. Schlacher, M. Sheaves, P.H. York, and R.M. Connolly. 2020. Saltmarsh grass supports fishery food webs in subtropical Australian estuaries. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 106719.

  • Kelleway, J.J., K. Cavanaugh, K. Rogers, I.C. Feller, E. Ens, C. Doughty, and N. Saintilan. 2017. Review of the ecosystem service implications of mangrove encroachment into salt marshes. Global Change Biology 23 (10): 3967–3983.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kneib, R. 1997. The role of tidal marshes in the ecology of estuarine nekton. Oceanography and Marine Biology. Annual Review 35: 163–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krause, J.R., E.B. Watson, C. Wigand, and N. Maher. 2019. Are tidal salt marshes exposed to nutrient pollution more vulnerable to sea level rise? Wetlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-019-01254-8.

  • Leo, K.L., C.L. Gillies, J.A. Fitzsimons, L.Z. Hale, and M.W. Beck. 2019. Coastal habitat squeeze: A review of adaptation solutions for saltmarsh, mangrove and beach habitats. Ocean and Coastal Management 175: 180–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martinez-Lopez, J., H. Teixeira, M. Morgado, M. Almagro, A.I. Sousa, F. Villa, S. Balbi, A. Genua-Olmedo, A.J.A. Nogueira, and A.I. Lillebo. 2019. Participatory coastal management through elicitation of ecosystem service preferences and modelling driven by “coastal squeeze”. Science of the Total Environment 652: 1113–1128.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, D.L., and M.H. Posey. 2013. Influence of salt marsh size and landscape setting on salt marsh nekton populations. Estuaries and Coasts 37: 548–560.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meynecke, J.-O., S.Y. Lee, and N. Duke. 2008. Linking spatial metrics and fish catch reveals the importance of coastal wetland connectivity to inshore fisheries in Queensland, Australia. Biological Conservation 141 (4): 981–996.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minello, T.J., G.A. Matthews, P.A. Caldwell, and L.P. Rozas. 2008. Population and production estimates for decapod crustaceans in wetlands of Galveston Bay, Texas. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 137 (1): 129–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagelkerken, I., M. Sheaves, R. Baker, and R.M. Connolly. 2015. The seascape nursery: A novel spatial approach to identify and manage nurseries for coastal marine fauna. Fish and Fisheries 16 (2): 362–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olds, A.D., R.M. Connolly, K.A. Pitt, S.J. Pittman, P.S. Maxwell, C.M. Huijbers, B.R. Moore, S. Albert, D. Rissik, R.C. Babcock, and T.A. Schlacher. 2016. Quantifying the conservation value of seascape connectivity: A global synthesis. Global Ecology and Biogeography 25 (1): 3–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olds, A.D., B.A. Frohloff, B.L. Gilby, R.M. Connolly, N.A. Yabsley, P.S. Maxwell, and T.A. Schlacher. 2018. Urbanisation supplements ecosystem functioning in disturbed estuaries. Ecography 41 (12): 2104–2113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osland, M.J., N.M. Enwright, R.H. Day, C.A. Gabler, C.L. Stagg, and J.B. Grace. 2016. Beyond just sea-level rise: Considering macroclimatic drivers within coastal wetland vulnerability assessments to climate change. Global Change Biology 22 (1): 1–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piehler, M.F., and A.R. Smyth. 2011. Impacts of ecosystem engineers on estuarine nitrogen cycling. Ecosphere 2: art12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rao, N.S., A. Ghermandi, R. Portela, and X. Wang. 2015. Global values of coastal ecosystem services: A spatial economic analysis of shoreline protection values. Ecosystem Services 11: 95–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saintilan, N., N.C. Wilson, K. Rogers, A. Rajkaran, and K.W. Krauss. 2014. Mangrove expansion and salt marsh decline at mangrove poleward limits. Global Change Biology 20 (1): 147–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheaves, M., R. Baker, I. Nagelkerken, and R.M. Connolly. 2015. True value of estuarine and coastal nurseries for fish: Incorporating complexity and dynamics. Estuaries and Coasts 38 (2): 401–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smee, D.L., J.A. Sanchez, M. Diskin, and C. Trettin. 2017. Mangrove expansion into salt marshes alters associated faunal communities. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 187: 306–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sparks, E.L., and J. Cebrian. 2015. Effects of fertilization on grasshopper grazing of northern Gulf of Mexico salt marshes. Estuaries and Coasts 38 (3): 988–999.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Valiela, I. 2006. Global coastal change. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vincent, R.E., D.M. Burdick, and M. Dionne. 2013. Ditching and ditch-plugging in New England salt marshes: Effects on hydrology, elevation, and soil characteristics. Estuaries and Coasts 36 (3): 610–625.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Waltham, N.J., and M. Sheaves. 2015. Expanding coastal urban and industrial seascape in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area: Critical need for coordinated planning and policy. Marine Policy 57: 78–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waltham, et al. this issue. Tidal wetland restoration in response to seascape development expansion and changing climate. Estuaries and Coasts.

  • Watson, E.B., C. Wigand, E.W. Davey, H.M. Andrews, J. Bishop, and K.B. Raposa. 2017. Wetland loss patterns and inundation-productivity relationships prognosticate widespread salt for southern New England. Estuaries and Coasts: Journal of the Estuarine Research Federation 40 (3): 662–681.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weinstein, M.P., S.Y. Litvin, and V.G. Guida. 2010. Stable isotope and biochemical composition of white perch in a Phragmites dominated salt marsh and adjacent waters. Wetlands 30 (6): 1181–1191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitfield, A.K. 2017. The role of seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, salt marshes and reed beds as nursery areas and food sources for fishes in estuaries. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 27 (1): 75–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, W.H., B.H. Traut, and W.L. Silver. 2015. Microbially mediated nitrogen retention and loss in a salt marsh soil. Ecosphere 6: 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zedler, J.B., and M.K. Leach. 1998. Managing urban wetlands for multiple use: Research, restoration, and recreation. Urban Ecosystem 2 (4): 189–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ziegler, S.L., K.W. Able, and F.J. Fodrie. 2019. Dietary shifts across biogeographic scales alter spatial subsidy dynamics. Ecosphere 10: e02980.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ziegler, et al. this issue. Geographic variation in marsh structure and function: identifying driving processes and commonality across multiple scales. Estuaries and Coasts.

  • zu Ermgassen, et al. this issue. Valuation, social and human dimensions in tidal marsh ecology. Estuaries and Coasts.

Download references

Acknowledgments

This perspective arose from a meeting held at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) 1-3 November 2019 as part of the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) 2019 Conference Workshop Program. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the US Government.

Funding

The meeting was funded by grants to R. Baker from the University of South Alabama and DISL and sponsorship from Mississippi-, Alabama-, Georgia-, and Washington-Sea Grants, the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, the DISL Foundation, and CERF.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, Queensland, 4558, Australia

    Ben L. Gilby, Lucy A. Goodridge Gaines, Felicity E. Hardcastle, Christopher J. Henderson & Andrew D. Olds

  2. New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium, Sandy Hook Field Station, Building 22, Fort Hancock, NJ, 07732, USA

    Michael P. Weinstein

  3. Dauphin Island Sea Lab, University of South Alabama, Dauphin Island, AL, 36528, USA

    Ronald Baker, Alyssa Frank & Blair H. Morrison

  4. Northern Gulf Institute, Mississippi State University, 1021 Balch Blvd, Stennis Space Center, Starkville, MS, 39529, USA

    Just Cebrian

  5. Nature Coast Biological Station, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Cedar Key, FL, 32625, USA

    Scott B. Alford & Charles W. Martin

  6. San Francisco Estuary Institute, Richmond, CA, 94804, USA

    Ariella Chelsky

  7. Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    Denise Colombano

  8. Australian Rivers Institute – Coast & Estuaries, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, 4222, Australia

    Rod M. Connolly

  9. NOAA National Center for Coastal Ocean Science, Beaufort, NC, 28516, USA

    Carolyn A. Currin

  10. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Road, Edgewater, MD, 21037, USA

    Ilka C. Feller

  11. Texas A&M University at Galveston, 100 Seawolf Pkwy, Galveston, TX, 77554, USA

    Janelle A. Goeke & Ashley E. McDonald

  12. Institute of Environment, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA

    Jennifer S. Rehage

  13. Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER), James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, 4814, Australia

    Nathan J. Waltham

  14. Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 3431 Arendell Street, Morehead City, NC, 28557, USA

    Shelby L. Ziegler

Authors
  1. Ben L. Gilby
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michael P. Weinstein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ronald Baker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Just Cebrian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Scott B. Alford
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Ariella Chelsky
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Denise Colombano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Rod M. Connolly
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Carolyn A. Currin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Ilka C. Feller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Alyssa Frank
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Janelle A. Goeke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. Lucy A. Goodridge Gaines
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  14. Felicity E. Hardcastle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  15. Christopher J. Henderson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  16. Charles W. Martin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  17. Ashley E. McDonald
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  18. Blair H. Morrison
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  19. Andrew D. Olds
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  20. Jennifer S. Rehage
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  21. Nathan J. Waltham
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  22. Shelby L. Ziegler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ben L. Gilby.

Additional information

Communicated by Richard C. Zimmerman

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gilby, B.L., Weinstein, M.P., Baker, R. et al. Human Actions Alter Tidal Marsh Seascapes and the Provision of Ecosystem Services. Estuaries and Coasts 44, 1628–1636 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-020-00830-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-020-00830-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation