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Does bird removal affect grasshopper grazing on Juncus roemerianus (black needlerush) marshes?

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Abstract

Grazing on J. roemerianus (black needlerush), grasshopper abundance, and black needlerush plants was examined in the presence and exclusion of marsh birds. Birds were excluded using a PVC framed exclosure wrapped with bird netting that allowed free passage of marsh grasshoppers. These measurements were taken bi-monthly from April to August 2011 in a black needlerush marsh within the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (Moss Point, MS, USA). Grazing metrics, grasshopper abundance, and plant health metrics showed no effect of bird exclusions across all sampling dates. In contrast to other marsh systems with strong trophic cascades (e.g., Spartina alterniflora on US east coast), these results suggest that the primary consumer (grasshoppers) is not affected by the presence of their dominant predator (birds) which leads to no change in the health of the primary producer (black needlerush). Information derived from this study furthers our understanding of the trophic relationships within black needlerush marshes in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this project was provided by the Northern Gulf Institute and Mississippi State University Integrated Ecosystem Assessment. We would also like to thank Sara Kerner, Jason Howard, Joann Moody, Jelani Reynolds, Jennifer Hemphill, Shailesh Sharma and Larisa Lee of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab for their field and lab assistance. Additionally, we would like to thank Anna Joy Lehmicke of the University of Georgia for supplying bird abundance data that was used in the site selection process and two anonymous reviewers for their suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center, 1815 Popps Ferry Rd, Biloxi, MS, 39532, USA

    Eric L. Sparks

  2. Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, 39762, USA

    Eric L. Sparks

  3. Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Dauphin Island, AL, 36528, USA

    Just Cebrian

  4. Department of Marine Sciences, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, 36688, USA

    Just Cebrian

Authors
  1. Eric L. Sparks
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  2. Just Cebrian
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Correspondence to Eric L. Sparks.

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Sparks, E.L., Cebrian, J. Does bird removal affect grasshopper grazing on Juncus roemerianus (black needlerush) marshes?. Wetlands Ecol Manage 23, 1083–1089 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-015-9438-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-015-9438-y

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