To continue the back and forth about the value that top down trophic carnivores have in keeping natural systems functioning in an optimum way, we today look at the findings of Brown University ecologist Mark Bertness and his research into the decline of salt marshes in New England.............."The marshes are dying off due to fishing and crabbing adversely affecting the food webs of these marshes".............. "If people pull out striped bass and blue crabs and other predators from a salt marsh, the animals’ prey species — including those that feed on plants, like marsh crabs — are left to thrive"...... "A growing population of marsh crabs seemingly are wiping out the cordgrass in the marshes"............ "Without the roots of the cordgrass to anchor the soil, the marsh erodes, making it harder for new plants to grow".......While Bertness acknowledges that there may be many other top down and bottom up influencers affecting the health of the marshes, his findings do lend further credence to Ripple, Laundre et al.'s work in Yellowstone showing the impacts of wolves on prey and herbivory species health

Try this link:   http://nyti.ms/1qFUuCq

When Predators Vanish, So Does the Ecosystem - NYTimes.com The salt marshes of New England are dying. An experiment finds that removing predators allows herbivores to denude their marsh habitat in a flash. Read more...

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When Predators Vanish,

 So Does the Ecosystem

MAY 15, 2014

Photo

Salt marshes like this one on Cape Cod are losing their 

vegetation, and

 scientists are struggling to find the root causes. New

 research says that 

plant-eating crabs may be playing a role in the

 destruction. CreditMark Bertness

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