Biological Invasions (2009) 11, 917-926

Elizabeth D. Brusati and Edwin D. Grosholz (2009)
Does invasion of hybrid cordgrass change estuarine food webs?
Biological Invasions 11 (4), 917-926
Abstract: Studies examining the impacts of introduced species on food webs often focus on the top-down effects of introduced predators. However, marine and estuarine systems have been invaded by plants that have the potential to alter carbon and nitrogen sources available to consumers. In San Francisco Bay, California, USA, hybridized cordgrass Spartina alterniflora × foliosa is adding C₄ carbon biomass to this system. We used natural abundances of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen to examine whether infaunal and epifaunal food webs reflected the large detrital input from hybrid Spartina. We compared stable isotope signatures among macrofaunal invertebrate consumers collected in hybrid Spartina, native S. foliosa, or unvegetated mudflats. We found no additional shift towards hybrid Spartina in hybrid areas. Structural changes brought about by an invasive ecosystem engineer, specifically increased biomass and detrital inputs, do not necessarily result in its increased incorporation into the food web.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
environment - cropping system/rotation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Sporobolus alterniflorus (weed)		U.S.A. (SW)