Ecosystem engineers activate mycorrhizal mutualism in salt marshes

Theory predicts that ecosystem engineers should have their most dramatic effects when they enable species, through habitat amelioration, to live in zones where physical and biological conditions would otherwise suppress or limit them. Mutualisms between mycorrhizal fungi and plants are key determina...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology letters 2007-10, Vol.10 (10), p.902-908
Main Authors: Daleo, Pedro, Fanjul, Eugenia, Casariego, Agustina Mendez, Silliman, Brian R, Bertness, Mark D, Iribarne, Oscar
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Argentina
Biomass
Bioturbation
Brachyura - physiology
Decapoda
Ecosystem
ecosystem engineers
facilitation
Geologic Sediments - analysis
Mycorrhizae - physiology
mycorrhizal fungi
Oxidation-Reduction
Oxygen - analysis
Plant Roots - growth & development
Plant Roots - microbiology
Poaceae - growth & development
Poaceae - microbiology
salt marshes
soil invertebrates-mycorrhizae interactions
Soil Microbiology
Symbiosis
Wetlands
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Summary:Theory predicts that ecosystem engineers should have their most dramatic effects when they enable species, through habitat amelioration, to live in zones where physical and biological conditions would otherwise suppress or limit them. Mutualisms between mycorrhizal fungi and plants are key determinants of productivity and biodiversity in most terrestrial systems, but are thought to be unimportant in wetlands because anoxic sediments exclude fungal symbionts. Our field surveys revealed arbuscular mycorrhizal associations on salt marsh plant roots, but only in the presence of crabs that oxygenate soils as a by-product of burrowing. Field experiments demonstrate that fungal colonization is dependent on crab burrowing and responsible for nearly 35% of plant growth. These results highlight ecosystem engineers as ecological linchpins that can activate and maintain key mutualisms between species. Our findings align salt marshes with other important biogenic habitats whose productivity is reliant on mutualisms between the primary foundation species and micro-organisms.
ISSN:1461-023X
1461-0248
DOI:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01082.x