Invasive plant species can enhance coastal ecosystems [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

PUBLIC RELEASE: 17-JUL-2017

Better to have non-native habitat than none at all

DUKE UNIVERSITY




CAPTION
A new study finds invasive plant species, such as nonnative seaweed, can provide vital benefits including storm protection and food production in coastal ecosystems where native habitats have declined.
CREDIT
Aaron Ramus, Duke University


DURHAM, N.C. - Invasive plant species can be a source of valuable ecosystem functions where native coastal habitats such as salt marshes and oyster reefs have severely declined, a new study by scientists at Duke University and the University of North Carolina-Wilmington finds.

"With the progressive decline of coastal habitats worldwide, our findings suggest it's better to have a non-native habitat than no habitat at all," said Aaron Ramus, a PhD student at UNC Wilmington and former Bookhout Research Scholar at the Duke University Marine Laboratory, who led the research.

"There's a good chance that many invaders don't have the negative effects that we often think they do," Ramus said.

On otherwise barren mudflats, habitat-forming invasive species such as nonnative seaweed can offset the loss of foundation species and provide vital ecosystem services, such as storm protection and food production, on which nearly half the human population depends.

More:
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-07/du-ips071317.php