ORCID Profile
0000-0001-5839-2981
Current Organisation
Wageningen University
Does something not look right? The information on this page has been harvested from data sources that may not be up to date. We continue to work with information providers to improve coverage and quality. To report an issue, use the Feedback Form.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-07-2020
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-020-17438-4
Abstract: Restoration is becoming a vital tool to counteract coastal ecosystem degradation. Modifying transplant designs of habitat-forming organisms from dispersed to clumped can lify coastal restoration yields as it generates self-facilitation from emergent traits, i.e. traits not expressed by in iduals or small clones, but that emerge in clumped in iduals or large clones. Here, we advance restoration science by mimicking key emergent traits that locally suppress physical stress using biodegradable establishment structures. Experiments across (sub)tropical and temperate seagrass and salt marsh systems demonstrate greatly enhanced yields when in iduals are transplanted within structures mimicking emergent traits that suppress waves or sediment mobility. Specifically, belowground mimics of dense root mats most facilitate seagrasses via sediment stabilization, while mimics of aboveground plant structures most facilitate marsh grasses by reducing stem movement. Mimicking key emergent traits may allow upscaling of restoration in many ecosystems that depend on self-facilitation for persistence, by constraining biological material requirements and implementation costs.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2015
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-09-2017
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-12-2022
DOI: 10.1002/ECY.3902
Abstract: Understanding how megaherbivores incorporate habitat features into their foraging behavior is key toward understanding how herbivores shape the surrounding landscape. While the role of habitat structure has been studied within the context of predator–prey dynamics and grazing behavior in terrestrial systems, there is a limited understanding of how structure influences megaherbivore grazing in marine ecosystems. To investigate the response of megaherbivores (green turtles) to habitat features, we experimentally introduced structure at two spatial scales in a shallow seagrass meadow in The Bahamas. Turtle density increased 50‐fold (to 311 turtles ha −1 ) in response to the structures, and turtles were mainly grazing and resting (low vigilance behavior). This resulted in a grazing patch exceeding the size of the experimental setup (242 m 2 ), with reduced seagrass shoot density and aboveground biomass. After structure removal, turtle density decreased and vigilance increased (more browsing and shorter surfacing times), while seagrass within the patch partly recovered. Even at a small scale (9 m 2 ), artificial structures altered turtle grazing behavior, resulting in grazing patches in 60% of the plots. Our results demonstrate that marine megaherbivores select habitat features as foraging sites, likely to be a predator refuge, resulting in heterogeneity in seagrass bed structure at the landscape scale.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-08-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.MARPOLBUL.2017.09.006
Abstract: Seagrass ecosystems are inherently dynamic, responding to environmental change across a range of scales. Habitat requirements of seagrass are well defined, but less is known about their ability to resist disturbance. Specific means of recovery after loss are particularly difficult to quantify. Here we assess the resistance and recovery capacity of 12 seagrass genera. We document four classic trajectories of degradation and recovery for seagrass ecosystems, illustrated with ex les from around the world. Recovery can be rapid once conditions improve, but seagrass absence at landscape scales may persist for many decades, perpetuated by feedbacks and/or lack of seed or plant propagules to initiate recovery. It can be difficult to distinguish between slow recovery, recalcitrant degradation, and the need for a window of opportunity to trigger recovery. We propose a framework synthesizing how the spatial and temporal scales of both disturbance and seagrass response affect ecosystem trajectory and hence resilience.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 21-02-2018
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 31-03-2021
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 19-02-2018
DOI: 10.3354/ESR00877
No related grants have been discovered for Marjolijn J. A. Christianen.