Facilitation between ecosystem engineers, salt marsh grass and mussels, produces pattern formation on salt marsh shorelines

Abstract

Interspecific facilitation between ecosystem engineers, such as salt marsh grass and mussel aggregations, is a key process that structures communities and enhances biodiversity. Scale-dependent pattern formation via self-organization is ubiquitous in terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems. Despite their prevalence and ecological importance, these two phenomena have rarely been linked. We provide empirical evidence that the facilitative interaction in salt marshes between smooth cordgrass Spartina alterniflora and the ribbed mussel Geukensia demissa produces distinct spatial patterns along marsh shorelines. These findings advance our understanding of linkages between facilitation and pattern formation in nature, and are particularly relevant to conservation and restoration of salt marshes threatened by climate change and sea-level rise.