title: Home advantage? Decomposition across the freshwater-estuarine transition zone varies with litter origin and local salinity.
abstract: Expected increases in the frequency and intensity of storm surges and river flooding may greatly affect the relative salinity of estuarine environments over the coming decades. In this experiment we used detritus from three contrasting environments (marine Fucus vesiculosus; estuarine Spartina anglica; terrestrial Quercus robur) to test the prediction that the decomposition of the different types of litter would be highest in the environment with which they are associated. Patterns of decomposition broadly fitted our prediction: Quercus detritus decomposed more rapidly in freshwater compared with saline conditions while Fucus showed the opposite trend; Spartina showed an intermediate response. Variation in macro-invertebrate assemblages was detected along the salinity gradient but with different patterns between estuaries, suggesting that breakdown rates may be linked in part to local invertebrate assemblages. Nonetheless, our results suggest that perturbation of salinity gradients through climate change could affect the process of litter decomposition and thus alter nutrient cycling in estuarine transition zones. Understanding the vulnerability of estuaries to changes in local abiotic conditions is important given the need to better integrate coastal proceses into a wider management framework at a time when coastlines are increasingly threatened by human activities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 22, 90123 Palermo, Italy. Electronic address: giuliofranz@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Franzitta
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, Plymouth University, PL4 8AA Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Mick E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hanley
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Via S.Alberto 163, 48123 Ravenna, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Airoldi
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, Plymouth University, PL4 8AA Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Baggini
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, Plymouth University, PL4 8AA Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: David T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Bilton
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, Plymouth University, PL4 8AA Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Simon D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Rundle
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, Plymouth University, PL4 8AA Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Richard C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D057231:Climate Change; D017753:Ecosystem; D004739:England; D063366:Estuaries; D044645:Fucus / Q000502:physiology*; D007448:Invertebrates / Q000502:physiology; D006109:Poaceae / Q000502:physiology*; D029963:Quercus / Q000502:physiology*; D054712:Salinity
keywords: Decomposition; Flooding; Global change; Invertebrate assemblage; Litter bags