Science activity

The objective of this research on tidal marsh food webs is to examine whether and how restoration (via breaching dikes) may translate into recovery of diverse energy pathways and trophic interactions between basal resources, primary consumers, and predators. By comparing food webs at several tidal marshes, I will answer the following questions: (1) How does food web structure vary between reference and restored tidal marshes over time (seasons and years) and across a salinity gradient? (2)What mechanisms explain variation in food web structure within and between reference and restored tidal marshes–are they related to energy flows (food quantity, quality, transfer efficiency), community composition, or both? (3) What role do non-native species play in potentially shifting food web structure–e.g., changing community membership, sequestering energy from natives? This project builds on a large breadth of research that has used stable isotopes to characterize tidal marsh food webs in the Bay-Delta and other regions.