@misc{silliman_hensel_gibert_daleo_smith_wieczynski_angelini_paxton_adler_zhang_et al._2024, title={Harnessing ecological theory to enhance ecosystem restoration}, volume={34}, ISSN={["1879-0445"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.043}, abstractNote={Ecosystem restoration can increase the health and resilience of nature and humanity. As a result, the international community is championing habitat restoration as a primary solution to address the dual climate and biodiversity crises. Yet most ecosystem restoration efforts to date have underperformed, failed, or been burdened by high costs that prevent upscaling. To become a primary, scalable conservation strategy, restoration efficiency and success must increase dramatically. Here, we outline how integrating ten foundational ecological theories that have not previously received much attention - from hierarchical facilitation to macroecology - into ecosystem restoration planning and management can markedly enhance restoration success. We propose a simple, systematic approach to determining which theories best align with restoration goals and are most likely to bolster their success. Armed with a century of advances in ecological theory, restoration practitioners will be better positioned to more cost-efficiently and effectively rebuild the world's ecosystems and support the resilience of our natural resources.}, number={9}, journal={CURRENT BIOLOGY}, author={Silliman, Brian R. and Hensel, Marc J. S. and Gibert, Jean P. and Daleo, Pedro and Smith, Carter S. and Wieczynski, Daniel J. and Angelini, Christine and Paxton, Avery B. and Adler, Alyssa M. and Zhang, Y. Stacy and et al.}, year={2024}, month={May}, pages={R418–R434} } @article{smith_zhang_hensel_pennings_silliman_2024, title={Long-term data reveal that grazer density mediates climatic stress in salt marshes}, ISSN={["1939-9170"]}, DOI={10.1002/ecy.4323}, abstractNote={Understanding how climate and local stressors interact is paramount for predicting future ecosystem structure. The effects of multiple stressors are often examined in small-scale and short-term field experiments, limiting understanding of the spatial and temporal generality of the findings. Using a 22-year observational dataset of plant and grazer abundance in a southeastern US salt marsh, we analyzed how changes in drought and grazer density combined to affect plant biomass. We found: (1) increased drought severity and higher snail density both correlated with lower plant biomass; (2) drought and snail effects interacted additively; and, (3) snail effects had a threshold, with additive top-down effects only occurring when snails were present at high densities. These results suggest that the emergence of multiple stressor effects can be density dependent, and they validate short-term experimental evidence that consumers can augment environmental stress. These findings have important implications for predicting future ecosystem structure and managing natural ecosystems.}, journal={ECOLOGY}, author={Smith, Carter S. and Zhang, Y. Stacy and Hensel, Marc J. S. and Pennings, Steven C. and Silliman, Brian R.}, year={2024}, month={May} } @article{brenner_valdez_zhang_shaver_hughes_silliman_morton_2024, title={Sediment carbon storage differs in native and non-native Caribbean seagrass beds}, volume={194}, ISSN={["1879-0291"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106307}, abstractNote={Non-native species are expanding globally and can alter ecosystem functions, including food web dynamics, community structure and carbon storage. Seagrass are foundation species that contribute a variety of ecosystem services in near-shore coastal ecosystems, including a significant sink of carbon. In the Caribbean, the rapidly expanding non-native Halophila stipulacea has unknown impacts on carbon storage. To investigate the impacts on carbon storage, we quantified organic carbon (Corg) content in sediment and seagrass tissues from monotypic H. stipulacea beds, mixed native seagrass beds dominated by Thalassia testudinum and Syringodium filiforme, and unvegetated substrate in St. John, USVI. We found native seagrass-vegetated sediment contained 1.3 times more Corg than sediment covered by H. stipulacea, and 1.6 times more Corg than unvegetated areas on average. Whereas, H. stipulacea-dominated substrate stored 1.2 times more Corg than unvegetated substrate. Likewise, native species contained 2.2 times more aboveground biomass and 6.0 times more belowground biomass than H. stipulacea. Since seagrasses are critical sources of carbon sequestration, our results suggest that invading H. stipulacea is associated with lower carbon stocks which has potential implications for conservation activities and climate change mitigation.}, journal={MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH}, author={Brenner, Catherine L. and Valdez, Stephanie R. and Zhang, Y. Stacy and Shaver, Elizabeth C. and Hughes, Brent B. and Silliman, Brian R. and Morton, Joseph P.}, year={2024}, month={Feb} } @article{paxton_riley_steenrod_smith_zhang_gittman_silliman_buckel_viehman_puckett_et al._2023, title={What evidence exists on the performance of nature-based solutions interventions for coastal protection in biogenic, shallow ecosystems? A systematic map protocol}, volume={12}, ISSN={["2047-2382"]}, DOI={10.1186/s13750-023-00303-4}, abstractNote={Abstract}, number={1}, journal={ENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCE}, author={Paxton, Avery B. and Riley, Trevor N. and Steenrod, Camille L. and Smith, Carter S. and Zhang, Y. Stacy and Gittman, Rachel K. and Silliman, Brian R. and Buckel, Christine A. and Viehman, T. Shay and Puckett, Brandon J. and et al.}, year={2023}, month={May} }