3-way salt marsh symbiosis Dr. Christine Angelini University of Florida

Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences University of Florida Gainesville Florida 32611 USA

christine.angelini@essie.ufl.edu http://www.angeliniecologylab.com/the-lab.html https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6669-5269 Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Project

Dept. of Marine Sciences University of Georgia Athens Georgia 30602-3636 USA

gcelter@uga.edu https://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/ Dr. Christine Angelini University of Florida

Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences University of Florida Gainesville Florida 32611 USA

christine.angelini@essie.ufl.edu http://www.angeliniecologylab.com/the-lab.html https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6669-5269 Principal investigator Dr. Brian R. Silliman Duke University

135 Duke Marine Lab Rd. Duke University Marine Lab Beaufort North Carolina 28516-9721 USA

brian.silliman@duke.edu https://nicholas.duke.edu/people/faculty/silliman https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6360-650X Co-investigator 2026

The goal of this project is to investigate the nature and strength of interactions between Spartina, ribbed mussels and fiddler crabs using a 3-factor manipulative field experiment. In particular, we are interested in how the survival and growth of each species may vary with the presence of the other two species as they commonly co-occur in the marsh and also whether this 3-way symbiosis may be harnessed in restoration of impacted marsh die off sites

marsh biomass chlorophyll land form nutrients oxygen salinity LTER NSF GCE crustaceans epifauna Geukensia Littoraria plants Spartina Uca disturbance patterns invertebrate ecology plant ecology pore-water chemistry primary production Overall geographic extent of the research project -81.307978 -81.176185 31.536369 31.380150 2013-04-15 2013-12-30

NSF pre-doctoral fellowshipe

estuary marsh complex Sapelo Island - Sapelo Island on the Southeast Georgia Coast -81.307978 -81.176185 31.536369 31.380150 Map (Google Earth KML/KMZ or map image) https://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/private/registration/files/Maps/GCE-43-2013_Maps_Experiment_Site.Angelini.tiff

New die off areas at Oakdale creek marsh: 31°24'26.22"N, 81°17'24.35"W

64 PVC flags; 64- 3cm diameter x 3cm tall 10% carbaryl dental plaster blocks; 32-20-cm2 Spartina transplants; 32 mussel transplants (12 mussels each)

Yes, I will collect: 32, 20-cm2 Spartina transplants from adjacent healthy vegetation habitat 384 ribbed mussels (arranged in 32 mounds of 12 mussels each)

Project description or documentation https://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/private/registration/files/Documents/GCE-43-2013_Documents_Whalen,_Duffy,_Grace_Appendix_A_FINAL.pdf Project description or documentation https://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/private/registration/files/Documents/GCE-43-2013_Documents_Whalen.Duffy.13.Ecology.pdf