Crab bioturbation and herbivory reduce pre- and post-germination success of Sarcocornia perennis in bare patches of SW Atlantic salt marshes.

The article presents a study which aims to evaluate whether herbivory and bioturbation by burrowing crab Neohelice granulata affects the number of seedlings of the pioneer plant Sarcocornia perennis in Southwest Atlantic salt marshes. It mentions that researchers conducted an expriments that uses exclosures that are deployed at various times which revealed that 62% of post-germination exclosures had fewer seedlings that post-dispersal although they are eight times more accessible to crabs. It affirms that the research also shows the important role of biotic factors in analyzing the success of marsh plants.