Grazing Scar Characteristics Impact Degree of Fungal Facilitation in Spartina alterniflora Leaves in a South American Salt Marsh

ABSTRACT

Grazing scars of burrowing crabs and Hemiptera insects were simulated on leaves of the salt marsh grass Spartina alterniflora. Simulations of crab feeding generated two-fold higher fungal (ergosterol) content in leaves in comparison to that generated by insect scar simulations (1.26 ±0.55 and 0.57 ±0.25 µg per cm², respectively). This study provided evidence that herbivory could facilitate microbial infection by fungi in dominant South American salt marsh plants and indicated that specific feeding mechanisms used by different herbivores might differentially impact the strength of this interaction. .