Fig. 2: Hog activity dismantles cordgrass-ribbed mussel positive interactions. | Nature Communications

Fig. 2: Hog activity dismantles cordgrass-ribbed mussel positive interactions.

From: A large invasive consumer reduces coastal ecosystem resilience by disabling positive species interactions

Fig. 2

Effect of experimental hog exclusion and mussel addition on a mean cordgrass biomass, b mean ribbed mussel density, and c mean bioturbating crab burrow density at the end of the 3-year experiment. The interaction between hogs and mussels significantly affected all response variables. When hogs were allowed into plots, all positive effects of mussels on cordgrass (a) and crab (c) burrow densities were disabled. Triangles represent mussel control plots (no mussels added) and circles represent mussel addition plots (four mounds of 20 mussels added to each plot) (n = 40 independent plots across two sites), and error bars represent standard error.

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