Our results provide first‐time evidence of large‐scale replacement of native seagrasses by rapidly colonizing Halophila stipulacea in the Caribbean and add a mechanistic explanation for this invasiveness. We conclude that green turtle leaf grazing may modify the rate and spatial extent of this invasive species' expansion, due to grazing preferences, and increased space for settlement. This work shows how large herbivores play an important but unrecognized role in species coexistence and plant invasions of aquatic ecosystems
Date made available | 2018 |
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Publisher | Wageningen University & Research |
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Temporal coverage | 2011 - 2017 |
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Date of data production | 2011 - 2017 |
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Geographical coverage | Lac Bay, Bonaire (Caribbean Netherlands) |
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- Ecology
- alien invasive species
- Chelonia mydas
- foundation spiecies
- Halophila stipulacea
- landscape modifaction
- plat-herbivore interactions
- Thalassia testudinum
- green turtle
- seagrass