Food web heterogeneity and succession in created saltmarshes

Ecological restoration must achieve functional as well as structural recovery. Functional metrics for re-establishment of trophic interactions can be used to complement traditional monitoring of structural attributes. In addition, topographic effects on food web structure provide added information within a restoration context; often, created sites may require spatial heterogeneity to effectively match structure and function of natural habitats. We addressed both of these issues in our study of successional development of benthic food web structure, with focus on bottom-up-driven changes in macroinvertebrate consumer assemblages in the saltmarshes of the Venice Lagoon, Italy. We combined quantified estimates of the changing community composition with stable isotope data (13C:12C and 15N:14N) to compare the general trophic structure between created (2–14 years) marshes and reference sites and along topographic elevation gradients within saltmarshes. Macrofaunal invertebrate consumers exhi...