WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS
The study analyzed alpha- and beta-diversity across 12 groups of microbes, plants and animals spanning marsh and river habitats. Salinity was a major environmental axis across land and water; flooding frequency mattered in marshes and suspended particulate matter in the river. Community composition changed strongly along the estuarine gradient across most taxa, while alpha-diversity responses were more taxon-specific.
WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ
Ecotones are organized by gradients, not by a single habitat label. As freshwater inflow, sea level or salinity regimes shift, managers should expect community turnover to move unevenly across taxa and across the land–water boundary.
CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY
This is one large European estuary and an observational snapshot of multiple taxa. Salinity is an organizing axis, not the only driver, and taxonomic groups differed in which environmental variables best explained their diversity.
SOURCE
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science — primary study
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