Collaborative Research: Climate variability causes catastrophic loss of a foundation species; secondary succession pathways determine the consequences

Variability in weather can have strong effects on ecological communities, especially near geographic range limits. Mangroves (salt tolerant trees) and salt marsh plants (mostly grasses) both live on the coast, but mangroves cannot tolerate hard freezes and so are more common in the tropics. A hard freeze will kill most mangroves, leaving behind…