Invasive plant species can be a source of valuable ecosystem functions where native coastal habitats such as salt marshes and oyster reefs have severely declined, a new study by scientists at Duke University and the University of North Carolina-Wilmington finds.
On otherwise barren mudflats, habitat-forming invasive species such as nonnative seaweed can offset the loss of foundation species and provide vital ecosystem services, such as storm protection and food production, on which nearly half the human population depends.