Understanding the effect of habitat edges on species interactions (e.g. predation) is critical for determining landscape-scale patterns in productivity and the structuring of communities in an ever-changing environment. Both abiotic cycles and habitat structure can mediate faunal movements across habitat edges and determine predators’ ability to access prey across both space and time. To quantify the effects of cyclical abiotic factors and habitat structure on consumer-resource dynamics across habitat boundaries at the land-sea interface, four complementary studies were conducted. Marsh periwinkles Littoraria irrorata were tethered within salt marshes of varying tidal amplitude, at 3 distances from the marsh edge, and assessed for predation after 24 h. Nekton catch rate was assessed with fyke net sampling as a proxy for predator utilization of the marsh platform. Consumption rates were positively correlated with tidal amplitude and proximity to the seaward marsh edge, and there was also a slight positive relationship between tidal amplitude and nekton access to the marsh. Tidal amplitude was positively correlated with Spartina alterniflora shoot density and negatively correlated with shoot height. Therefore, to separate the effects of habitat structure from tidal forcing, independent manipulations of shoot density and shoot height were conducted. We found that the signal of local habitat structure on consumption rates appears to be secondary to the effects of abiotic cycles on consumption. Disentangling the interactions between abiotic cycles and biotic structure of ecosystems across ecological boundaries is key to understanding both the strengths of species interactions and the mediation of cross-boundary energy flow.

了解生境边缘对物种相互作用（例如，捕食）的影响对于确定不断变化的环境中生产力和社区结构的景观尺度格局至关重要。非生物周期和栖息地结构都可以介导动物在栖息地边缘的运动，并确定掠食者跨时空接触猎物的能力。为了量化周期性非生物因子和栖息地结构对陆地-海洋界面跨栖息地边界的消费者资源动态的影响，进行了四项补充研究。沼泽长春花立陶宛在距离潮汐边缘3处不同潮汐幅度的盐沼中拴住它们，并在24小时后评估其捕食情况。用Fyke净抽样评估Nekton捕获率，以替代捕食者利用沼泽平台。消费率与潮汐振幅和靠近沿海沼泽边缘的程度呈正相关，潮汐振幅与进入沼泽的尼克顿之间也存在轻微的正相关关系。潮汐振幅与互花米草正相关枝条密度与枝条高度负相关。因此，为了将栖息地结构的影响与潮汐强迫分开，进行了枝条密度和枝条高度的独立操纵。我们发现，当地生境结构对食用率的信号似乎次于非生物循环对食用的影响。弄清跨生态边界的非生物循环与生态系统生物结构之间的相互作用，对于理解物种相互作用的强度和跨界能量流的调节至关重要。