India, Oct. 9 -- Have you ever been on a long road trip, running on empty, only to find the rest stop you were counting on closed? Some birds that migrate along China's coast face something like that. According to a 2021 study in the Journal of Environmental Management by Micha Jackson and colleagues, smooth cordgrass was introduced to China in 1979 to turn tidal flats into dry land. It has spread rapidly since then. The study says the grass reduces the feeding and resting space that shorebirds depend on.

Smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) is a marsh plant that is native to the Atlantic coast of North America. Jackson says the species has been introduced into China deliberately to promote the development of tidal flats into dry lan...