All change at the water’s edge: invasion by non-native riparian plants negatively impacts terrestrial invertebrates

Seeney, Alex; Eastwood, Sophie V.; Pattison, Zarah; Willby, Nigel; Bull, Colin D.

doi:10.1007/s10530-019-01947-5

Cited by 17 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…The pronounced differences in the leaf morphological and biochemical traits between the vines and their hosts therefore suggest significant differences in the quality of plant litter that will enter the river, which may affect riparian and aquatic food webs, as shown by many studies [48][49][50]. In addition, vigorous growth of the vines influences the uptake of nutrients from the riparian zones.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive Alien Vines Affect Leaf Traits of Riparian Woody Vegetation

Grašič

Piberčnik

Zelnik

et al. 2019

Water

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The vines Echinocystis lobata and Parthenocissus quinquefolia are spreading over the natural vegetation in riparian zones, which may significantly affect riparian vegetation properties and the quality of litter for aquatic organisms. We examined leaf morphological, biochemical and optical traits of these invasive alien species, each paired with its host, the willows Salix caprea and S. fragilis, respectively. The vines altered the host radiation environment and the amount of photosynthetic pigments. Both vines had significantly higher specific leaf area and lower leaf tissue density compared to the willows, even though the leaves of P. quinquefolia were significantly thicker. Leaf optical properties varied significantly between vines and willows in some spectral regions. Compared to the willows, the vines reflected less light as UV, and more as green, and transmitted more light as green, yellow and red. The overgrowth of the willows with vines affected the reflectance of the willow leaves. Redundancy analysis of the relationships between leaf biochemical traits and reflectance spectra showed that chlorophyll a, anthocyanins, and UVB- and UVA-absorbing substances explained 45% of the reflectance spectra variability, while analysis with morphological traits revealed that specific leaf area, leaf thickness and upper cuticle thickness explained 43%. For leaf transmittance, UVB- and UVA-absorbing substances, carotenoids and anthocyanins explained 53% of the transmittance spectra variability, while analysis with morphological traits revealed that specific leaf area explained 51%. These data show that invasive alien vines can be discerned from each other and their hosts by their spectral signatures. In addition, the differences in the leaf functional traits between the vines and their hosts indicate significant differences in the quality of the plant litter entering the river.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive Alien Vines Affect Leaf Traits of Riparian Woody Vegetation

Grašič

Piberčnik

Zelnik

et al. 2019

Water

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“…Bare ground is generally a less preferred overwintering habitat for spiders (Mestre et al 2018) and possibly leads to a reduced abundance of certain spiders in dense stands of Himalayan balsam. In riparian habitats, this invader also negatively influences epigeic arthropod diversity and abundance in general, with heavily invaded regions differing from less-invaded sites (Seeney et al 2019). Another reason for the reduced spider abundance, despite increased numbers of prey items, may be trophobiosis between ants and aphids on Himalayan balsam, which was incidentally observed in several plots during the study (FK and DAB pers.…”

Section: Himalayan Balsammentioning

confidence: 91%

Differing impacts of two major plant invaders on urban plant-dwelling spiders (Araneae) during flowering season

et al. 2021

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Plant invasions can have major impacts on ecosystems and influence global species diversity. In Central Europe, Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) and American goldenrods (Solidago canadensis and S. gigantea) are important invaders often establishing dense and homogeneous stands, especially in urban and other disturbed habitats. We investigated their impacts on plant-dwelling spiders (abundance, family structure, guild structure) and potential spider prey items during flowering season within an urbanized landscape using a paired design comparing invaded and native reference vegetation plots. In general, flowering American goldenrods and Himalayan balsam had no significant impacts on the spider family composition. Invasion of American goldenrods further had no effect on total spider abundance and potential prey item abundance. In contrast, goldenrods showed a significantly increased crab spider (Thomisidae) abundance while being less inhabited by web builders. Himalayan balsam negatively influenced free hunters and running crab spider (Philodromidae) abundance, while we found no effects on other groups and total spider abundance. For Himalayan balsam, potential prey item abundance was higher than in native vegetation stands. Notwithstanding that our results only represent a snapshot of the system, they suggest that large-scale removal of urban goldenrod stands during flowering season might negatively influence local spider abundance, especially of crab spiders. Management efforts should therefore be accompanied by compensation measures to avoid disruptive effects on local plant-dwelling spider communities.

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“…Many non‐native species will not establish successfully and cannot survive in their new habitat, or establish but have negligible effect on the wider ecosystem, while only a few establish and spread as invasive species (Colautti & MacIsaac, 2004). As a result, many invasion studies focus on effects once the invader is established (Seeney, Eastwood, Pattison, Willby, & Bull, 2019), employ a space‐for‐time substitution (Mathers, Rice, & Wood, 2018) or undertake isolated experimental studies (Zenni et al., 2019). Long‐term biological invasion studies remain rare (but see Mathers, Chadd, Dunbar, et al, 2016; Mathers, Chadd, Extence, Rice, & Wood, 2016; Mathers, White, Fornaroli, & Chadd, 2020; Ruokonen, Ercoli, & Hämäläinen, 2016), but are vital to enable accurate and detailed understanding of how successful invaders affect and potentially alter community structure and ecosystem functioning under various environmental conditions (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive crayfish alter the long‐term functional biodiversity of lotic macroinvertebrate communities

et al. 2020

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Invasive species represent one of the primary threats to global biodiversity. Despite acknowledged implications for taxonomic properties of ecological communities following invasion, functional measures remain poorly understood. We examined the long‐term implications of invasion by a crayfish species, Pacifastacus leniusculus, on functional alpha and beta diversity properties of lotic macroinvertebrate communities in three English regions. The dataset comprised 477 samples collected predominantly between 1990 and 2013. Unlike many invasion studies, we employed before and after invasion comparisons, in association with control rivers not invaded by crayfish. Functional richness and divergence metrics displayed the strongest responses to invasion, highlighting that P. leniusculus may alter the range of functional niches and extreme trait values (likely reflecting resistance and resilience mechanisms) displayed by macroinvertebrate communities. Interestingly, in one region, biodiversity gains seen in control rivers were not mirrored in invaded rivers, potentially suggesting that invasion inhibited ecological improvements. Invasion by signal crayfish resulted in functional compositional changes in two of the three English regions studied, with these rivers yielding greater ecological differences between pre‐ and post‐invasion periods relative to control rivers. This change was primarily driven by higher nestedness values in invaded rivers, with communities containing functional subsets relative to control rivers. The third region demonstrated no functional compositional changes or alterations in functional beta diversity associated with invasion. Our findings indicated that in most instances, the functional properties of macroinvertebrate communities responded to crayfish invasion and may therefore represent a complementary means to monitor the ecological condition of lotic ecosystems. Given their spatial transferability, functional traits could provide a platform to guide regional management practices in the face of biological invasions. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

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All change at the water’s edge: invasion by non-native riparian plants negatively impacts terrestrial invertebrates

Cited by 17 publications

References 77 publications

Invasive Alien Vines Affect Leaf Traits of Riparian Woody Vegetation

Invasive Alien Vines Affect Leaf Traits of Riparian Woody Vegetation

Differing impacts of two major plant invaders on urban plant-dwelling spiders (Araneae) during flowering season

Invasive crayfish alter the long‐term functional biodiversity of lotic macroinvertebrate communities

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