Invasive Grass Alters Litter Decomposition by Influencing Macrodetritivores

Mayer, Paul M.; Tunnell, Susan J.; Engle, David M.; Jorgensen, Eric E.; Nunn, Patrick D.

doi:10.1007/s10021-004-0018-x

Cited by 25 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Decreases in abundances of invertebrate guilds have often been demonstrated, including total phytophagous invertebrates (Gerber et al 2008), all phytophagous guilds (Ernst and Cappuccino 2005), and ectophages (with concurrent increases in endophage abundance) (Gratton and Denno 2005). Others have identified responses of various phytophagous taxa to plant invasion, e.g., abundance decreases or increases in Hemiptera (Chey et al 1998;Gremmen et al 1998;Pellens and Garay 1999;Lambrinos 2000;Tsukamoto and Sabang 2005), Lepidoptera (Pellens and Garay 1999;Valtonen et al 2006;de Groot et al 2007), Orthoptera (Bock et al 1986;Samways and Moore 1991;Chey et al 1998;Mayer et al 2005), phytophagous beetles (Wardle et al 1995;Harris et al 2004;Tsukamoto and Sabang 2005;Topp et al 2008), seed-feeding ants (French and Major 2001), phytophagous gastropods (Kappes et al 2007), and phytophagous nematodes (Yeates and Williams 2001). De Groot et al (2007) examined multiple trophic level impacts of Solidago canadensis L. invasion into a semi-natural grassland and concluded that butterflies were more susceptible than predaceous carabid beetles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Other works on food specialists support the prediction (Valtonen et al 2006;de Groot et al 2007). Responses of food generalists to plant invasion are varied, and in some cases, facilitation of natives has been demonstrated (Bock et al 1986;Samways and Moore 1991;Mayer et al 2005;Parker and Hay 2005;de Groot et al 2007). Generally, food specialist herbivores are more vulnerable to plant invasion than food generalists.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Impacts of weeping lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) invasion on native grasshoppers: responses of habitat generalist and specialist species

et al. 2009

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We investigated invasion impacts of a grass species (Eragrostis curvula) on native grasshoppers by periodic censuses of these insects on gravelly floodplains of the Kinu River, Japan. Our hypothesis was that there are greater impacts on natives when they are habitat specialists, as opposed to habitat generalists. The study area comprised two main habitat types: gravelly areas and riparian grasslands. Among 12 grasshopper species identified, five were more abundant in one of the habitat types and all of them were significantly negatively affected by coverage of weeping lovegrass, whereas seven occurred at the both habitat types simultaneously and a significantly smaller portion of species (two of the seven) was negatively affected by the alien plants.The results suggest that habitat specificity is related to the grasshopper species' sensitivity to the plant, indicating that habitat specialist herbivores living on open gravelly floodplains are likely highly vulnerable to this plant invasion.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Impacts of weeping lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) invasion on native grasshoppers: responses of habitat generalist and specialist species

et al. 2009

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“…Furthermore, separation and analysis of these effects may be complex because trophic and non-trophic processes can work simultaneously with interactions (Ritchie 2000;Arditi et al 2005). However, separating these processes is important for understanding the incongruous responses of food generalist herbivores to alien plants (Bock et al 1986;Samways and Moore 1991;French and Major 2001;Mayer et al 2005;Rodriguez 2006;de Groot et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Invasion of weeping lovegrass reduces native food and habitat resource of Eusphingonotus japonicus (Saussure)

et al. 2010

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To examine the relative importance and interactions of trophic and non-trophic effects of plant invasions on herbivores, we investigated how the invasion of weeping lovegrass Eragrostis curvula impacted Eusphingonotus japonicus, a food generalist grasshopper endemic to gravelly floodplains with sparse vegetation in Japan. Field observations and laboratory experiments showed that the grasshopper fed mainly on herbs endemic to the gravelly floodplains, which were negatively impacted by the alien grass. The alien grass was not consumed as food. Field censuses also showed that the abundance of the grasshopper was positively correlated with the coverage of endemic herbs in a plot where weeping lovegrass was not dominant. Dominance of the grass (i.e., habitat modification for E. japonicus) negatively impacted the grasshopper and weakened the positive relationship between the grasshopper and endemic herbs. These results suggest that an understanding of the relationship between non-trophic and trophic effects is essential to predict the impacts of plant invasions on herbivores.

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“…Even invasions with low invasive cover can alter microbial communities and thus ecosystem processes such as decomposition (Mayer et al, 2005). For example, Ailanthus altissima can affect ecosystem properties and processes even at low densities by increasing nutrient cycling rates, increasing local nutrient pools, and changing the community species composition to favor species that thrive in high-nutrient environments (Gomez-Aparicio and Canham, 2008).…”

Section: Invasive Species and Ecosystem Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Role of Invasive Species in Successional Plant Communities Using Hyperspectral Remote Sensing

Aneece¹

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I AbstractBiodiversity has been correlated with ecosystem stability and function. Invasive species can decrease biodiversity and cause ecological and economical damage. These species are especially prevalent in abandoned agricultural fields, and can disrupt secondary successional dynamics. Although field surveys are used to assess the impacts of these species, remote sensing can be more efficient, especially at large spatial extents. I examined the ability to use ground-level hyperspectral remote sensing to study invasive species and their effects on community properties at the Blandy Experimental Farm (BEF) in north-central Virginia. Their effects on ecosystem properties could not be assessed using ground-level remote sensing in this system; thus, I used leaf and soil measurements to assess their effects on secondary succession.I found that remote sensing can be used to differentiate among plant communities.The most influential species to community discriminability are considered invasive, suggesting that these species can strongly influence species compositions and other community properties. The most influential wavelengths for discrimination were distributed throughout the spectral profile and corresponded with plant physiological and structural elements.Thus, spectral differences across species were large enough to be used in aggregate to differentiate plant communities. Additionally, these differences were large enough to differentiate individual species, but discriminability varied by species. The two thistle species that are similar phylogenetically and structurally were readily distinguished amongst each other. However, the shrubby buckthorn was difficult to distinguish from the oriental bittersweet vine despite phylogenetic distance and differences in structure. This was likely due to physical overlap in the field and thus the difficulty in obtaining pure signatures for discrimination. Discriminability also differed by the spectral region examined. Buckthorn and oriental bittersweet were least discriminable in the 550-599 nm and 650-699 nm regions, due 2 to greater intraspecific variability of spectral data in these regions.Additionally, remote sensing can be used to estimate higher order community properties like species diversity, and thus assess the effects of invasive species on plant diversity.However, correlations between species diversity and spectral diversity varied by the spectral transformation technique used and the spectral region examined. There was a strong positive correlation between the two in the visible region when band depth was used and in the near-infrared region when first derivatives were used. There were no strong correlations in the red edge, due to high intraspecific variability in chlorophyll content.Lastly, I assessed the effects of these exotic invasive species on ecosystem properties, specifically secondary succession, using leaf and soil data. Differences in soil characteristics were larger across fields and stages than across species. However, there were species-level ...

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Invasive Grass Alters Litter Decomposition by Influencing Macrodetritivores

Cited by 25 publications

References 43 publications

Impacts of weeping lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) invasion on native grasshoppers: responses of habitat generalist and specialist species

Impacts of weeping lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) invasion on native grasshoppers: responses of habitat generalist and specialist species

Invasion of weeping lovegrass reduces native food and habitat resource of Eusphingonotus japonicus (Saussure)

Assessing the Role of Invasive Species in Successional Plant Communities Using Hyperspectral Remote Sensing

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