Plains Pricklypear, Weather, and Grazing in the Northern Great Plains

Houston, W. Robert

doi:10.2307/1932537

Cited by 21 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…However, it has been found that some species tolerate (Jiménez-Sierra et al 2007;Ureta and Martorell 2009;Portilla-Alonso and Martorell 2011) or even benefit from moderate intensities of anthropogenic disturbance (Houston 1963;Martorell andPeters 2005, 2009;Ureta and Martorell 2009). In these species, higher population densities and growth rates occur in disturbed areas, apparently as a result of increased recruitment (Martorell and Peters 2009;Portilla-Alonso and Martorell 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, ruderal cacti are only known from semiarid, relatively benign areas (Houston 1963;Martorell and Peters 2009;Ureta and Martorell 2009). Cacti growing in more extreme environments would not be expected to benefit from CAD because less frequent and more unpredictable pulses of rain (Fisher 1994), and increased stress during interpulse periods reduce growth and recruitment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ruderality in extreme‐desert cacti? Population effects of chronic anthropogenic disturbance on Echinocereus lindsayi

2012

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Ruderal species, i.e., those that increase their numbers in the presence of disturbance, are not expected to occur in extreme environments. We test whether Echinocereus lindsayi, a cactus from an extreme desert, follows the ruderal trend observed in similar species from mild deserts, or, as theory suggests, it is a non ruderal. Contrary to expectations, its density and fraction of small individuals in the population increased with disturbance. This seemingly results from increased establishment, as it is nursed by rocks exposed by disturbance. A demographic model for two populations, one nearly pristine and another highly disturbed, showed that at the latter site recruitment was more frequent and likely. At the disturbed site the performance of E. lindsayi individuals was usually poor, except on favorable years. Then, competition release caused by disturbance apparently allowed for a better performance compared to the less disturbed site. Despite that this opportunistic behavior would suffice to maintain the population size stable, the large mortality produced by an insect outbreak in two of the four study years caused the population to diminish. In contrast, the population at the less disturbed site was near equilibrium. If the insect outbreak is associated to disturbance, E. lindsayi at the disturbed site would be already experiencing more disturbance than it tolerates. This agrees with the fact that no populations were found at greater disturbance intensities. While, contrary to our hypothesis, E. lindsayi is ruderal, this extreme desert species appears to tolerate far less disturbance than its counterparts from milder areas.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ruderality in extreme‐desert cacti? Population effects of chronic anthropogenic disturbance on Echinocereus lindsayi

2012

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“…The most obvious alternative hypothesis is that other interactions change as grass cover increases. In fact, Cook (1942) proposed that a steady decline in Opuntia populations near Hays, Kansas, in wet years following a major drought, was caused by increases in insect herbivore Bugbee and Riegel, 1945;Houston, 1963;Myers, 1981) hypothesized that dense grass cover provided more favorable microhabitat for the insect herbivores of Opuntia. One recent experiment provides support for this hypothesis (Burger and Louda, 1994).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One recent experiment provides support for this hypothesis (Burger and Louda, 1994). Although many studies have suggested this phenomenon as a possible controlling factor for Opuntia populations (Dodd, 1940;Dougherty, 1986), few have quantified insect herbivory on study plants in relation to competitive context (but see Houston, 1963;Myers, 1981). None of these studies, however, recorded both insect herbivore feeding and plant response to experimental manipulations of resources~ such a s water and-light.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction of diffuse competition and insect herbivory in limiting brittle prickly pear cactus, Opuntia fragilis (Cactaceae)

Burger

Louda

1995

American J of Botany

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We tested the effects of above‐ and belowground competition and evaluated insect herbivory on the growth of a common cactus (Opuntia fragilis) in Sandhills prairie. Our purpose was to determine the independent and joint contribution of these factors to the variation observed in cactus size and local abundance. We manipulated ambient prairie vegetation and surface water availability in a full factorial design. When Opuntia fragilis was released from competition with surrounding vegetation, it grew significantly larger in the second growing season, both in terms of number and size of new cladodes. Ramets grown within live prairie vegetation averaged no net growth. These ramets were also more frequently fed upon by the larvae of two internally feeding cactus insects. As a result, insect herbivory reinforced the competitive suppression of the cactus by grasses. Water supplementation had no significant effect, either on cactus growth or on insect herbivory. We conclude that the mechanism by which dense prairie vegetation influenced net growth of O. fragilis was both direct, through competition for nonwater resources such as light, and indirect, through its mediation of feeding by specialized insect herbivores. Furthermore, since the direct growth response to treatment did not precede the indirect effect of habitat‐mediated variation in feeding by insects, our results contradict the current expectation that indirect effects require more time to be expressed than do direct effects.

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“…11), and the pygmy prickly pear Opuntia fragilis (Nutt.) (Houston 1963;Cota-Sanchez 2002). All species are well adapted to survive the freezing temperatures prevalent during the long Canadian prairie winters.…”

Section: Prairie Plantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Canada's grasslands as habitat for arthropods

Shorthouse¹

2010

Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands (Volume 1): Ecology and Interactions in Grassland Habitats

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Abstract. The grasslands of Canada's prairies provide a wide range of habitats that support innumerable mites, spiders, and insects. This chapter reviews and illustrates the most important of these habitats, starting with an overview of the impact that glaciation has had on the topography of our existing prairie grasslands and of abiotic attributes such as soils and fire. The biology of grasses, which are critical for the survival of all animals found here, are examined with an emphasis on the attributes that make grasses so important in grassland ecosystems. The role that bison once played in the sustainability of grassland biodiversity is also discussed. The chapter concludes with a description of aquatic systems, including rivers, riparian zones, irrigation reservoirs, ponds, sloughs, lakes, and saline lakes and their attributes as they relate to the biodiversity of arthropods.Résumé. Les prairies canadiennes renferment une vaste gamme d'habitats propices à d'innombrables espèces d'acariens, d'arachnides et d'insectes. Ce chapitre examine et décrit les plus importants de ces habitats. Il propose d'abord un aperçu de l'impact des périodes de glaciation sur la topographie des prairies actuelles, et de certaines caractéristiques abiotiques de cette région-par exemple, les incendies et les sols. Nous examinons la biologie des graminées qui sont essentielles à la survie de tous les animaux présents dans ce milieu, en insistant sur les caractéristiques qui rendent ces espèces végétales si importantes dans les écosystèmes des prairies. Nous nous penchons également sur le rôle que les bisons ont joué autrefois dans le maintien de la biodiversité des prairies. Nous concluons avec une description des systèmes aquatiques-y compris les cours d'eau, les zones riveraines, les réservoirs d'irrigation, les étangs, les marécages, les lacs, les lacs salés et leurs caractéristiques-et de leur incidence sur la biodiversité des arthropodes.

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Plains Pricklypear, Weather, and Grazing in the Northern Great Plains

Cited by 21 publications

References 2 publications

Ruderality in extreme‐desert cacti? Population effects of chronic anthropogenic disturbance on Echinocereus lindsayi

Ruderality in extreme‐desert cacti? Population effects of chronic anthropogenic disturbance on Echinocereus lindsayi

Interaction of diffuse competition and insect herbivory in limiting brittle prickly pear cactus, Opuntia fragilis (Cactaceae)

Canada's grasslands as habitat for arthropods

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