Life Sciences Commons^™

A Synthesis Of Plant Invasion Effects On Biodiversity Across Spatial Scales, Kristin I. Powell, Jonathan M. Chase, Tiffany M. Knight

Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations

PREMISE OF THE STUDY:

Invasive plant species are typically thought to pose a large threat to native biodiversity, and local-scale studies typically confirm this view. However, plant invaders rarely cause regional extirpations or global extinctions, causing some to suggest that invasive species' influence on native biodiversity may not be so dire. We aim to synthesize the seemingly conflicting literature in plant invasion biology by evaluating the effects of invasive plant species across spatial scales.

METHODS:

We first conducted a meta-analysis on the effects of invasive plants on the species richness of invaded communities across a range of spatial extents. We …

Research, Monitoring, Assessment And Development Plan 2010 – 2011, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries occasional publications

No abstract provided.

Invasion By Exotic Earthworms Alters Litter- And Soil-Dwelling Oribatid Mites, Jordan L. Burke, John C. Maerz, Joseph Milanovich, Melanie C. Fisk, Kamal J.K. Gandhi

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Exotic earthworms are drivers of biotic communities in invaded North American forest stands. Here we used ecologically important oribatid mite (Arachnida: Acari) communities, as model organisms to study the responses of litter- and soil-dwelling microarthropod communities to exotic earthworm invasion in a northern temperate forest. Litter- and soil-dwelling mites were sampled in 2008–2009 from forest areas: (1) with no earthworms; (2) those with epigeic and endogeic species, including Lumbricus rubellus Hoffmeister; and (3) those with epigeic, endogeic, and anecic earthworms including L. terrestris L. Species richness and diversity of litter- and soil-dwelling (0–2 cm soil depth) oribatid mites was 1–2 …