Life Sciences Commons^™

Trait Variation And Long-Term Population Dynamics Of The Invasive Alliaria Petiolata (Garlic Mustard) Across Three Microhabitats In Its Invaded Range, Laura Hancock

Masters Theses

Long-term population dynamics across heterogeneous environments can be a major factor in determining species’ ability to expand their ranges and persist in novel environments. Whether and how the relative performance of populations in different microsites over time impacts invasion into new microsites is poorly understood. Though largely restricted to disturbed semi-shaded microhabitats in its home range, the invasive herb Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) successfully invades intact forest understories – a novel microhabitat – in its introduced range, where it is known to impact above and below ground community composition. To test the hypothesis that source-sink metapopulation dynamics may be promoting …