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Invasion Of Hurricane-Disturbed Scrub Communities On Barrier Islands In Mississippi: A Battle Between Native And Non-Native Ecosystem Engineers, Christine Annette Bertz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Some communities may resist invasion because they are dominated by ecosystem engineers. If these dominant species are removed by some catastrophic disturbance, they can be replaced by invasive species that will dramatically alter the ecosystem in a way that may prevent its recovery. I tested several hypotheses related to this idea within barrier island scrub communities dominated by Florida rosemary (Ceratiola ericoides Michx.). Hurricanes represent a major source of disturbance to coastal Florida rosemary communities, and individual rosemary shrubs in three populations recently impacted by major hurricanes were not protected from the storm surge at higher elevation. Unlike inland populations …