Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Efficacy Of Plastic Mesh Tubes In Reducing Herbivory Damage By The Invasive Nutria (Myocastor Coypus) In An Urban Restoration Site, Trevor R. Sheffels, Mark D. Sytsma, Jacoby Carter, Jimmy D. Taylor

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The restoration of stream corridors is becoming an increasingly important component of urban landscape planning, and the high cost of these projects necessitates the need to understand and address potential ecological obstacles to project success. The nutria (Myocastor coypus) is an invasive, semi-aquatic rodent native to South America that causes detrimental ecological impacts in riparian and wetland habitats throughout its introduced range, and techniques are needed to reduce nutria herbivory damage to urban stream restoration projects. We assessed the efficacy of standard Vexar® plastic mesh tubes in reducing nutria herbivory damage to newly established woody plants. The study was conducted …

Phenotypic Plasticity Of Invasive Spartina Densiflora (Poaceae) Along A Broad Latitudinal Gradient On The Pacific Coast Of North America, Jesus M. Castillo, Brenda J. Grewall, Andrea Pickart, Alejandro Bortolus, Carlos Pena, Enrique Figueroa, Mark D. Sytsma

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Premise of the study: Phenotypic acclimation of individual plants and genetic differentiation by natural selection within invasive populations are two potential mechanisms that may confer fitness advantages and allow plants to cope with environmental variation. The invasion of Spartina densiflora across a wide latitudinal gradient from California (USA) to British Columbia (Canada) provides a natural model system to study the potential mechanisms underlying the response of invasive populations to substantial variation in climate and other environmental variables.

Methods: We examined morphological and physiological leaf traits of Spartina densiflora plants in populations from invaded estuarine sites across broad latitudinal and climate …