Dissertation Research: Impacts of an invasive plant, amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii: Caprifoliaceae), on biodiversity through biotic interactions

本项目探讨了入侵灌木，阿穆尔忍冬（AH），对本地物种的授粉，啮齿动物的种子捕食，鸟类和啮齿动物的种子传播的影响。该项目将测试：1）如果AH分散授粉者（蜜蜂，蝴蝶和飞蛾）从访问本地植物; 2）如果AH水果和树叶覆盖影响白足鼠，重要的种子捕食者的丰度;和3）如果AH分散种子传播者从照顾本地物种。自然实验的组合（即，AH的丰度自然不同）和操纵性实验（即，AH从大片土地中移除）将用于确定这种入侵灌木如何影响维持本地植物和动物种群的过程。 入侵物种是对生物多样性的重大威胁，在美国每年的控制成本超过1370亿美元。调查入侵物种的影响为根除和减少其经济影响提供了重要信息。如果上述预测得到证实，入侵物种应该被视为比以前认为的更大的威胁，因为它们通过对授粉和种子传播过程的影响对本地多样性的间接影响不那么明显。由于该项目的规模很大，许多高中生和本科生将接受基本生态和保护理论和实地方法的培训。

This project addresses impacts of the invasive shrub, Amur honeysuckle (AH), on pollination in native species, seed predation by rodents, and seed dispersal by birds and rodents. This project will test: 1) if AH distracts pollinators (bees, butterflies, and moths) from visiting native plants; 2) if AH fruits and cover of leaves influence the abundance of white-footed mice, important seed predators; and 3) if AH distracts seed dispersers from attending native species. A combination of natural experiments (i.e., where abundance of AH differs naturally) and manipulative experiments (i.e., where AH is removed from large tracts) will be used to determine how this invasive shrub influences processes that maintain native plant and animal populations. Invasive species are very significant threat to biological diversity, costing over $137 billion/year for control in the U.S. Investigating the effects of invasives provides vital information for their eradication and reduction of their economic impacts. If the stated predictions are confirmed, invasive species should be considered more of a threat than previously thought, because they have less obvious indirect effects on native diversity through their impacts on pollination and seed dispersal processes. Because of the large scale of the project, many high school and undergraduate students will be trained in basic ecological and conservation theory and field methods.