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Gentiana Autumnalis) in New Jersey i The Influence of Land Management on the Demography of the Pine Barren gentian (Gentiana autumnalis) in New Jersey A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Drexel University by Ryan R. Rebozo in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 2015 2 © Copyright 2015 Ryan R. Rebozo. All Rights Reserved. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee for all their help and guidance through this process. Dr. Susan Kilham for taking the lead as the committee chair and being a great source of knowledge; Dr. Jim Spotila for his insightful questions and moss identification test; Dr. Hal Avery for all his help reviewing my writing and for inviting me to spend time and present at the lighthouse center; Dr. Lena Struwe for always being available to meet with me to talk and for always having me leave a meeting with a better sense of where my project was headed; Dr. John Dighton for allowing me to work at the Pinelands Field Station and allowing me to expand the focus of my research; Dr. Tatyana Livshultz who was a late addition to the committee but who taught me so much and was always ready to help. Of course I would like to thank Dr. Walter Bien for giving me an opportunity I would have never thought possible. Thank you for always pushing me, supporting me, and always thinking so highly of me. I’ve learned so much in my time with you and expect to continue to learn more. I would like to thank the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation for their funding and providing me a unique opportunity to complete my goals. Specifically I would like to thank Stephen Cox and Marisol Rodriguez for their help, support, and for making the entire cohort feel welcome when we all first started. Thanks to the Philadelphia Botanical club for providing me the Bayard Long Award, and for all the great people I met through the group. Terry Schmidt, Mark Szutarski, and Robert Moyer for their help identifying plants and for inviting me on their field trips; Ted Gordon for sharing his incredible knowledge of local flora and for getting iii me leaf tissue; Ernie Schuyler for his conversations and humor; David Hewitt for always looking out for a new opportunity or person to put me in contact with, and for always being willing to meet up for great conversation. Thank you to the Pinelands Preservation Alliance for a warm welcome into the group. Thank you all for you support during this process and for allowing me to practice my defense presentation over lunch. I look forward to working with you all for many years. I would like to thank the 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard for allowing me access to many of my study sites. Their cooperation allowed me to accomplish parts of my study that would not have been possible anywhere else. Thank you to Stockton University, specifically Jaime Cromartie, for inviting me to work on their campus. Thanks to John Brown of the USDA and Karl Kjer and Julian McLaughlin from Rutgers University for help with insect identification. Thank you to the New Jersey Conservation Foundation and Emile DeVito for granting me access to the Franklin Parker Preserve and for allowing the management of their population. A special thanks to Russell Juelg of the New Jersey Conservation foundation for taking the time early on to show me all the gentian sites you knew of, for managing the FPP population, for teaching me so much about plants, and for being a great person to talk to. Thanks of course to the lab of Pinelands Research, Marilyn Sobel, Alina Freire- Fierro, Ron Smith, Dane Ward and Kevin Smith. You have all been so helpful throughout the years and always made sure we have fun along the way. You guys have made my time at Drexel a great experience. I couldn’t ask for a better group of iv colleagues to work with. Thanks as well to all the co-ops and volunteers that helped us out over the years. To my friends who were always around through my crazy schedules and me moving away, thank you. Thanks especially to Milton, Chris, Danny, Dave, Lijo, Anthony, Marc, and Greg. You guys are family and I’m so grateful to have had you guys part of this process. Thank you for all your support and for keeping me sane. Jen, thank you for coming along on this ride with me, we had a lot of fun and learned a lot too. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family for all their support and love through the years. To my sister Alison, no one has impressed me more over the years. You’ve grown into a successful, smart, and inspiring woman and I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am of you. Thanks for being the best sister around. To my mom and dad, thank you for all you’ve given me and for the constant support. I would not be in this position if it was not for your guidance and friendship. I love you both. Pa mi abuela Sofia que me crió, gracias pa todo, te quiero y me quedo corto. Pa mi abuelo Chuchi que no llego a ver este dia pero siempre tenia confianza en mi. Tu me enseño tanto in el tiempo que pasamos junto. Esto es dedicado a ti. To the rest of my friends and the Valdes/Rebozo families, thank you. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... ix ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1: Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 Study Species .................................................................................................................... 3 Study Sites ........................................................................................................................ 4 Study Overview and Objectives........................................................................................ 8 Literature Cited ............................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 2: The effects of prescribed burns and mowing on the demography of Gentiana autumnalis in the New Jersey Pine Barrens ............................................... 15 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 16 Materials and Methods .................................................................................................... 18 Results ............................................................................................................................. 23 Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 28 Literature Cited ............................................................................................................... 35 Chapter 3: The effect of management practices (mowing and prescribed burning) on soil nutrients and mycorrhizal colonization of Gentiana autumnalis .................. 49 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 50 Materials and Methods .................................................................................................... 54 Results ............................................................................................................................. 59 Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 62 Literature Cited ............................................................................................................... 69 vi Chapter 4: Negative effects of herbivory by Endothenia hebesana (verbena bud moth), Chlorochlamys chloroleucaria (black berry looper), and Odocoileus virginianus (white-tailed deer) on the rare Gentiana autumnalis (Pine Barren gentian) in New Jersey .................................................................................................. 81 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 82 Materials and Methods .................................................................................................... 85 Results ............................................................................................................................. 89 Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 91 Literature Cited ............................................................................................................... 94 Chapter 5: Insect visitation and seed set of the rare Pine Barren gentian (Gentiana autumnalis) under varying management regimes .................................................... 103 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 104 Materials and Methods .................................................................................................. 106 Results ........................................................................................................................... 113 Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 119 Literature Cited ............................................................................................................
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