Wilfrid Laurier University Scholars Commons @ Laurier Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) 2019 Competition or facilitation: Examination of interactions between endangered Sida hermaphrodita and invasive Phragmites australis Samantha N. Mulholland Wilfrid Laurier University,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd Part of the Botany Commons, Integrative Biology Commons, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, and the Plant Biology Commons Recommended Citation Mulholland, Samantha N., "Competition or facilitation: Examination of interactions between endangered Sida hermaphrodita and invasive Phragmites australis" (2019). Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive). 2223. https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/2223 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) by an authorized administrator of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Competition or facilitation: Examination of interactions between endangered Sida hermaphrodita and invasive Phragmites australis by Samantha Nicole Mulholland Bachelor of Art, Honours Biology, Wilfrid Laurier University, 2016 THESIS Submitted to the Department of Biology In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Science in Integrative Biology Wilfrid Laurier University 2019 Samantha Mulholland 2019 © Abstract Virginia Mallow (Sida hermaphrodita) is a perennial herb of the Malvaceae family that is native to riparian habitats in northeastern North America. Throughout most of its geographical distribution however, it is considered threatened and only two populations are known from Canada. The biology and ecology of S. hermaphrodita are still poorly understood and although few studies have been performed to determine the factors that contribute to the species rarity, it is considered threatened potentially due to the loss of habitat caused by exotic European Common reed (Phragmites australis subsp.