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Long-Term Effects of a Phragmites Australis Invasion on Birds in a Lake Erie Coastal Marsh

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Long-Term Effects of a Phragmites Australis Invasion on Birds in a Lake Erie Coastal Marsh Long-term Effects of a Phragmites australis Invasion on Birds in a Lake Erie Coastal Marsh by Courtney Dawn Robichaud A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfillment of thesis requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Biology Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2016 © Courtney Dawn Robichaud 2016 Author’s declaration I hereby declare that I am the soul author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. ii Abstract Invasive Phragmites australis threatens the integrity of essential bird habitat in coastal marshes. Located on the north shore of Lake Erie, Long Point, Ontario provides habitat to thousands of breeding and migrating birds, including marsh-nesting species in decline around the Great Lakes. Invasive P. australis has been colonizing these marshes since the late 1990s, when concerns prompted a survey of birds in invaded wetlands (2001-2002). My work evaluates birds in these wetlands after over a decade of P. australis expansion, comparing birds among P. australis and the vegetation communities it is displacing: cattail marsh, meadow marsh, and open-water marsh. I also examined bird community composition and functional traits to better capture the effects of P. australis invasion. I observed substantial changes since the 2001-2002 study was conducted. In 2015, total bird abundance was lower in P. australis than cattail marsh, with little difference in bird species richness among vegetation types. Bird community composition was distinct among all four vegetation types; however, P. australis supported a subset of bird species within cattail and meadow marsh habitat, rather than novel bird species. Phragmites habitat excludes many marsh-nesting species and provides habitat for shrub-nesting, foliage gleaner bird species. Marsh-nesters of conservation concern are restricted to remaining cattail and meadow marsh, and open-water habitat. My work indicates that the full effects of P. australis invasion may exhibit a lag time, and that community composition and functional traits should be considered when evaluating the effects of a biological invasion. iii Acknowledgements This work was supported by funding from NSERC Discovery. I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Rebecca Rooney, for her guidance throughout my degree. You have taught me the importance of setting big goals and believing in my results and, maybe most importantly, that everything will go wrong in the field and the best way to handle it is to laugh. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Stephen Murphy and Dr. Kirsten Müller, for their insight and encouragement over the past few years. To Graham Howell; I could never express how grateful I am that you were willing to wake up at 3:00 am every day, all summer, for this project. I owe you beer, for life. I would also like to acknowledge the support of Danny Bernard (Big Creek National Wildlife Area), Julie Foster (Long Point Provincial Park), Eric Cleland (Crown Marsh), Bird Studies Canada, Ted Barney and Sam Richman (Long Point Waterfowl), and Anne and Scott Hammond that made this project possible. And to my current and former lab mates Daina Anderson, Heather Polan, Adam Kraft, Matt Bolding, Jenny Gleason, Nicole Meyer, and Sarah Yuckin - thank you for your support whether in the lab, the field, or fighting blights. Finally, I have to thank my family for accepting that I am never home for holidays and supporting me nonetheless. And to my biggest fan, my father. You asked me to finish this quickly so that you could see the final result. That deadline turned out to be unrealistic, but I know you would be proud anyways. iv Table of Contents Author’s declaration........................................................................................................................ ii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iv List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... viii 1.0 Literature review and thesis scope ............................................................................................ 1 1.1 Invasion biology........................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 History of invasion by Phragmites australis ............................................................................ 5 1.3 Phragmites australis biology .................................................................................................... 5 1.3.1 Introduced Phragmites australis ........................................................................................ 5 1.3.2 Native vs Introduced Phragmites australis........................................................................ 6 1.4 Environmental tolerances and response to disturbance ............................................................ 8 1.4.1 Water depth and salinity tolerances ................................................................................... 8 1.4.2 Response to herbivory........................................................................................................ 9 1.4.3 Response to disturbance ................................................................................................... 10 1.5 Life span.................................................................................................................................. 11 1.6 Reproduction ........................................................................................................................... 12 1.6.1 Sexual reproduction ......................................................................................................... 12 1.6.2 Vegetative reproduction, spread, and patch dynamics ..................................................... 13 1.7 Spread vectors ......................................................................................................................... 15 1.8 Study system ........................................................................................................................... 16 1.8.1 Current distribution in the Great Lakes ........................................................................... 16 1.8.2 Status in Long Point ......................................................................................................... 17 1.8.3 Long Point study area ...................................................................................................... 17 1.9 Effects of invasion .................................................................................................................. 19 1.9.1 Effects on birds ................................................................................................................ 19 1.9.2 Effects on avian food sources .............................................................................................. 21 1.9.2-a Invertebrates.................................................................................................................. 21 1.9.2-b Fish ............................................................................................................................... 22 1.9.3 Effects on vegetation communities .................................................................................. 23 1.9.4 Effects on ecological processes ....................................................................................... 25 v 1.9.5 Effects on hydrology ........................................................................................................ 27 1.10 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 28 1.11 Thesis structure ..................................................................................................................... 28 2.0 Effects of Phragmites australis invasion on bird communities in Long Point, ON ............... 32 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 32 2.2 Methods................................................................................................................................... 36 2.2.1 Field methods ................................................................................................................... 36 2.2.2 Statistical methods ........................................................................................................... 38 2.2.2-b Abundance and species richness............................................................................... 39 2.2.2-c Community composition and functional traits.......................................................... 39 2.2.2-d Vegetation analyses .................................................................................................. 41 2.3 Results ....................................................................................................................................
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