RIPARIAN INVASION by LONICERA MAACKII DRIVES SHIFTS in AQUATIC BIOTA and ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES Di
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TERRESTRIAL-AQUATIC CONNECTIONS: RIPARIAN INVASION BY LONICERA MAACKII DRIVES SHIFTS IN AQUATIC BIOTA AND ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES Dissertation Submitted to The College of Arts and Sciences of the UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Biology By Rachel Elizabeth McNeish, M.S. Dayton, Ohio May, 2016 TERRESTRIAL-AQUATIC CONNECTIONS: RIPARIAN INVASION BY LONICERA MAACKII DRIVES SHIFTS IN AQUATIC BIOTA AND ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES Name: McNeish, Rachel Elizabeth APPROVED BY: ________________________________________ Ryan W. McEwan, Ph.D. Faculty Advisor _______________________________________ M. Eric Benbow, Ph.D. Committee Member ______________________________________ Alburt J. Burky, Ph.D. Committee Member ________________________________________ P. Kelly Williams, Ph.D. Committee Member ________________________________________ Margaret Carreiro, Ph.D. Committee Member ________________________________________ Karolyn M. Hansen, Ph.D. Committee Member ii ABSTRACT TERRESTRIAL-AQUATIC CONNECTIONS: RIPARIAN INVASION BY LONICERA MAACKII DRIVES SHIFTS IN AQUATIC BIOTA AND ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES Name: McNeish, Rachel Elizabeth University of Dayton Advisor: Dr. Ryan W. McEwan Invasive species are of global importance due to their impacts on ecological communities, habitat structure, native community dynamics, and ecosystem processes. Scientists and conservation managers are increasingly focusing on the biological impacts of invasive species and devising management practices that emphasize the health of ecosystems based on measured biological processes. Lonicera maackii is a highly successful invasive shrub in forests of eastern and Midwestern North America. We investigated how riparian invasion of L. maackii influenced (1) the availability of in- stream leaf litter resources, algal growth, above stream canopy cover, and light available to the stream, (2) the functional and taxonomic diversity and community composition of aquatic macroinvertebrate communities, (3) the effects of L. maackii on throughfall chemistry. In summary, the removal of an invasive riparian shrub influenced the timing, deposition, quality, and abundance of leaf litter habitat into a headwater stream, ostensibly driving bottom-up effects on aquatic primary producer biomass and the macroinvertebrate community. Patterns in macroinvertebrate community and functional iii trait dynamics were influenced by seasons and the L. maackii riparian forest. These findings suggest that functional traits were driven by life history strategies linked with seasonal patterns in temperature and food resources that are also influenced by L. maackii riparian forests. In addition, riparian L. maackii has the potential to alter nutrient subsidies during rain events that enter aquatic systems as throughfall, and suppress stream algal growth early in the growth season, impacting nutrient cross-system subsidies and one of the basal food resources in aquatic systems. Based on these findings we have developed a predictive framework for understanding how this terrestrial invasive shrub influences aquatic ecosystems. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks to Dr. Ryan McEwan for his commitment as my advisor and mentor during my dissertation. Additional thanks to all the University of Dayton Biology graduate students, undergraduate community, and the University of Dayton Graduate School for their support. I would like to further express my appreciate to the Centerville- Washington Park District, the Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Park District, and the Dayton Five Rivers MetroParks for allowing me to conduct my research in their park and stream sites. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .............................................................................................. x LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ xii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND NOTATIONS ........................................................ xiii CHAPTER 1: A REVIEW ON THE INVASION ECOLOGY .......................................... 1 ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 2 LONICERA MAACKII ADVANTAGEOUS LIFE HISTORY TRAITS ............................................ 4 Dispersal Mechanisms ................................................................................................ 4 Rapid Growth and Environmental Plasticity .............................................................. 5 Phenology ................................................................................................................... 7 Allelopathy and Resistance to Herbivory ................................................................... 8 LONICERA MAACKII INVASION IMPACTS AT VARYING ECOLOGICAL SCALES................... 11 Community-Scale Impacts ........................................................................................ 11 LONICERA MAACKII INVASION AND LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY ............................................. 18 LONICERA MAACKII IMPACTS ON ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES .............................................. 20 MANAGEMENT AND RESTORATION OF LONICERA MAACKII INVADED HABITATS............. 22 Detection and Management ...................................................................................... 22 Lonicera maackii management impacts on flora and fauna ..................................... 25 CONNECTIONS TO INVASION THEORY ............................................................................ 26 FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................. 29 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................... 31 LITERATURE CITED ........................................................................................................ 32 FIGURE LEGENDS ........................................................................................................... 54 vi FIGURES ......................................................................................................................... 55 CHAPTER 2: REMOVAL OF THE INVASIVE SHRUB LONICERA MACKII ......... 58 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... 58 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 59 METHODS ...................................................................................................................... 61 Study Site ................................................................................................................... 61 Experimental Lonicera maackii Removal ................................................................. 62 Leaf Litter Accumulation .......................................................................................... 62 Benthic Algal Biomass and Above Stream Canopy Cover ........................................ 63 Macroinvertebrate Community ................................................................................. 63 Statistical Analyses ................................................................................................... 64 RESULTS ........................................................................................................................ 65 In-stream Leaf Material ............................................................................................ 65 Canopy Cover and Benthic Algal Biomass ............................................................... 66 Macroinvertebrate Density ....................................................................................... 66 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................... 67 In-stream Organic Matter ......................................................................................... 67 Macroinvertebrate Density and Benthic Algal Biomass ........................................... 68 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................... 70 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 71 TABLES .......................................................................................................................... 80 FIGURE LEGENDS ........................................................................................................... 83 FIGURES ......................................................................................................................... 85 SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS .......................................................................................... 91 CHAPTER 3: TERRESTRIAL-AQUATIC LINKAGES INFLUENC BENTHIC ......... 92 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... 92 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................