Accuracy Assessment of Satellite Remote Sensing for Delineation Of
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THE EFFECTS OF A PARASITIC PLANT (CUSCUTA HOWELLIANA) ON VERNAL POOL PLANT DIVERSITY A Thesis Presented to the faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences California State University, Sacramento Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Biological Sciences (Ecology, Evolution and Conservation) by Andrea Graffis FALL 2013 THE EFFECTS OF A PARASITIC PLANT (CUSCUTA HOWELLIANA) ON VERNAL POOL PLANT DIVERSITY A Thesis by Andrea Graffis Approved by: __________________________________, Committee Chair Jamie Kneitel, Ph.D. __________________________________, Second Reader Patrick Foley, Ph.D. __________________________________, Third Reader Shannon Datwyler, Ph.D. ________________________Date ii Student: Andrea Graffis I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this thesis is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the thesis. _________________________, Graduate Coordinator _________________ Jamie Kneitel, Ph.D. Date Department of Biological Sciences iii Abstract of THE EFFECTS OF A PARASITIC PLANT (CUSCUTA HOWELLIANA) ON VERNAL POOL PLANT DIVERSITY by Andrea Graffis Through the past 150 years over 90% of California’s vernal pool wetland habitat has been lost to agriculture and urbanization. Knowledge of the factors that drive species diversity in California’s vernal pools is required to enable proper management and restoration of these habitats in the future. While many factors have been identified as contributors to maintenance of species diversity in vernal pools, the system is far from being fully understood. One factor that has not been investigated is the effect of parasitic plants. Cuscuta howelliana is an abundant endemic parasitic plant that inhabits California vernal pools. The hypothesis tested in this research was that C. howelliana would act as a keystone predator and increase plant species diversity in vernal pools. This study took place at Beale Air Force Base in the northeastern Sacramento Valley where there are ~1,000 vernal pools. In 15 vernal pools, experimental manipulation of the presence versus absence of C. howelliana was conducted. An additional five vernal pools where C. howelliana was not naturally present were also monitored. Eryngium castrense and Navarretia leucocephala were found to be the preferred host plant species of C. howelliana. Vernal pools without C. howelliana naturally present had lower plant species iv richness compared to pools where C. howelliana does occur naturally. Plots in vernal pools where C. howelliana was manually removed also had lower plant species richness compared to plots where C. howelliana was present. There was no single plant species that showed a significant trend towards being absent in C. howelliana removal plots. Eryngium castrense, one of the preferred host plants, had lower percent cover in plots where C. howelliana was present, which may have explained differences in species richness. However, most plant species on average showed a higher percent cover in C. howelliana present plots, but this did not become significant until all plant species were considered on one model. Grazing regime differences among vernal pools with C. howelliana naturally present and naturally absent may have also contributed to the observed difference in plant species richness. In conclusion, C. howelliana presence was related to increases in species richness, consistent with what is expected from the effects of a keystone predator. Interactions among species, including parasitic plants, needs to be considered in restoration and management of California vernal pools. ___________________________, Committee Chair Jamie Kneitel, Ph.D. ___________________________ Date v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to the staff at Beale Air Force Base for allowing me the use of their facilities, the California Native Plant Society for providing funding, Jamie Kneitel, Patrick Foley, Shannon Datwyler and James Baxter for providing guidance and Alison Wagner for providing field assistance. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures ......................................................................................................................x Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1 METHODS ..........................................................................................................................7 Study Site .................................................................................................................7 Vernal Pool Zones....................................................................................................7 Host Plant Preference .............................................................................................10 C. howelliana’s Effect on Plant Diversity .............................................................13 RESULTS ..........................................................................................................................16 Density and Host Preference ..................................................................................16 C. howelliana’s Effect on Plant Diversity .............................................................24 DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................................42 Host Preference ......................................................................................................42 C. howelliana Removal Plots .................................................................................45 Vernal Pools without C. howelliana Present .........................................................48 Other Parasitic Plants and Management Implications ...........................................49 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................51 Literature Cited ..................................................................................................................52 vii LIST OF TABLES Tables Page Table 1. Prevalence of plant species parasitized by C. howelliana in 2012 (n = 16). ......................................................................................................18 Table 2. Characteristics of plant species that were not parasitized by C. howelliana in 2012 (n = 16). ...............................................................................20 Table 3. Within-Subject effects of repeated measures general linear model for a dependent variable of plant species richness.. ............................................27 Table 4. Within-Subject effects of repeated measures general linear model for a dependent variable of total plant percent cover.. ........................................29 Table 5. All plant species (n = 29) found during the 2013 sampling and the type of vernal pool inhabited by each species. .. ...........................................30 Table 6. Tests of fixed effects from the linear multilevel mixed model with plant species richness as the dependent variable.. ......................................33 Table 7. Tests of fixed effects from the linear multilevel mixed model with total plant cover as the dependent variable.. ...............................................34 Table 8. Within-Subject effects of repeated measures general linear model for a dependent variable of E. castrense percent cover.. ....................................36 Table 9. Tests of fixed effects from the linear multilevel mixed model with E. castrense percent cover as the dependent variable.. ...............................38 viii LIST OF TABLES Tables Page Table 10. Within-Subject effects of repeated measures general linear model for a dependent variable of N. leucocephala percent cover.. ..................................................................................................................39 Table 11. Tests of fixed effects from the linear multilevel mixed model with N. leucocephala percent cover as the dependent variable.. ........................41 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figures Page Figure 1. Vernal pool depicting edge, transition, and center zones .....................................9 Figure 2. Map of study site at Beale Air Force Base .........................................................12 Figure 3. Percent cover of C. howelliana by location with the vernal pools .....................17 Figure 4. E. castrense covered by C. howelliana when E. castrense cover is normalized for total plant cover ......................................................................22 Figure 5. N. leucocephala covered by C. howelliana when N. leucocephala cover is normalized for total plant cover ......................................23 Figure 6.Effect of the presence or absence of C. howelliana and C. howelliana removal in a vernal pool on plant species richness ..........................28 Figure 7. Effect of the presence or absence of C. howelliana and C. howelliana removal in a vernal pool on total plant percent cover ......................35 Figure 8. Effect of the presence or absence of C. howelliana in a vernal pool on E. castrense