THE EFFECT OF OLD WORLD CLIMBING FERN (LYGODIUM MICROPHYLLUM (CAV.) R. BROWN) ON SOUTH FLORIDA CYPRESS (TAXODIUM DISTICHUM (L.) RICH.) SWAMP PLANT AND INSECT COMMUNITY STRUCTURE By DANIEL WAYNE CLARK A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2002 Copyright 2002 by Daniel Wayne Clark This thesis is respectfully dedicated to my grandparents, Richard and Elizabeth McKenna and Charles and Agnes Clark for their years of selfless love and unwavering support. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Dr. Randall Stocker, who chaired my graduate supervisory committee, directed my research program, and provided me with personal guidance and friendship throughout my graduate program. He was truly a mentor and continues to impress me with his ability to adapt publicly to any audience and end up being the focal individual for relevant information, professionalism and leadership. These people skills combined with his academic expertise continue to make him sought after at local, national and international levels professionally. Dr. Alison Fox served as an Agronomy Department representative to my supervisory committee. She provided much needed technical support, critical review and focus during the scholastic, research and writing phases of my project. I also thank her for her personal friendship and professional guidance. She selflessly made time for unscheduled meetings and was always available for consultation. Her energetic and personable nature facilitated numerous stimulating discussions and empowered me to increase my own scientific and critical thought. Dr. Katie Sieving, an external representative of my committee from the Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Department, imparted to me the sheer fun of being academic. Her infectious personality, high level of professionalism and subject knowledge make her peers and students gravitate toward her. The experience of being affiliated with the Department and her personally have instilled in me a continued desire to look deeply at higher trophic levels in ecology and conservation. iv My final committee member, Dr. Jim Cuda from the Department of Entomology and Nematology, demonstrated to me that hard working individuals ultimately succeed. Dr. Cuda remains at a heightened level of personal involvement with numerous students and projects. His dedication to the field of biological control of invasive plant species is widely recognized and he helped show me the global importance of insects. Additional individuals I am indebted to include Eli Jimenez, Hillary Cherry and Mike Ward from the Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants. They gave freely of their time to assist me in the collection, organization, and analysis of vegetative and insect data. The data collection entailed days of remote work in very harsh environmental conditions. I am grateful for their positive attitudes, ability to work well in groups together, and unending friendship. Dr. Ken Portier from IFAS Statistics and Dr. Andre Khuri from the Statistics Department provided critical guidance and advice on experimental design and statistical analysis of data. Jim Goodwin of the South Florida Water Management District provided consistent field support at the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed. Steve and Jackie Smith of the South Florida Water Management District and Florida Department of Environmental Protection, respectively, provided endless logistical and technical assistance driving this research project. They graciously opened their own home for accommodations during field visits, provided professional field assistance on every trip for three years, and much needed humor and friendship during the strenuous data gathering trips. I am grateful to the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council and the South Florida Water Management District for providing funding to accomplish this work. v I finally appreciate and am indebted to my family for their love, support and encouragement during this graduate program. To my loving wife, Kathy, I owe all my success. She has provided the inspiration and means for my attending graduate school and put up with years of field trips, military deployments, insect collections and various scientific contraptions in her home, tuition bills, Power Point presentations in the living room, black light insect collecting in the back yard, and solitude while I was sequestered studying. She is self-sufficient, detail oriented, fun natured, driven by personal excellence and remains always there for me. She will always be my inspiration. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................x ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................1 2 EFFECTS OF L. MICROPHYLLUM ON NATIVE PLANT COMMUNITY STRUCTURE IN SOUTH FLORIDA CYPRESS SWAMP UNDERSTORIES...........5 Introduction..................................................................................................................... 5 Materials and Methods.................................................................................................... 8 Research Sites and Plots .......................................................................................... 8 Statistical Analyses ................................................................................................ 11 Results........................................................................................................................... 12 Plant Coverage ....................................................................................................... 12 Species Richness (S) .............................................................................................. 12 Shannon’s Diversity Index (H) .............................................................................. 13 Discussion..................................................................................................................... 14 3 EFFECTS OF L. MICROPHYLLUM ON INSECT FAMILY COMMUNITY STRUCTURE IN SOUTH FLORIDA CYPRESS SWAMP UNDERSTORIES.........26 Introduction................................................................................................................... 26 Materials and Methods.................................................................................................. 29 Sampling Sites........................................................................................................ 29 Statistical Analyses ................................................................................................ 29 Townes lightweight Malaise Trap..................................................................30 Heat extraction using a Berlese Funnel array ................................................31 Results........................................................................................................................... 32 Insect Abundance................................................................................................... 33 Family Richness (S) ............................................................................................... 33 Shannon’s Diversity Index (H) .............................................................................. 34 Discussion..................................................................................................................... 34 vii 4 EFFECTS OF L. MICROPHYLLUM ON WILDLIFE UTILIZAION AND COMMUNITY STRUCTURE IN SOUTH FLORIDA CYPRESS SWAMP UNDERSTORIES.........................................................................................................44 Introduction................................................................................................................... 44 Materials and Methods.................................................................................................. 48 Artificial Bird Nest Predation ................................................................................ 49 Giving Up Density (GUD)..................................................................................... 49 Results........................................................................................................................... 50 Artificial Bird Nest Predation ................................................................................ 50 Giving Up Density (GUD)..................................................................................... 51 Discussion..................................................................................................................... 51 5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................56 APPENDIX A PLANT SPECIES RECORDED IN REFERENCE, TREATMENT AND CONTROL PLOTS (ALPHABETICALLY)....................................................................................59 B INSECT FAMILIES COLLECTED IN REFERENCE, TREATMENT AND CONTROL PLOTS (ALPHABETICALLY BY INSECT ORDER)............................64