Colony dynamics and Plant Community Associations of the Harvester Ant, Pogonomyrmex salinus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Sagebrush-Steppe Habitat

Abstract We present the results of a 5-yr field study on colony dynamics and plant community associations of Owyhee harvester ants, Pogonomyrmex salinus (Olsen), in sagebrush-steppe habitat in southwestern Idaho. Over a 5-yr period, the total number of ant colonies across 16 sites increased from 843 to 878 (4.15%) as a result of 315 colony deaths and 350 colony initiations. Up to 7.1% of colony initiations may have been instances of nest relocation. Colonies had a higher rate of failure in their first year than in subsequent years (12.4 vs 4.6–8.4% over the next 3 yr). Of the 11 sites analyzed for colony dispersion, one was significantly clumped and the others did not differ from random. Population density in the final year of study ranged from 0.1 to 62.9 colonies/ha and was best described by an inverse relationship with sagebrush cover and positive relationship with coverage of non-Bromus (non-cheatgrass) understory vegetation. We interpret these results both in terms of 1) food resources—harvester ants avoid cheatgrass seeds in their diet, preferring instead small-seeded grasses and forbs, and 2) habitat structure—harvester ants prefer nesting in open areas where the ground is exposed to sun and they can clear vegetation from the vicinity of their nests. Given the habitat associations we report, the transition from sagebrush-dominated habitat to open grasslands that is occurring rapidly throughout much of the western United States may prove costly to native plant species whose seeds are readily consumed by harvester ants.

Download Full-text

Herbivory and dominance shifts among exotic and congeneric native plant species during plant community establishment

Oecologia ◽

10.1007/s00442-015-3472-6 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 180 (2) ◽

pp. 507-517 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Tim Engelkes ◽

Annelein Meisner ◽

Elly Morriën ◽

Olga Kostenko ◽

Wim H. Van der Putten ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Plant Community ◽

Native Plant ◽

Native Plant Species

Download Full-text

Cheatgrass invasion alters the abundance and composition of dark septate fungal communities in sagebrush steppe

Botany ◽

10.1139/cjb-2015-0237 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 94 (6) ◽

pp. 481-491 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Catherine A. Gehring ◽

Michaela Hayer ◽

Lluvia Flores-Rentería ◽

Andrew F. Krohn ◽

Egbert Schwartz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Composition ◽

Plant Species ◽

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Native Species ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Soil Microbial Communities ◽

Sagebrush Steppe ◽

Native Plant ◽

Native Plant Species ◽

Dark Septate Fungi

Invasive, non-native plant species can alter soil microbial communities in ways that contribute to their persistence. While most studies emphasize mycorrhizal fungi, invasive plants also may influence communities of dark septate fungi (DSF), which are common root endophytes that can function like mycorrhizas. We tested the hypothesis that a widespread invasive plant in the western United States, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.), influenced the abundance and community composition of DSF by examining the roots and rhizosphere soils of cheatgrass and two native plant species in cheatgrass-invaded and noninvaded areas of sagebrush steppe. We focused on cheatgrass because it is negatively affected by mycorrhizal fungi and colonized by DSF. We found that DSF root colonization and operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness were significantly higher in sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) and rice grass (Achnatherum hymenoides (Roem. & Schult.) Barkworth) from invaded areas than noninvaded areas. Cheatgrass roots had similar levels of DSF colonization and OTU richness as native plants. The community composition of DSF varied with invasion in the roots and soils of native species and among the roots of the three plant species in the invaded areas. The substantial changes in DSF we observed following cheatgrass invasion argue for comparative studies of DSF function in native and non-native plant species.

Download Full-text

Indaziflam controls non-native annual mustards but negatively affects native forbs in sagebrush steppe

Invasive Plant Science and Management ◽

10.1017/inp.2021.31 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-28

Author(s):

Jordan Meyer-Morey ◽

Matthew Lavin ◽

Jane Mangold ◽

Catherine Zabinski ◽

Lisa J. Rew

Keyword(s):

Plant Community ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Seed Bank ◽

Soil Seed Bank ◽

Elevation Gradient ◽

Late Summer ◽

Ex Situ ◽

Sagebrush Steppe ◽

Native Plant ◽

Forage Production

Abstract Non-native plant invasions can have devastating effects on native plant communities; conversely management efforts can have non-target and deleterious impacts on desirable plants. In the arid sagebrush steppe rangelands of the western United States, non-native winter annual species affect forage production and biodiversity. One method proposed to control these species is to suppress the soil seed bank using the pre-emergent herbicide indaziflam. Our goal was to evaluate the efficacy of indaziflam to control non-native annual mustards (Alyssum spp.) and to understand potential non-target effects of management on the diverse mountain sagebrush steppe plant communities within Yellowstone National Park. Six sites were established along an elevation gradient (1615 – 2437m), each with high and low Alyssum spp. infestations. We applied 63g ai ha−1 of indaziflam in late summer of 2018 and evaluated plant community cover in situ for two years after treatment, and emergence of forb species from the soil seed bank ex situ. Indaziflam was highly effective at controlling Alyssum spp. emergence for two years. Richness and Shannon’s diversity of the non-target plant community were significantly lower in sprayed plots than the control, and both decreased along the elevation gradient. These reductions were due to a decrease in perennial forbs and native annual forbs in the sprayed plots; perennial graminoids were not affected. Overall, the above ground and seed bank community composition was negatively impacted by indaziflam, and these effects were strongest for the native annual forbs that rely on annual regeneration from the seed bank. The effects of this herbicide to the non-target community should be evaluated beyond the length of our study time, however we conclude indaziflam should likely be reserved for use in areas that are severely invaded and have seed banks that are comprised of non-desirable species rather than diverse, native mountain sagebrush communities.

Download Full-text

Alien and native plant species play different roles in plant community structure

Journal of Ecology ◽

10.1111/1365-2745.12341 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 103 (1) ◽

pp. 143-152 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Maud Bernard-Verdier ◽

Philip E. Hulme

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Plant Species ◽

Plant Community ◽

Plant Community Structure ◽

Native Plant ◽

Native Plant Species

Download Full-text

The distribution and habitat associations of non‐native plant species in urban riparian habitats

Journal of Vegetation Science ◽

10.1111/j.1654-1103.2006.tb02471.x ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 17 (4) ◽

pp. 499-508 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

L.C. Maskell ◽

J.M. Bullock ◽

S.M. Smart ◽

K. Thompson ◽

P.E. Hulme

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Habitat Associations ◽

Native Plant ◽

Native Plant Species ◽

Riparian Habitats

Download Full-text

Relating pine-litter intrusion to plant-community structure in native eucalypt woodland adjacent to Pinus radiata (Pinaceae) plantations

Australian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1071/bt06135 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 55 (5) ◽

pp. 521 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Andrew C. Baker ◽

Brad R. Murray ◽

Grant C. Hose

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Community Structure ◽

Plant Species ◽

Plant Community ◽

Plant Species Richness ◽

Radiata Pine ◽

Plant Community Structure ◽

Native Plant ◽

Native Plant Species ◽

Eucalypt Woodland

Radiata pine (Pinus radiata D.Don) plantations are often found in close proximity to vegetation set aside for biodiversity conservation. We examined the intrusive effects of radiata pine beyond the confines of plantations by quantifying the penetration of pine litter (needles, cones, twigs and seeds) and wildings from plantations into adjacent eucalypt woodland in the Jenolan Caves Karst Conservation Reserve (south-eastern Australia). We then investigated the relationship between pine-litter intrusion and plant-community structure in adjacent woodland vegetation. We found significantly higher quantities of pine litter and wildings at all sites adjacent to plantations than at reference woodland sites that were not adjacent to plantations. At adjacent sites, pine litter decreased significantly with increasing distance from plantations. Alarmingly, native plant species richness declined and exotic plant species richness increased with increasing quantities of pine litter. Thus, there were fewer native plant species and more exotics in areas bordering pine plantations. Our findings suggest a potentially important link between the intrusion of pine litter and a loss of native biodiversity and facilitation of exotic-species invasion. We suggest the provision of a buffer zone around plantations in order to minimise intrusive impacts of plantations on native biodiversity.

Download Full-text

Burning Controls Barb Goatgrass (Aegilops triuncialis) in California Grasslands for at Least 7 Years

Invasive Plant Science and Management ◽

10.1614/ipsm-d-14-00043.1 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 317-322 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Jaymee T. Marty ◽

Sara B. Sweet ◽

Jennifer J. Buck-Diaz

Keyword(s):

Plant Community ◽

Native Species ◽

Prescribed Burning ◽

Seed Viability ◽

First Year ◽

Native Plant ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Aegilops Triuncialis ◽

Burn Treatment ◽

California Grasslands

AbstractBarb goatgrass is an invasive annual grass from the Mediterranean region that negatively affects both native plant biodiversity and the forage quality of grasslands. Prescribed burning may be the best landscape-level tool available to manage invasive species like barb goatgrass while also enhancing biodiversity, but few studies have quantified the long-term effects of fire on goatgrass and the rest of the plant community. We assessed the effects of fire on an invading front of barb goatgrass on a private ranch in Sacramento County, CA. We established burned and unburned treatment plots within the goatgrass-infested area and used prescribed fire to burn the treatment plots in June 2005. We monitored plant-community composition before burning and for 7 consecutive yr following the burn. Additionally, we tested the viability of goatgrass seeds in both burned and unburned plots. One year after the burn, goatgrass cover in burned plots was 3% compared with 21% in unburned plots. This reduction in goatgrass cover was still strong 2 yr after the burn (burned, 6%; unburned, 27%) and weaker but still statistically significant for 4 of the next 5 yr. The burn also reduced germination of goatgrass seed by 99% as indicated by seed-viability tests conducted in the laboratory. The native plant community responded positively to the burn treatment in the first year following the burn with an increase in native diversity in burned plots vs. unburned plots, but the effect was not detectable in subsequent years. Nonnative annual forb species cover also increased in the first year following the burn. Our study shows that a single springtime burn can result in a short-term boost in native species diversity, reduced seed germination of barb goatgrass to near zero, and reduced cover of barb goatgrass for at least 7 yr after the burn.

Download Full-text

First year results of revegetation trials using selected native plant species on a simulated pipeline trench, Fort Norman, N.W.T., Canada

Journal American Society of Mining and Reclamation ◽

10.21000/jasmr89010081 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 1989 (1) ◽

pp. 81-90

Author(s):

L. Maslen ◽

G. P. Kershaw

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

First Year ◽

Native Plant ◽

Native Plant Species

Download Full-text

A Guide to Planting Wildflower Enhancements in Florida

EDIS ◽

10.32473/edis0in1180-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2017 (5) ◽

Author(s):

Mary C. Bammer ◽

Josh Campbell ◽

Chase B. Kimmel ◽

James D.. Ellis ◽

Jaret C. Daniels

Keyword(s):

Management Practices ◽

Insect Pests ◽

Native Plant ◽

Agricultural Producers ◽

Native Plant Species ◽

Control Techniques ◽

Wild Bee ◽

Pollinator Species ◽

Nesting Sites ◽

The Right

The establishment of native wildflower plantings in Florida can benefit agricultural producers as well as native pollinators and other beneficial insects (predators and parasitoids). The plantings do this by: providing forage and nesting sites for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, increasing wild bee numbers possibly across the farm, and increasing natural enemies of insect pests (that also depend on forage and nesting sites). This document discusses choosing the right mix of native plant species to benefit many pollinator species, as well as proper site selection, planting practices, and weed control techniques. Wildflower plots should be practical to manage, maximize benefits to wildlife, and fit into the overall management practices of the property.

Download Full-text