Effects of Two Invasive Weeds on Arthropod Community Structure on the Central Plateau of New Zealand

Plants
Evans EffahAndrea Clavijo McCormick

Abstract

Heather (Calluna vulgaris) and broom (Cytisus scoparius), originally from Europe, are the main invasive plants on New Zealand's North Island Central Plateau, where they threaten native flora and fauna. Given the strong link between arthropod communities and plants, we explored the impact of these invasive weeds on the diversity and composition of associated arthropod assemblages in this area. The arthropods in heather-invaded areas, broom-invaded areas, and areas dominated by the native species mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium) and Dracohyllum (Dracophyllum subulatum) were collected and identified to order. During summer and autumn, arthropods were collected using beating trays, flight intercept traps and pitfall traps. Diversity indices (Richness, Shannon's index and Simpson's index) were calculated at the order level, and permutational multivariate analysis (PERMANOVA) was used to explore differences in order-level community composition. Our results show a significant variation in community composition for all trapping methods in both seasons, whereas invasive plants did not profoundly impact arthropod order richness. The presence of broom increased arthropod abundance, while heather was linked to a reduction. Under all possibl...Continue Reading

References

May 8, 2008·Ecology·André P SchaffersCajo J F Ter Braak
Oct 29, 2013·Annual Review of Entomology·T Martijn BezemerJames T Cronin
Jul 30, 2014·Conservation Biology : the Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology·Andrea R LittGreta L Schuster
Jul 15, 2015·Global Change Biology·Hanno SeebensBernd Blasius
Nov 27, 2016·Global Change Biology·Yanjie LiuMark van Kleunen

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Software Mentioned

R
vegan
PERMANOVA
NMDS

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