Invasive plant species alters consumer behavior by providing refuge from predation |
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Authors: | Humberto P Dutra Kirk Barnett Jason R Reinhardt Robert J Marquis John L Orrock |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Natural Sciences, Life University, 1269 Barclay Circle, Marietta, GA 30060, USA;(2) Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, One University Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63121, USA;(3) Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA |
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Abstract: | Understanding the effects of invasive plants on native consumers is important because consumer-mediated indirect effects have
the potential to alter the dynamics of coexistence in native communities. Invasive plants may promote changes in consumer
pressure due to changes in protective cover (i.e., the architectural complexity of the invaded habitat) and in food availability
(i.e., subsidies of fruits and seeds). No experimental studies have evaluated the relative interplay of these two effects.
In a factorial experiment, we manipulated cover and food provided by the invasive shrub Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera
maackii) to evaluate whether this plant alters the foraging activity of native mammals. Using tracking plates to quantify mammalian
foraging activity, we found that removal of honeysuckle cover, rather than changes in the fruit resources it provides, reduced
the activity of important seed consumers, mice in the genus Peromyscus. Two mesopredators, Procyon
lotor and Didelphis
virginiana, were also affected. Moreover, we found rodents used L.
maackii for cover only on cloudless nights, indicating that the effect of honeysuckle was weather-dependent. Our work provides experimental
evidence that this invasive plant species changes habitat characteristics, and in so doing alters the behavior of small- and
medium-sized mammals. Changes in seed predator behavior may lead to cascading effects on the seeds that mice consume. |
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