Comparative Analysis of Plant and Ground Dwelling Arthropod Communities in Lacustrine Dune Areas with and without Centaurea biebersteinii (Asteraceae)
Marshall JM, Storer AJ, Leutscher B. 2008. Comparative Analysis of Plant and Ground Dwelling Arthropod Communities in Lacustrine Dune Areas with and without Centaurea biebersteinii (Asteraceae). The American Midland Naturalist. 159(2):261-274
The invasive exotic spotted knapweed, Centaurea biebersteinii, has invaded significant portions of the Grand Sable Dunes, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. This study examines native plant and arthropod communities in this dune system. Areas without spotted knapweed had higher native plant diversity than areas with spotted knapweed, as well as lower exotic plant diversity. Insect families Curculionidae and Formicidae were captured more often in areas with spotted knapweed. The ability of exotic plant species not adapted to actively shifting sand to invade was increased by dune stabilization. Differences in Curculionidae and Formicidae abundance were caused by changes in plant communities. Natural insect distribution and native plant diversity could be maintained by limiting the range of spotted knapweed in dune ecosystems.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Marshall, Jordan; Storer, Andrew; Leutscher, Bruce
- Units
- PIRO
- Keywords
- Abundance (Biodiversity), Arthropods (Arthropoda), Centaurea biebersteinii (Spotted Knapweed), Curculionidae, Distribution (Biodiversity), Exotic Species, Formicidae, Observations, Presence (Biodiversity), Sand Dunes