Invasion, Biodiversity, and Conservation:
What Are They and How Are They
Connected?
Laura Hancock, M.S. student
University of Massachusetts
Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Program
Picture: http://www.jzenvironmental.biz/invasive-species.php
Overview
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6.
Photo: Peter Muka
Invasion
Stinson Lab Research
Biodiversity
Conservation
Connecting these ideas
How you can get involved
Invasion: What is it?
• Native species live in an area where they are found
naturally
• Species that have been moved by human activities to a
location where they don’t naturally occur are exotic
species
• When an exotic species negatively alters the native
communities or causes economic problems it is invasive
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-ftiWffNTc
• Not all exotic species are invasive!
http://gilbertlake.org/2014/09-25-14-invasive-species.htm
Invasion: What About Plants?
• Animal invasions make it into the news a lot,
but plants matter too!
• Its really easy to (accidentally) transport them
• Plants “self fertilize”
http://ourstoriesandperspectives.com/2012/04/02/new-boot-brush-stations-curb-hitchhiking-seeds/
Invasion Hypotheses
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Biotic Resistance Hypothesis
Propagule pressure
Enemy release
Novel weapons
Polyploidy
And many others
http://www.slideshare.net/LaurentLamarque/ecology-and-evolution-of-maple-tree-invasion
Biotic Resistance Hypothesis
• Ecosystems with high biodiversity are more
resistant to invasive species than ecosystems
with low biodiversity
• Low biodiversity = more invasible?
http://philschatz.com/biology-concepts-book/contents/m45571.html
http://www.slideshare.net/MaraLuarte/low-and-high-biodiversity
Propagule Pressure Hypothesis
• Propagule = seed
• Number of seeds released * number of releasing events
• Lots of seeds * lots of events = high propagule pressure
Photo: Peter Muka
Enemy Release Hypothesis
http://bigsciencelittlesummaries.com/can-invaders-become-darwinian-demons/
Novel Weapons Hypothesis
• Novel = new
• Weapon = defense/ increases competitive
ability
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/03/todays-high-tech-archery-isnt-much-like-the-hungergames-version/255041/
Polyploidy
• Polyploid = more than two chromosomes
• More chromosomes
= more variation
= can better adapt to new places
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyploid
Is it Invasive?!
http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/plants/knotweed_child.shtml
http://www.ecocontrol.co.uk/gallery.asp
http://northforkwatershed.tripod.com/id6.html
Is it Invasive?!
YES!
Fallopia japonica; Japanese knotweed
http://www.newsweek.com/2014/07/11/japanese-knotweed-driving-men-murder-257257.html
Is it Invasive!?
http://woodyplants.wikidot.com/rhamnus-frangula
Is it Invasive!?
YES!
Rhamnus frangula; glossy buckthorn
http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=FRAL4
http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=FRAL4
Guess the Invasive!?
https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/oriental-bittersweet
https://gobotany.newenglandwild.org/species/celastrus/scandens/
Guess the Invasive!?
Celastrus orbiculatus; Oriental bittersweet
https://gobotany.newenglandwild.org/species/celastrus/scandens/
https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/oriental-bittersweet
Is it Invasive!?
http://en.cvetq.info/news.php?extend.71.15
Is it Invasive!?
YES!
Rosa multiflora; multiflora rose
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/tree-shrub/multiflora-rose
Is it Invasive?!
http://homelandscape.net/norway-maple/
Is it Invasive?!
YES!
Acer platanoides; Norway Maple
http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/midatlantic/acpl.htm
http://homelandscape.net/norway-maple/
The Stinson Research Lab
The main goals in our lab:
1. Identify range expansion mechanisms and changes
in a population of garlic musatrd over time -> Me
2. Characterize the disruption of plant-mycorrhizal
symbioses by garlic mustard -> Julia + Collaborators
3. Quantify the effects of global change on garlic
mustard and its ability to invade -> Me, Julia,
Collaborators
4. Identify the best way to eradicate garlic mustard
while quickly restoring the native ecosystems
Alliaria petiolata; garlic mustard
• Invasive herbacious plant in much of the US
• Introduced to the US in about 1860
• Prefers “edge” habitats, however..
http://www.eddmaps.org/distribution/uscounty.cfm?sub=3005
More on Garlic Mustard
• Biennial plant -> two year growth
First year rosettes
Photo: Peter Muka
Second year adults
http://eattheweeds.com/forum/index.php?topic=1231.0
https://extension.umass.edu/landscape/weeds/
alliaria-petiolata
Garlic Mustard and Mycorrhizal Fungi
• What is arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)??
• Garlic mustard doesn’t associate with AMF
• Garlic mustard inhibits association between
native plants and AMF!
http://www.uws.edu.au/hie/research/research_projects/how_plants_benefit_from_par
tnerships_with_soil_fungi
My research: What is it?
I’m trying to figure out:
1. Are the edge and understory sub-populations
similar in size?
2. Is garlic mustard able to successfully sustain itself
in the forest understory over time? Or is there a
source-sink dynamic?
3. Is there a selection for a different ‘type’ of garlic
mustard plant?
•
E.g. smaller, taller, more flowers, more glucosinolates?
My research: Methods
Forest Understory
= Shady
Forest Edge = Sunny
Forest Understory
= Shady
Forest Edge = Sunny
Forest Edge = Sunny
Forest Understory
= Shady
3 site * 2 habitats each = 6 plots
At each of the 6 plots the number of rosettes and adults were counted
Sites were counted in 2003, 2004, 2015
Garlic Mustard: IRL
Photo: Peter Muka
Photo: Peter Muka
My research: Results
Another Piece to the Puzzle…
• What about Climate change?
http://prn.fm/nature-bats-last-10-06-15/
Julia and the SWaN Plots
• All plots are at the Harvard Forest, an LTER site
• Soil Warming and Nitrogen Plots
1.
2.
3.
4.
Control (no change)
Warmed Soil
Extra Nitrogen
Warmed Soil + Extra Nitrogen
http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/blog/soil-alive%E2%80%A6%E2%80%A6with-microorganisms
Diversity!
How do we measure it?
• Species Richness (= number of species in a
community)
• But what about evenness?
– It’s a measure of how close each species is in the
community
• Two main indices:
1. Shannon Index 
2. Simpson Index 
Richness and Evenness
Richness = 5
Richness = 5
Diversity & Invasion
• Some native species use invasive species as a
food source or nesting sites, however..
• Simply adding a species doesn’t mean more
diversity
• Video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JftiWffNTc
Connecting Invasion, Biodiversity, and
Conservation
• What do we conserve?
• Conservation is already hard to do
• Think back to Invasion hypotheses and
ecological interactions
http://iccopywriting.com/conservation-is-key/
Get involved
• Go Botany; gobotany.newenglandwild.org
• TIPS Network; tipsenemies.com