Grantee Research Project Results

2002 Progress Report: Impact of Invasive Plants on Abundance and Fitness of Salamanders

EPA Grant Number: R828902
Title: Impact of Invasive Plants on Abundance and Fitness of Salamanders
Investigators: Blossey, Bernd , Maerz, John C. , Liebherr, James K. , Nuzzo, Victoria
Institution: Cornell University
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: August 3, 2001 through August 2, 2004
Project Period Covered by this Report: August 3, 2001 through August 2, 2002
Project Amount: $446,959
RFA: Exploratory Research to Anticipate Future Environmental Issues (2000) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration , Water , Aquatic Ecosystems

Objective:

The objectives of this research project are to assess whether: (1) changes in vegetation structure and composition associated with nonnative plant invasions affect the performance (survival, fecundity) and abundance of red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) in Northeastern forests; (2) any changes in salamander performance or abundance result from changes in prey quality or abundance associated with nonnative plant invasions; and (3) woodland salamanders are good bioindicators of changes to forest food webs, particularly changes that result from biological invasions.

Progress Summary:

As of November 2002, we have established and initiated the monitoring of 15 long-term research sites in mature forests of the Northeastern United States (see Table 1). We established five sites in central New York to study the effects of garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) invasions, five sites in northeastern Pennsylvania to study the effects of Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) invasions, and five sites in southeastern Pennsylvania to study the effects of Japanese stilt-grass (Microstegium vimineum) invasions. In addition to our 15 invasive plant sites, we established a monitoring site in an old growth forest in central New York. This site has no nonnative plants present and is intended to serve as a reference site for comparison to all other sites, both invaded and noninvaded, that have logging histories.

Table 1. List of Research Sites and Dates Established

Nonnative Plant	Site	Location	Date Established
Alliaria petiolata	Binghamton University, Fuller Hollow	Vestal, NY	May 2000
	Fillmore Glen State Park	Moravia, NY	June 2000
	Waterman Conservation Education Center	Apalachin, NY	July 2000
	Rand Tract	Syracuse, NY	December 2000
	Richford	Richford, NY	November 2001
Berberis thunbergii	Forest Lake Club, Wolf Lake	Hawley, PA	November 2001
	Forest Lake Club, Forest Lake	Hawley, PA	November 2001
	Delaware State Forest, Bethany Turnpike	Germantown, PA	December 2001
	Delaware State Forest, Hunt Run	Germantown, PA	December 2001
	Zimmer Wildlife Sanctuary	Mountainhome, PA	March 2002
Microstegium vimineum	Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Sawmill Road	Kempton, PA	November 2001
	Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Visitor Center	Kempton, PA	November 2001
	French Creek State Park	Elverson, PA	December 2001
	Hopewell Furnace National Historic Park	Elverson, PA	August 2002
	Weiser State Forest Port	Clinton, PA	August 2002

We now have at least 1 year of data for 13 of the invasive plant sites, and 2 months of data for the other 2 sites. We have collected vegetation data from all 15 sites, and 2 sampled invertebrate communities at all 5 garlic mustard sites, 4 barberry sites, and 2 stilt-grass sites. We will complete invertebrate sampling at all sites by next year, giving us a full picture of the invertebrate communities at all sites. Using data from all sites in this first year, and from a subset of those sites established prior to the start of the project, we already have developed a broader understanding of the state of nonnative species in forest food webs. We also have identified some important patterns associated with invasions by all three plant species, and formulated hypotheses about the potential interactive effects of invasions by multiple nonnative species on salamander populations. Of particular importance is the influence of invasions by nonnative earthworms on forest food webs, and the association between earthworm invasions and plant invasions.

We have presented the objectives, design, and preliminary results of this project, and preliminary results from several regional and international meetings to state and federal management agencies and various conservation and naturalist groups in the different regions (see Table 2). We have developed a Web site for this project, where project summaries are posted, and the public can download a copy of our Salamander Population Monitoring Protocols that includes detailed methodologic and relevant literature on population monitoring and the use of salamanders as bioindicators. Links to other related projects within our program also are available.

Table 2. List of Presentations on Effects of Invasive Plants on Salamander Performance and Abundance

Conference	Organization	Location	Date
International Scientific Conferences	Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Annual Meeting	Indianapolis, IN	July 2001
	Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting	Madison, WI	August 2001
	Invasive Plant Society Meeting	Swarthmore, PA	August 2001
	ESF Workshop on Biological Invasions in Terrestrial Ecosystems	Halle, Germany	September 2002
	Invasive Plant Symposium	Schuykill Center, PA	November 2002
State and Federal Groups	USDA Mid-Atlantic State Cooperators Forest Health Meeting	Rehoboth, DE	October 2001
	PA DCNR Regional Forest Managers Meeting	Harrisburg, PA	January 2002
	PA DCNR Regional Forest Health Conference	Minton, PA	March 2002
	PA DCNR Northeastern Forest Pest Management Conference	Hazelton, PA	August 2002
Academic and Public Seminars	Olive Natural Heritage Society/Catskill Center for the Environment	Olive, NY	September 2001
	Wildflower Association of Michigan	Lansing, MI	March 2002
	Finger Lakes Native Plant Society	Ithaca, NY	May 2002
	Lacawac Sanctuary	Lacawac, PA	August 2002
	Hawk Mountain Sanctuary	Kempton, PA	September 2002
	Sienna College	Loudonville, NY	September 2002

Future Activities:

We will continue to monitor all of our study sites for the next 2 years. We will refine the way we measure salamander abundance, and the way we measure aspects of salamander performance (e.g., growth, fecundity, and survival). In addition, we will continue to monitor changes in plant communities associated with the nonnative plant invasions, and whether these changes correspond to changes in invertebrate distribution or abundance and salamander diets. We also are developing future projects that target specific relationships or mechanisms identified in this study.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 1 publications for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

bioindicators, invasive species, salamander, forest, nonnative earthworms., RFA, Scientific Discipline, Geographic Area, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, amphibians, State, Ecological Risk Assessment, Biology, Exp. Research/future, Futures, emerging environmental problems, bioindicator, biodiversity, forest, biopollution, vegetation, amphibian, salamanders, invasvie species, exploratory research, invasive species, ecological dynamics, invasive plants, amphibian bioindicator, futures research

Relevant Websites:

http://www.invasiveplants.net/ Exit

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

2003

Final Report