Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T19:43:52.706Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Landscape factors driving the spread of the invasive grass, Hymenachne amplexicaulis, among wetlands in a Florida subtropical grazing land

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2020

Elizabeth H. Bouchard ,
Grégory Sonnier Open the ORCID record for Grégory Sonnier [Opens in a new window] ,
Steffan Pierre Open the ORCID record for Steffan Pierre [Opens in a new window] ,
Amartya Saha Open the ORCID record for Amartya Saha [Opens in a new window] ,
Vivienne Sclater  and
Elizabeth H. Boughton Open the ORCID record for Elizabeth H. Boughton [Opens in a new window]
Elizabeth H. Bouchard
Affiliation:
Research Intern, Archbold Biological Station–Buck Island Ranch, Lake Placid, FL, USA
Grégory Sonnier*
Affiliation:
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Archbold Biological Station–Buck Island Ranch, Lake Placid, FL, USA
Steffan Pierre
Affiliation:
Research Specialist, Archbold Biological Station–Buck Island Ranch, Lake Placid, FL, USA
Amartya Saha
Affiliation:
Eco-hydrologist, Archbold Biological Station–Buck Island Ranch, Lake Placid, FL, USA
Vivienne Sclater
Affiliation:
GIS and Data Manager, Archbold Biological Station–Buck Island Ranch, Lake Placid, FL, USA
Elizabeth H. Boughton
Affiliation:
Associate Research Biologist, Program Director, Agroecology, Archbold Biological Station–Buck Island Ranch, Lake Placid, FL, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Grégory Sonnier, Archbold Biological Station–Buck Island Ranch, Lake Placid, FL33852. (Email: gsonnier@archbold-station.org)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Wetlands embedded in agroecosystems provide vital ecosystem services (i.e., freeze protection, water retention, nutrient cycling, biodiversity support). However, they are particularly susceptible to invasion by nonnative species. West Indian marsh grass [Hymenachne amplexicaulis (Rudge) Nees] is a major wetland invader in Florida. Despite the documented consequences of H. amplexicaulis invasions, the landscape factors influencing the spread of this species are poorly understood. In this study, we asked whether landscape factors associated with wetland isolation, connectivity, and land management influence the presence of H. amplexicaulis among wetlands embedded in pastures. We recorded the presence or absence of H. amplexicaulis in 158 seasonal wetlands embedded in different pasture types (semi-natural vs. intensively managed). Wetland area, isolation from neighboring wetlands, isolation from the nearest source ditch, and connectivity were determined using a geographic information system (GIS). We related landscape factors to H. amplexicaulis using generalized linear models and model selection based on the second-order Akaike information criterion. Hymenachne amplexicaulis was first detected at the study site in the early 2000s. By 2018, we observed this species in 66% of the surveyed wetlands. The likelihood of observing H. amplexicaulis was higher in wetlands embedded in semi-natural pastures and higher in less isolated wetlands, especially when connected to a ditch. These results indicate that H. amplexicaulis spreads both overland (during seasonal flooding) and via the ditch network. Future work is needed to understand whether seeds or stolons are the primary invasion propagule and whether the species forms a persistent seed bank that could slow down restoration efforts. Additionally, further research is required to understand the ecological impact of this highly invasive plant in Florida wetlands.

Keywords

Dispersalditch networkseasonal wetlandswetland isolationwetland connectivity
Type
Case Study
Information
Invasive Plant Science and Management , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , September 2020 , pp. 155 - 162
Copyright
© Weed Science Society of America, 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Associate Editor: Guillaume Fried, ANSES

References

Babbitt, KJ (2005) The relative importance of wetland size and hydroperiod for amphibians in southern New Hampshire, USA. Wetl Ecol Manag 13:269–279 10.1007/s11273-004-7521-xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boughton, EH, Quintana-Ascencio, PF, Bohlen, PJ, Fauth, JE, Jenkins, DG (2016) Interactive effects of pasture management intensity, release from grazing and prescribed fire on forty subtropical wetland plant assemblages. J Appl Ecol 53:159–170 10.1111/1365-2664.12536CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boughton, EH, Quintana-Ascencio, PF, Bohlen, PJ, Jenkins, DG, Pickert, R (2010) Land-use and isolation interact to affect wetland plant assemblages. Ecography 33:461–470 Google Scholar
Boughton, EH, Quintana-Ascencio, PF, Nickerson, D, Bohlen, PJ (2011) Management intensity affects the relationship between non-native and native species in subtropical wetlands. Appl Veg Sci 14:210–220 10.1111/j.1654-109X.2010.01116.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brooks, RT, Hayashi, M (2002) Depth-area-volume and hydroperiod relationships of ephemeral (vernal) forest pools in southern New England. Wetlands 22:247–255 10.1672/0277-5212(2002)022[0247:DAVAHR]2.0.CO;2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burnham, KP, Anderson, DR (2002) Model Selection and Multimodel Inference—A Practical Information-Theoretic Approach. 2nd ed. New York: Springer-Verlag. 488 pGoogle Scholar
Cade, BS (2015) Model averaging and muddled multimodel inferences. Ecology 96:2370–2382 10.1890/14-1639.1CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Charles, H, Dukes, JS (2007) Impacts of invasive species on ecosystem services. Pages 217–237 in Nentwig, W, ed. Biological Invasions. Berlin: Springer CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cosentino, BJ, Schooley, RL, Phillips, CA (2010) Wetland hydrology, area, and isolation influence occupancy and spatial turnover of the painted turtle, Chrysemys picta. Landscape Ecol 25:1589–1600 Google Scholar
Csurhes, SM, Mackey, AP, Fitzsimmons, L (1999) Hymenachne (Hymenachne amplexicaulis) in Queensland. Brisbane, Australia: Department of Natural Resources and Mines. 40 pGoogle Scholar
Dawson, W, Moser, D, Kleunen, M van, Kreft, H, Pergl, J, Pyšek, P, Weigelt, P, Winter, M, Lenzner, B, Blackburn, TM, Dyer, EE, Cassey, P, Scrivens, SL, Economo, EP, Guénard, B, et al. (2017) Global hotspots and correlates of alien species richness across taxonomic groups. Nat Ecol Evol 1:1–7 10.1038/s41559-017-0186CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diaz, R, Overholt, WA, Sellers, B, Cuda, JP (2013) Wetland Weeds: West Indian Marsh Grass (Hymenachne amplexicaulis). Gainesville, FL: University of Florida IFAS Extension. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in491. Accessed: January 20, 2020Google Scholar
Dunne, EJ, Smith, J, Perkins, DB, Clark, MW, Jawitz, JW, Reddy, KR (2007) Phosphorus storages in historically isolated wetland ecosystems and surrounding pasture uplands. Ecol Eng 31:16–28 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2007.05.004CrossRefGoogle Scholar
EDDMapS (2020) Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia - Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health. http://www.eddmaps.org/. Accessed: January 10, 2020Google Scholar
Environmental Systems Research Institute (2015) ArcGIS Desktop. Redlands, CA: Environmental Systems Research InstituteGoogle Scholar
Favre-Bac, L, Ernoult, A, Mony, C, Rantier, Y, Nabucet, J, Burel, F (2014) Connectivity and propagule sources composition drive ditch plant metacommunity structure. Acta Oecologica 61:57–64 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Favre-Bac, L, Mony, C, Ernoult, A, Burel, F, Arnaud, J-F (2016) Ditch network sustains functional connectivity and influences patterns of gene flow in an intensive agricultural landscape. Heredity 116:200–212 10.1038/hdy.2015.90CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fox, J, Weisberg, S (2018) An R Companion to Applied Regression. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 608 pGoogle Scholar
Hanski, I, Thomas, CD (1994) Metapopulation dynamics and conservation: A spatially explicit model applied to butterflies. Biol Conserv 68:167–180 10.1016/0006-3207(94)90348-4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, KU (1996) Hymenachne amplexicaulis: A Review of the Literature and Summary of Work in Florida. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Extension. http://www.naples.net/~kuh/hymen.htm. Accessed: January 10, 2020Google Scholar
Houston, WA, Duivenvoorden, LJ (2002) Replacement of littoral native vegetation with the ponded pasture grass Hymenachne amplexicaulis: effects on plant, macroinvertebrate and fish biodiversity of backwaters in the Fitzroy River, Central Queensland, Australia. Mar Freshw Res 53:1235–1244 10.1071/MF01042CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lehtinen, RM, Galatowitsch, SM, Tester, JR (1999) Consequences of habitat loss and fragmentation for wetland amphibian assemblages. Wetlands 19:1–12 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Low, T (1997) Tropical pasture plants as weeds. Trop Grassl 31:337–343 Google Scholar
Mazerolle, MJ (2017) AICcmodavg: model selection and multimodel inference based on (Q)AIC(c.). https://cran.r-project.org/package=AICcmodavg. Accessed: January 10, 2020Google Scholar
Middleton, BA (1999) Wetland Restoration, Flood Pulsing, and Disturbance Dynamics. New York: Wiley. 404 pGoogle Scholar
Overholt, WA, Diaz, R, Cuda, JP, Benshoff, P (2006) Community Level Impact and Potential Management Practices of West Indian Marsh Grass in the Myakka River Watershed. Fort Pierce, FL: Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. http://chnep.wateratlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/WestIndianMarshGrassImpacts_UF5-07.pdf. Accessed: January 10, 2020Google Scholar
Pierre, SM, Quintana-Ascencio, PF, Boughton, EH, Jenkins, DG (2017) Dispersal and local environment affect the spread of an invasive apple snail (Pomacea maculata) in Florida, USA. Biol Invasions 19:2647–2661 10.1007/s10530-017-1474-5CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rasran, L, Vogt, K (2018) Ditches as species-rich secondary habitats and refuge for meadow species in agricultural marsh grasslands. Appl Veg Sci 21:21–32 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
R Development Core Team (2017) R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical ComputingGoogle Scholar
Shulman, RS, Chase, JM (2007) Increasing isolation reduces predator:prey species richness ratios in aquatic food webs. Oikos 116:1581–1587 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snodgrass, JW, Bryan, J A Lawrence, Lide, RF, Smith, GM (1996) Factors affecting the occurrence and structure of fish assemblages in isolated wetlands of the upper coastal plain, U.S.A. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 53:443–454 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snodgrass, JW, Komoroski, MJ, Bryan, AL, Burger, J (2000) Relationships among isolated wetland size, hydroperiod, and amphibian species richness: implications for wetland regulations. Conserv Biol 14:414–419 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soomers, H, Karssenberg, D, Soons, MB, Verweij, PA, Verhoeven, JTA, Wassen, MJ (2013) Wind and water dispersal of wetland plants across fragmented landscapes. Ecosystems 16:434–451 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soomers, H, Winkel, DN, Du, Y, Wassen, MJ (2010) The dispersal and deposition of hydrochorous plant seeds in drainage ditches. Freshw Biol 55:2032–2046 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steinman, AD, Conklin, J, Bohlen, PJ, Uzarski, DG (2003) Influence of cattle grazing and pasture land use on macroinvertebrate communities in freshwater wetlands. Wetlands 23:877–889 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swain, HM, Boughton, EH, Bohlen, PJ, Lollis, LO (2013) Trade-offs among ecosystem services and disservices on a Florida ranch. Rangelands 35:75–87 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Toth, LA (2017) Variant restoration trajectories for wetland plant communities on a channelized floodplain. Restor Ecol 25:342–353 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verhoeven, JTA, Setter, TL (2010) Agricultural use of wetlands: opportunities and limitations. Ann Bot 105:155–163 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vitousek, PM, D’Antonio, CM, Loope, LL, Westbrooks, R (1996) Biological invasions as global environmental change. Am Sci 84:468–478 Google Scholar
Wearne, LJ, Clarkson, J, Grice, AC, van Klinken, RD, Vitelli, JS (2010) The biology of Australian weeds 56. “Hymenachne amplexicaulis” (Rudge) Nees. Plant Prot Q 25:146 Google Scholar
Wearne, LJ, Grice, AC, Nicholas, M (2008) Phenotypic variation within contrasting environments: a study of the invasive macrophyte, Hymenachne amplexicaulis across Australia. Pages 162–164 in Proceedings of the 16th Australian Weeds Conference. Cairns Convention Centre, North Queensland, Australia, May 18–22, 2008Google Scholar
Wildin, JH (1989) Hymenachne amplexicaulis (Rudge) Nees (hymenachne) cv. Olive. Aust J Exp Agric 29:293–293 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zedler, JB (2003) Wetlands at your service: reducing impacts of agriculture at the watershed scale. Front Ecol Environ 1:65–72 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zedler, JB, Kercher, S (2004) Causes and consequences of invasive plants in wetlands: opportunities, opportunists, and outcomes. Crit Rev Plant Sci 23:431–452 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zedler, JB, Kercher, S (2005) Wetland resources: status, trends, ecosystem services, and restorability. Annu Rev Environ Res 30:39–74 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Bouchard et al. supplementary material

Table S1 and Figure S1

Download Bouchard et al. supplementary material(File)
File 381.8 KB