Abstract
Exotic plant species often negatively affect native herbivores due to the lack of palatability of the invading plant. Although often unsuitable as food, certain invasive species may provide non-nutritional ecological benefits through increased habitat structural complexity. To understand the potential for common invasive forest plant species of the eastern United States to benefit invertebrate communities, we examined the functional and taxonomic community composition of forest insects and spiders in long-term monitoring plots that contained invasive plant species. The extent of invasive plant species ground cover significantly altered spider community composition as categorized by hunting guild. Areas with higher invasive herbaceous and grass cover contained a higher abundance of space web-weaving and hunting spiders, respectively. Spider species richness and total invertebrate abundance also increased with greater invasive grass cover. Still, these trends were driven by just two invasive plant species, garlic mustard and Japanese stiltgrass, both of which have previously been shown to provide structural benefits to native invertebrate taxa. While these two species may improve the structural component of understory forest habitat, many invertebrate groups were not significantly correlated with other prevalent invasive plants and one species, mock strawberry, negatively affected the abundance of certain insect taxa. Particularly in forests with reduced native plant structure, invasive plant management must be conducted with consideration for holistic habitat quality, including both plant palatability and structure.
Highlights
Invasive plant species are widely known for the negative consequences they impose on native plants and are responsible for wholescale changes in plant communities and natural ecological systems
Microstegium vimineum was the only invasive grass identified in the plots, with ground cover estimates ranging from 0 to nearly 74% with mean 25.93%
Invasive plant species in the deciduous forests of our study area variously resulted in negative, positive, and non-significant impacts to the invertebrate community, depending on the plant species and invertebrate taxon and functional group. Such relationships are species-specific, varying with plant palatability and structural characteristics of the invading species. This variation highlights the need for holistic analysis to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the complex effects of invasive plant species
Summary
Invasive plant species are widely known for the negative consequences they impose on native plants and are responsible for wholescale changes in plant communities and natural ecological systems. Such invasive species, when established in a novel environment, compete with native flora for space, nutrients, and pollination services (Mack et al, 2000). While much of Invasive Plant Benefits for Invertebrates the literature regarding impacts of invasive plants to native animals has focused on these effects to herbivores, a better understanding requires a more holistic and comprehensive approach that includes other trophic levels and functional groups (Harvey et al, 2010b). While not related to plant palatability or suitability for larval development per se, these non-nutritional factors may still influence the functional and taxonomic composition of the animal community
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