Control of invasive Phragmites australis (European common reed) alters macroinvertebrate communities
The removal of an established invasive species can have significant effects on native communities. We examined how macroinvertebrates communities responded to the glyphosate-based herbicide removal of invasive Phragmites australis (European common reed) in a Lake Erie coastal marsh (Long Point, ON.
Article Abstract
Wetland restoration often involves invasive-plant suppression to encourage the recovery of native-dominated vegetation com-munities. However, assessment of recovery is usually focused only on vegetation, and the response of other critical wetlandbiota, such as macroinvertebrates, is seldom assessed. We characterized the aquatic, semi-aquatic, and terrestrial macroinvertebrate communities in remnant, uninvaded marsh to identify restoration targets and compared this to the communities inPhragmites australis-invaded marsh and in the formerly invaded marsh that was treated with the herbicide glyphosate in 2016 to simultaneously evaluate the effects of invasion and invasive-species suppression. We sampled invertebrates in 2017 and 2018 to track 2 years following herbicide treatment. The invertebrate community composition was similar between P. australis invaded and remnant marsh, suggesting invasion has little effect on macroinvertebrate community structure. Therewas also high concordance between the aquatic and emerging-invertebrate communities in the invaded and uninvaded habi-tats. In contrast, herbicide-treated sites had a unique community composition, characterized by very high densities of Chironomidae (Diptera) and low taxa richness and evenness. Herbicide-treated sites also exhibited low concordance between theaquatic and emerging-invertebrate communities, potentially attributable to the sparse, emergent-vegetation cover providinglimited substrates for emergence. Herbicide-based, invasive-species control resulted in considerable changes to the macroinver-tebrate community in freshwater marshes for at least 2 years after treatment, which may have consequences for aquatic foodwebs and species that rely on macroinvertebrates as prey.
Data and Scripts
Citation
Robichaud, C.D., Basso, J.V. and Rooney, R.C., 2022. Control of invasive Phragmites australis (European common reed) alters macroinvertebrate communities. Restoration Ecology Link