A MULTITUDE OF HERBIVORES DETERMINE RESTORATION
A MULTITUDE OF HERBIVORES DETERMINERESTORATION STRATEGIESLuise Hermanutz1, Louis Charron1, John Gosse2, Shawn Leroux1 LauraSiegwart Collier 2, Janet Feltham2, Kirby Tulk2 and lots of students!1Memorial University, 2Terra Nova NP
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSMany students have contributed to this projectover the last 20 years – BIG THANKS!Kofi Boa-Antwi - MScMichael Rose - MScJessica Humber - MScLaura Noel - MScMelissa Moss - MESStacey Camus - MScLouis Charon - MScCharmaine Holloway-HBScDoug Hynes - HBScFloyd Wood - HBScCURRENT STUDENT:Emilie Kissler, PhDCosta Kasimos - MScMany undergraduate summerassistants!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThanks to Parks Canada staff at Terra Nova NP,Gros Morne NP, Provincial Forestry andBiodiversity sections, and all the fundingagencies
Why should restoration professionals beworried about Herbivores?HERBIVORES CAN AFFECT MANY ASPECTS OF ECOSYSTEMS Vegetation community structure & composition Nutrient availability All trophic levels Facilitate invasive species Undermine restoration efforts!Selective foraging by herbivores can shift ecosystems toalternate and/or lower nutrient states, cause trophic cascades,loss of vertebrate and invertebrate habitat, displace rarespecies includes everything invert “pests”, boar, ungulates,goats etc etc
Globally many herbivores are overabundant!!Many impacts, not just vegetation!
Case study of how herbivores shaped restorationoptions on the island of Newfoundland
THE ISLAND OF NEWFOUNDLANDBOREAL FOREST (coastal BALSAMFIR and BLACK SPRUCE)
Moose not native on the island ofNewfoundland, but it is an iconicBoreal element!
Overabundant moose on the island of NewfoundlandMoose Population Estimates, Newfoundland, 1900 – 2000Area Island of Newfoundland 108,860 km2McLaren et al. 2006
Up to date moose population estimate 1975-2016Moose Population EstimateInsular Newfoundland (including National Parks), 1975 - 2016150000140000Population Estimate130000120000110000Peak Population Estimate(1998) 149,300ESTABLISHED TNNPEXCLOSURESPresent Population Estimate(2016) 114,15010000090000800007000060000YearCourtesy of Emilie Kissler
Moose numbers in Terra Nova NP Moose concentrate in balsam fir forests in the parkTNNP 400 km2 – water/non forest – bS dominated forest 75km2 bF!
Overabundant populations of non-native ungulatesthreaten the integrity of natural ecosystemsIn Newfoundland, the cumulative effects of natural insect disturbancegenerates gaps in balsam fir dominated forests [nature disturbance regime]Sprucebudworm FOLLOWED BYHemlock c-comments-on-isle-royale-moose.html selective browsing by overabundant moose RESULTS in a lack of foundation tree regeneration, and transition toalternate state of open spruce savannah
NO REGENERATIONTERRA NOVA NATIONAL PARKCOASTAL BALSAM FIR FORESTSTCH
Creation of moose meadowsLack of regeneration in balsam fir forestsHIGH MOOSE IMPACTBLUE HILLNO MOOSE IMPACTSWALE ISLAND Photos: TNNP
Conversion from balsam fir closed canopy forest to open sprucemeadows , Blue Hill, TNNPRESTORATION TAKE HOME CAN’T USE SEEDS ON TRANSFORMED SITES!Seedbed shift from optimal feathermoss impenetrable grass/herb – INHIBITSGERMINATION OF BALSAM FIR!
Facilitates invasive species negative impacts on seedbedOrange Hawkweed (non-native)Goldenrod (native) Negatively affects the habitats of rare native faunaand flora (birds, mammals, orchids, lichen )NL martenRed crossbillOrchidsBoreal felt-lichenActive restoration, combined with moose density reductions viahunting inside the park was determined to be the best way forwardto regenerate the forested ecosystems within the parkPhotos: TNNP
CAUTION!NOT ALL blame can be put on moose!There are also MANY other invasivespecies that are having an effect onvegetation & seedling regeneration!
RESTORATION TAKE HOME - BEFORE YOU START KNOW YOUR HERBIVORES & INVASIVE SPECIES!SCOPE OF PROBLEM ON THE ISLAND OF NEWFOUNDLAND –the “INVADERS” ANIMALS – half of island’s mammals (12/24) moose, red squirrel, snowshoe hare, red-backed vole, shrew, mink INSECTS/INVERTS – who knows!!!! (SLUGS!) PLANTS – 1/3 non-native!!! ( 500/1500)LONG HISTORY OF COLONISATION avenues of entry.ports, railways, roads purposeful, or not. BUT WILL INCREASE!
RESTORATION TAKE HOME Who Is eating what stage?SeedSeedlingSaplingPhoto: Ben OjoleckMatureadultBalsam fir life cycle
HOW BAD IS IT IN TERRA NOVA NP?EXTREME HERBIVORY!
Natural- levels of post-insect regeneration
r.com/ThingsToDo/MooseDisruption of natural balsam fir lifecycle
Re-establishment of balsam fir multi-aged forests1- Moose hunting Initiated in 2011-12 hunting seasonAlone, not enough to show a return of the forest2- Active restoration by planting of balsam firseedlings
PRIORITISING RESTORATION SITES
STUDY SITE WERE SELECTED BASED ON DISTRUBANCEREGIME Closed canopy forest:Blue Hill Closed Canopy (control) Small openings by wind action:Bread Cove Brook Medium opening formed by insects:Platters Cove Large opening formed by insects:Blue Hill Open CanopyMeasured physical (temp., pH, light, resistance) and biological(all vegetation layers, decomposition rate) factors
Charron and Hermanutz (2016) FEMWarm and dryCompact soilDirect sunlightMEDIUM & LARGE GAPSPoacea sp.Solidago sp.Rubus ideausCanopy coverMoistConifer dominatedPHYSICALMATURE FOREST &SMALL GAPSSEEDBEDFeathermossClintonia borealisGaultheria hispidula
DEVELOPING PROTOCOLS FOR ACTIVE BALSAM FIRFOREST RESTORATION Can’t sow seeds Can’t plant small seedlingsJuly 2013 10,000, 3-4 yr old seedlings planted underPhoto: variousBen Ojoleck seedbedtreatments, into closed canopy and large insect gapsCharron &Hermanutz. 2016. Restoration Ecology
What is the best protocol to restore seedbed? Ground preparationControlPhoto: Ben OjoleckSeedling planted directly into the groundAboveground cutScarificationPhoto: Ben OjoleckAboveground beg was cut prior to planting Reduce AB competitionSoil scarified prior to planting Reduce AB/BL competition
SEEDLING SURVIVAL AFTER 2 SUMMERSPLANTED July 2013 Very high seedling survival ( 85%) but growth higher in open areas! Biologically no difference between TREATMENTS and CONTROL So planting directly into the seedbed was the EASY MANAGEMENT ACTION!
TARGET: Recover the entire “FOREST” ecosystem, not just balsam fir! Expect least palatable species to recover first after moose numbers drop**So indicators of success must not only include foundation species such as bFNEED TO CONSIDER other FOREST SPECIES and their response to herbivory!McLaren et al. (2009) FEM
What to do about herbivores! Know ALL the potential herbivores at your restorationsite before you start! From the smallest to the largest!! Understand the life cycle of your target species andwhat species attack what stage Continue to monitor species for browsing / grazing lossand develop strategies to deal with them As with moose, it may be that you need to do some“pre-treatment” to decrease the herbivory pressureprior to restoration begins
HEY!That’smy twigQUESTIONS?
and flora (birds, mammals, orchids, lichen ) NL marten Red crossbill Orchids Boreal felt-lichen Active restoration, combined with moose density reductions via hunting inside the park was determined to be the best way forward to regenerate the forested ecosystems within the park .
(C) a grassland food chain (D) an undersea food chain 3 How are herbivores and omnivores different? (A) Herbivores eat only plants, while omnivores eat plants and other animals. (B) Omnivores eat only animals and herbivores eat only plants. (C) Herbivores are found only in land food chains while omnivores are found only in ocean food chains.
Plant Immunity to Insect Herbivores Gregg A. Howe1 and Georg Jander2 1Department of Energy-Plant Research Laboratory and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824; email: howeg@msu.edu 2Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Cornell University, Ithaca,
Tropical herbivores provide resilience to a climate mediated phase-shift on temperate reefs Scott Bennett1*, Thomas Wernberg1, Euan Harvey 2, Julia Santana-Garcon1, Ben Saunders Supplementary materials: Figure S1. Time series illustrating mean daily water temperatures on reefs from 2006
Omnivores Herbivores B 6. Consumers that eat only plants Producers Herbivores Omnivores A 7. For energy, eat both plants and animals Omnivores Producers A 8. All of the populations of different species that live in an ecosystem Community Ecosystem Population C 9. The process which energy from the Sun is converted into carbohydrates,
generations that differ in growth po tential and resistance to herbivores, are common among intertidal 21gae (e.g., Ulothrix, Urospora, Petalonia, Scytosiphon, Bangia, and Porphyra). Upright forms of these species are good competitors against other algae 370 but are suspectible to herbivores. Therefore, they occur primarily dur
However, the tundra biome is currently changing in response to increasing temperatures. Herbivores may mitigate some of these responses to warming throughtheir impact on Arctic vegetation. Understanding plant-herbivore interactions is therefore crucial to make better predictions of future Arctic vegetation and possible ecological consequences. .
Problem Statement This project serves to identify which species of oaks support the greatest abundance of insect herbivores. Although we know that native oaks support more insect herbivores than any other plant genus in North America (Tallamy and Shropshire 2009), little is known regarding which species of oak is best.
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