Nutrient desposition and drought effects on arthropod herbivore damage in longleaf pine savanna understory
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- William T. Mann Jr. (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Sally Koerner
Abstract: Herbivory, a key ecosystem process, ensures the cycling of energy and nutrients. A particularly important driver of grassland and savanna dynamics, nearly a third of plant production moves up the food web by herbivory. Arthropod herbivores account for the majority of herbivory in some grassland systems. Worldwide arthropod abundance and biodiversity are being lost at alarming rates in what is known as the insect apocalypse. Longleaf pine (LLP) savanna, once expansive throughout the southeastern United States, is now critically threatened, with only 4% of the historical range remaining. Over 900 plant and animal species reside in its understory, making this one of the most diverse systems in the world. The LLP tree is lauded as ‘the tree that built the South’, making the LLP savanna historically and ecologically valuable. Increased drought occurrence and nutrient deposition threaten restoration and conservation success in LLP savannas, among other global change factors. My research aims to understand how nutrient deposition and drought will interreact to affect herbivory. I utilize an existing long-term (4 years total) drought and nutrient experiment in a healthy, mesic LLP savanna in the Sandhills Gamelands of North Carolina (Richmond County). I aim to (1) Quantify the impact of global change on herbivore damage in four dominant understory plant species and determine how herbivore damage changes through time across two timescales; and (2) Explore various mechanisms’ effects on the magnitude of herbivore damage. Arthropods are a significant component of most ecosystems; understanding the roles they play – especially under global change – and how these roles may differ in the future will help land managers prepare for the changes to come.
Nutrient desposition and drought effects on arthropod herbivore damage in longleaf pine savanna understory
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Created on 8/1/2024
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 2024
- Keywords
- Arthropod Community, Climate Change, Community Ecology, Ecology, Herbivory, Nutrient Cycling
- Subjects
- Arthropoda $x Ecology $z North Carolina $z Richmond County
- Herbivores $x Ecology $z North Carolina $z Richmond County
- Savanna ecology $z North Carolina $z Richmond County
- Longleaf pine $z North Carolina $z Richmond County