Odum Poster Theme A

Odum Conference Poster Abstracts

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Theme A: Invasive species management activities that incorporate a dynamic aspect

* indicates presenting author.

Cassano, John¹; Alvey, Rob²* – (1)Garden City High School; (2)US EPA and Garden City Bird Sanctuary

Making sump-thing happen: Eradication research on Japanese knotweed

Nassau County Storm Water Storage Basin #232 in Garden City, Long Island, is a 9-acre "sump" established as a pilot site with the Nassau County Department of Public Works to demonstrate the "Dual Use" potential between local communities and the County. This permits use of many of Nassau County's 600 basins as passive parks, recreational fields and nature preserves while maintaining their original function to drain streets and roads. The site, renamed the Garden City Bird Sanctuary has been re-landscaped as a community nature preserve and bird sanctuary for educational and environmental stewardship programs. All maintenance is conducted through voluntary community services.

After an inventory identified extensive areas of alien exotic invasive plants, an Agreement of Understanding was signed with the Long Island Weed Management Task Force. Efforts to eliminate Ailanthus, oriental bittersweet, and Norway maple continue. One innovative program for researching eradication of Japanese Knotweed was initiated through the efforts of John Cassano, a student at Garden City High School. Under the direction of Rob Alvey, the student designed a Boy Scout Eagle project to map and test methods to control or eradicate Japanese Knotweed. Four areas were staked out in the spring of 2008. Once the areas were cut, an area was designated the control area. A second parcel was repeatedly cut, a third blanketed, and a fourth parcel was treated with either Roundup of vinegar. The parcels were monitored during the year and the effectiveness of the treatments assessed. The success of the research program enabled John to successfully complete his Eagle project and also participate in the 2009 Long Island Science and Engineering Fair through his high school science program. The effectiveness of blanketing has lead to the expansion of eradication efforts at other storm water basins on Long Island.

Kiviat, Erik* – Hudsonia Ltd

Dynamic, goal-directed, site-specific management of Phragmites

Habitat functions and other ecosystem services provided by Phragmites australis in North America vary in space and time. Animals and plants associated with Phragmites-dominated vegetation (reedbeds) may be diverse and include species of conservation concern depending on the local environment and the architecture of the vegetation. For example, extensive dense reedbeds in coastal marshes are used by breeding northern harriers; impounded standing water reedbeds interspersed with shallow pools support diverse breeding marsh and water birds; small dense reedbeds in freshwater tidal marshes attract ten species of roosting songbirds in large numbers; several rare vascular plants occur in reedbed edges or in sparse reedbeds; reedbeds are used by mammals, birds, snakes, fishes, butterflies, and odonates for foraging, food, escape cover, thermoregulation, flood refuge, and display perches. Taxon, life stage, geographic area, livestock grazing, and habitat structure affect the biota of reedbeds. Habitat structure includes patch size, edge vs. interior, admixture of other plant species (e.g., shrubs, vines), interspersion with other communities, hydropattern, soils, and salinity. Goal-directed and site-specific management of reedbeds should be an optimization process to improve habitat while providing nutrient removal, soil stabilization, carbon sequestration, and products. Management may include eradication, containment, partial removal of biomass, and planting other species to diversify the reedbeds, in order to achieve the locally desired goals. This dynamic approach may be applicable to other abundant, long-present invasive plants.

Kleppel, Gary S. *; LaBarge, Erin – University at Albany, SUNY

Ecosystem-based targeted grazing and the control of Lythrum salicaria in wet meadows: Establishing a dynamic relationship between ovine herbivores and the plant community

Control of Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife) by mechanical means and herbicides has been marginally effective at best, as this Eurasian import has become ubiquitous throughout the Northeast, much of the Midwest and the Northwest. Recent attempts at control with insects have been promising. We report here on a protocol to control the spread of L. salicaria and potentially restore native plant biodiversity in wet meadows using the ecosystem-based, targeted grazing – deployment of carefully selected ovine breeds into an invaded landscape in ways that mimic the biomass and temporal distributions of large, wild herbivores. The study was performed between June 16 and August 3, 2008, in a wet meadow, on an agricultural landscape in East Berne, NY, that is heavily invaded by L. salicaria. Romney sheep were moved, at 3-d intervals, through a system of four, 200 m2 paddocks, bounded by movable electrical fencing. The ovine biomass was 3 times the biomass equivalent, i.e., 3 tons acre-1, used in conventional livestock grazing operations. Comparisons were made to ungrazed controls. The grazed sites had lower median plant canopy and lower L. salicaria flower density than controls. Numbers of L. salicaria stems, however, increased. The increase in stems appears generally not to be due to vegetative spreading as median proportional cover by L. salicaria decreased by 221.3% in the grazed paddocks, as opposed to an increase of 1.7% in the controls. Recovery of native plant species was also observed.

Schwartzberg, Lora¹*; Montgomery, Michael E²; McDonald, Richard³ – (1) SUNY New Paltz; (2) US Forest Service, Northern Research Station; (3) Symbiont

A preliminary study of the biology of Scymnus (Pullus) coniferarum Crotch 1874 (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), an adelgid predator native to the western United States and a potential biocontrol for Adelges tsugae

The conifer lady beetle, Scymnus coniferarum, is widely distributed in the western United States. More than 200 specimens were collected from adelgid infested hemlock in the Seattle, Washington vicinity to establish a laboratory colony for evaluation and assess its potential for biocontrol of Adelges tsugae, hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), widely distributed in the eastern U.S. The developmental and reproductive biology of S. coniferarum have been examined in the laboratory. Its host range remains to be evaluated. Scymnus coniferarum fed readily on HWA, laid eggs on HWA infested foliage, and its larva completed development on HWA, confirming that HWA is a suitable host for S. coniferarum. During a 24 hr test period S. coniferarum consumed a mean of 8.6 eggs, 2.8 nymphs, and 1.0 adult adelgids. From egg to adult took an average of 34 days at 20° C, photoperiod 14:10 (L: D) h, and 70-99% humidity. Fourteen percent of 102 eggs developed into adults. Based on this preliminary study of the biology of S. coniferarum, it appears to be a promising candidate for biological control of A. tsugae. Due to the wide range of the host, prey, and predator, global warming/climate change may have only a minor impact on this dynamic association.