Effects of Invasive Lonicera maackii on Bat Activity via Changes in Vegetation Structure and Food Resources
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Science
Major
Biology
Date of Defense
4-20-2015
Graduate Advisor
Robert Marquis, Ph.D.
Committee
Patricia Parker
Robert Ricklefs
Abstract
I investigated how the invasive plant, bush honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), influences the foraging of insectivorous bats in forests. In Chapter 1, I review the literature on how invasive plant species influence terrestrial vertebrates and outline two mechanisms -- changes to vegetative structure and food resources -- through which vertebrate consumers are influenced. I review the positive and negative ways each mechanism can affect vertebrates and when available, provide examples from the literature. In Chapter 2, I present the results of a study designed to determine the effects of bush honeysuckle on vegetation structure, arthropod communities, and foraging activity of insectivorous bats in deciduous forests of Missouri. I found that bush honeysuckle increased vegetative density but did not affect abundance or biomass of arthropods. Bat activity was negatively affected by changes to vegetative structure due to increasing honeysuckle height and density.
Recommended Citation
Kuczynska, Iwona, "Effects of Invasive Lonicera maackii on Bat Activity via Changes in Vegetation Structure and Food Resources" (2015). Theses. 19.
https://irl.umsl.edu/thesis/19