%0 Journal Article %J Biological Invasions %D 2012 %T The invasive Lespedeza cuneata attracts more insect pollinators than native congeners in tallgrass prairie with variable impacts %A Woods, T.M. %A Jonas, J.L. %A Ferguson, C.J. %K Apis mellifera %K Competition %K Facilitation %K Invasive %K Lespedeza %K Pollination %X

Invasive plant species can potentially exert competitive or facilitative effects on insect pollination services of native species. Factors that influence these effects include the degree of shared pollinator species, synchronous flowering phenology, similar flower morphology and color, relatedness of invasive and natives, and showiness and densities of flowers. We investigated such plant-pollinator dynamics by comparing the invasive Lespedeza cuneata and three native congeners, all sympatric with synchronous flowering, using in situ populations over 2 years during peak floral displays. Insect visitation rates of the invasive were significantly higher per plant in both years than on the native species. The invasive exerted a competitive effect on visitation of the two native species with fewer shared pollinators, and a facilitative effect on visitation of the native species with the highest degree of shared insect visitors. Positive correlations were found between floral density and visitation rate per plant in all the native species. Although no such correlation was found for the invasive, floral density in L. cuneata was at least twenty times higher than in the native species and likely saturated the response of the pollinator community. Analyses of insect visitor taxonomic data indicated the insect communities visiting each of the Lespedeza species were generally similar though with species-specific differences. The main exception was that the common honeybee, Apis mellifera, was a primary visitor to the invasive plant species, yet was never observed on the native Lespedeza species.

%B Biological Invasions %V 14 %P 1045 -1059 %G eng %U https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10530-011-0138-0 %M KNZ001458 %R 10.1007/s10530-011-0138-0 %0 Journal Article %J Biological Invasions %D 2009 %T High propagule production and reproductive fitness homeostasis contribute to the invasiveness of Lespedeza cuneata (Fabaceae) %A Woods, T.M. %A D.C. Hartnett %A Ferguson, C.J. %K Cleistogamy %K Fitness homeostasis %K Invasive %K Lespedeza %K Pollination %K Propagule production %K Regeneration niche %K tallgrass prairie %X

Comparative studies of congeneric native and exotic species have proved fruitful in understanding plant traits that foster invasion. Using this approach, we investigate the complex reproductive system of the invasive Lespedeza cuneata (Dum.-Cours.) G. Don in relation to three native congeners in the variable environment of the North American tallgrass prairie. Lespedeza species produce both chasmogamous (CH) and cleistogamous (CL) flowers, and propagate clonally via vegetative buds. Utilizing multiple natural populations over 2 years, we investigated reproductive modes of individuals from bagged and unbagged treatments of each species. We found that L. cuneata produced a mean of five times as many seeds and a significantly greater number of vegetative buds than any native studied, and over twenty times as many CH flowers. Insect visitation significantly affected seed set in CH flowers, though some autonomous CH selfing occurred in all species. The invasive relied relatively less on selfing than the natives and exhibited less variation in reproductive output from both modes of reproduction. We conclude that the diverse reproductive biology and wide regeneration niche of L. cuneata in relation to its native congeners confer a fitness homeostasis that facilitates the successful spread of this invasive under a wide range of conditions.

%B Biological Invasions %V 11 %P 1913 -1927 %G eng %U https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10530-008-9369-0 %M KNZ001286 %R 10.1007/s10530-008-9369-0 %0 Generic %D 2008 %T The effects of bison grazing on plant diversity in a tallgrass prairie (Konza Prairie LTER). Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology %A Dalgleish, H.J. %A Woods, T.M. %B Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology %G eng %U http://tiee.ecoed.net/vol/v5/practice/dalgleish/abstract.html %M KNZ001222 %0 Thesis %D 2006 %T A comparison of the reproductive systems of the invasive Lespedeza cuneata (Dum.-Cours.) G. Don (Fabaceae) with three native congeners in the Flint Hills region of the tallgrass prairie %A Woods, T.M. %I Kansas State University %C Manhattan, KS %V MS Thesis %P 1 -95 %G eng %9 M.S. Thesis %M KNZ001126 %0 Journal Article %J Sida %D 2005 %T Introduced species in Kansas: floristic changes and patterns of collection based onan historical herbarium %A Woods, T.M. %A Strakosh, S.C. %A Nepal, M.P. %A Chakrabarti, S. %A Simpson, N.B. %A Mayfield, M.H. %A Ferguson, C.J. %B Sida %V 21 %P 1695 -1725 %G eng %M KNZ001062