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Non-consumptive Effects of Native Deer on Introduced Earthworm Abundance

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Abstract

Chronic ungulate herbivory impacts are well documented, consistently showing changes in plant community dynamics. In contrast, indirect ungulate effects on soil biota and processes are less well understood and idiosyncratic. Evidence suggests that increased deer abundance in northeastern North American forests may facilitate invasions by non-native earthworms and non-native plants through indirect non-consumptive processes. We sampled earthworm abundance using paired open and fenced plots (experimentally excluding deer) from 2008 to 2011 at 12 sites at West Point, NY and in 2013 at 21 additional sites across four states that varied in exclosure size and age since establishment. Fencing decreased earthworm abundance at West Point and in regional surveys. At West Point, negative effects of fencing on earthworm abundance decreased with soil pH and were stronger at sites dominated by native than non-native understory vegetation. Sites dominated by native vegetation had more acidic soils and lower earthworm abundance compared to sites dominated by non-native vegetation. In the regional survey, negative effects of fencing on earthworm abundance increased with time since fences were established, but effects were not affected by exclosure size or site location. We show unforeseen indirect effects of deer exclusion on earthworm populations. Results illustrate the need to account for complex interactive effects among co-occurring stressors, such as deer, earthworms, and non-native plants. Failures to account for these interactions will result in hidden treatments, will complicate interpretation of ecological experiments, and will create difficulties in designing appropriate management strategies aimed at reducing stressor effects.

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Acknowledgments

We thank US Army Garrison West Point personnel and in particular Natural Resource Manager Christopher Pray for allowing and facilitating access to field sites; Dr. Peter Ducey, SUNY Cortland and Dr. Bruce A. Snyder, Kansas State University for their help with earthworm identification; Tim Wenskus in New York City for inviting us to survey city parks; Anna Simpson for field assistance in the regional survey; all members of the Ecology and Management of Invasive Plants Program at Cornell University for their contributions during this research; and two anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments. Funding for this project was provided by the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) of the U.S. Department of Defense (Grant RC-1542 to BB), the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station federal formula funds, Project No. NYC-147520 (to BB and ES), and a National Science Foundation funded Biological Research fellowship from the Office of Undergraduate Biology at Cornell University (to ES).

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  1. Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA

    Andrea Dávalos, Elizabeth Simpson & Bernd Blossey

  2. Natural Area Consultants, 1 West Hill School Road, Richford, New York, 13835, USA

    Victoria Nuzzo

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  1. Andrea Dávalos
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  2. Elizabeth Simpson
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  4. Bernd Blossey
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Correspondence to Andrea Dávalos.

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AD designed portions of the study, performed research, analyzed data, and led the writing. ES designed portions of the study, performed research, and helped in writing the paper. VN conceived and designed the study, performed research, and helped in writing the paper. BB conceived and designed the study and helped in writing the paper.

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Dávalos, A., Simpson, E., Nuzzo, V. et al. Non-consumptive Effects of Native Deer on Introduced Earthworm Abundance. Ecosystems 18, 1029–1042 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-015-9881-x

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