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Holcus lanatus invasion slows decomposition through its interaction with a macroinvertebrate detritivore, Porcellio scaber

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Abstract

Detritus based food webs may mediate the impacts of invasive species on ecosystem processes. Holcus lanatus (L.) is an invasive perennial grass that is rapidly spreading in the coastal prairie of California. We used litterbags to determine if H. lanatus altered the rate of litter decomposition through its interaction with the dominant macroinvertebrate detritivore at our study site, the isopod Porcellio scaber (Latreille). Over the course of a year, H. lanatus litter loss was 15% less than annual grasses, a difference that was directly attributable to P. scaber. Although there was no effect of isopods on litter loss during the winter, when most decomposition occurred, isopods had substantial effects on litter loss of annual grasses during the summer. P. scaber had no effect on litter loss of H. lanatus litter. Our findings suggest that H. lanatus invasion slows decomposition in the coastal prairie because it is unusually refractory to an important detritivore. The decreased decomposition of H. lanatus litter, along with increased production during the growing season, lead to a doubling of the end-of-season litter biomass where H. lanatus had invaded.

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Abbreviations

BMR:

Bodega Marine Reserve

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Acknowledgements

The National Science Foundation, the Center for Population Biology and the Bodega Marine Lab provided funding for this study. We would like to thank Peter Connors, the reserve manager at the Bodega Marine Reserve, for logistic help and Joyce Havstad for assistance in the field. Meredith Thomsen, Jeff Corbin and Adrianna Muir provided useful insights into Holcus lanatus, and Camille McNeely provided helpful comments on the manuscript. The University of California Natural Reserve System provided a protected field site that made this research possible.

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  1. Evan L. Preisser

    Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, 100 Flagg Rd., Kingston, RI, 02881, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Population Biology, University of California, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Justin L. Bastow, Evan L. Preisser & Donald R. Strong

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  1. Justin L. Bastow
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  2. Evan L. Preisser
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  3. Donald R. Strong
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Correspondence to Justin L. Bastow.

Appendix A

Appendix A

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Bastow, J.L., Preisser, E.L. & Strong, D.R. Holcus lanatus invasion slows decomposition through its interaction with a macroinvertebrate detritivore, Porcellio scaber. Biol Invasions 10, 191–199 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-007-9122-0

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