RUI: Environmental Variation and Demographic Effects

Rider University, Lawrenceville NJ

Investigators

Abstract

Garlic mustard is an exotic invading species that is a pervasive problem in northeastern forests. By monopolizing the forest understory and changing soil biochemistry, it is known to limit biodiversity of both plants and animals. This project is designed to reveal how water, nutrient and light availability influence the growth rate of garlic mustard populations. Observations of more than 40 populations growing in different environments will be used to construct a model revealing how these resources influence seed production, germination, and plant survival and thus the net population growth rate. This model will be tested in a manipulative field experiment. Developing a method to mechanistically link environmental variation to the growth rate of populations is important not only for controlling exotic invasive species and but also for preserving rare and endangered species. Results of this work will help land managers selectively deploy different control strategies for garlic mustard on the basis of environmental conditions and focus monitoring efforts on areas where it is most likely to grow rapidly. Because this work is being conducted at a small undergraduate institution with a student body composed of at least 37% first-generation college students, it will provide hands-on research experience for students typically underrepresented in the sciences.