Flipping the Classroom to Train Citizen Scientists in Invasive Species Detection and Response

Extension educators are increasingly using flipped classrooms, wherein online content delivery precedes in-person learning. We have applied this approach to two Extension programs in which citizen scientists are trained in early detection of invasive species. Our goal in using the tool of flipped classrooms is to accommodate large amounts of content while focusing classroom time on skills development. In 2017, we assessed efficacy of the flipped classroom through knowledge tests and surveys completed by 174 participants and 106 participants, respectively. Results demonstrated large knowledge gains and high participant satisfaction. We encourage Extension professionals to consider whether use of the flipped classroom format could advance achievement of their programs\u27 learning objectives

Understanding neighborhood effects to increase restoration success of woody plant communities

Revegetation is the most common procedure in the restoration of disturbed areas; this practice usually aims at reconstructing plant communities that can last without further management. A low‐cost strategy to assist these efforts is the application of ecological knowledge in the design of the restoration. Promoting ecological processes that enhance the functioning of the restored community could result in higher restoration success. Among these processes, plant–plant interactions, e.g., facilitation and competition, can play an important role, both facilitating and impeding the development of a self‐sustaining plant community. Although these processes have been well‐studied in nature, we rarely have sufficient knowledge about the whole plant community. To develop that knowledge, we leverage on a restoration experiment that took place after a mine toxic spill, where ~15,000 woody plants from 13 species were planted and geolocated. Species were planted in three mixtures mimicking natural communities found along soil moisture gradients (xerophyte, intermediate, and hydrophyte). Plantings also varied in density. Approximately 2,600 plants were monitored for damage status, survival, and growth, for 4 yr. We analyzed growth performance of six targeted species as a function of their damage status, planted mixture, and density. Growth was also assessed on the basis of neighboring plants, accounting for the species identity and distance to the focal plant. Results show that survival among planted species was relatively high and was mostly unaffected by mixture or density of the plantings. Only very damaged plants in one species experienced a decrease in survival with increasing density. Neighborhood effects on growth show positive, neutral, and negative interactions among the tested species; these also varied depending on the type of growth performance considered (height, crown area, diameter). The species‐specific results ranged from positive to negative, varying between pair of species and growth performance metric. Results gathered from our neighborhood analyses on plant growth provide valuable information for the design of planting schemes that could enhance the performance of the target species. The methods developed can be applied to other systems and species. Given the potential impacts that facilitation and competition may have during revegetation, these interactions could be considered in restoration operations.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155969/1/eap2098-sup-0002-AppendixS2.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155969/2/eap2098.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155969/3/eap2098-sup-0001-AppendixS1.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155969/4/eap2098_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155969/5/eap2098-sup-0004-MetadataS1.pd

The biogeography of South African terrestrial plant invasions

Thousands of plant species have been introduced, intentionally and accidentally, to South Africa from many parts of the world. Alien plants are now conspicuous features of many South African landscapes and hundreds of species have naturalised (i.e. reproduce regularly without human intervention), many of which are also invasive (i.e. have spread over long distances). There is no comprehensive inventory of alien, naturalised, and invasive plants for South Africa, but 327 plant taxa, most of which are invasive, are listed in national legislation. We collated records of 759 plant taxa in 126 families and 418 genera that have naturalised in natural and semi-natural ecosystems. Over half of these naturalised taxa are trees or shrubs, just under a tenth are in the families Fabaceae (73 taxa) and Asteraceae (64); genera with the most species are Eucalyptus,Acacia, and Opuntia. The southern African Plant Invaders Atlas (SAPIA) provides the best data for assessing the extent of invasions at the national scale. SAPIA data show that naturalised plants occur in 83% of quarter-degree grid cells in the country. While SAPIA data highlight general distribution patterns (high alien plant species richness in areas with high native plant species richness and around the main human settlements), an accurate, repeatable method for estimating the area invaded by plants is lacking. Introductions and dissemination of alien plants over more than three centuries, and invasions over at least 120 years (and especially in the last 50 years) have shaped the distribution of alien plants in South Africa. Distribution patterns of naturalised and invasive plants define four ecologically-meaningful clusters or “alien plant species assemblage zones”, each with signature alien plant taxa for which trait-environment interactions can be postulated as strong determinants of success. Some widespread invasive taxa occur in high frequencies across multiple zones; these taxa occur mainly in riparian zones and other azonal habitats,or depend on human-mediated disturbance, which weakens or overcomes the factors that determine specificity to any biogeographical region

Evaluating the effects of landscape configuration on site occupancy and movement dynamics of odonates in Iowa

Odonates contribute highly to global biodiversity and are considered good indicators of environmental quality, but they are under-studied and quantitative information on their habitat associations is lacking. Our objective was to examine the effects of landscape configuration on site occupancy and movement dynamics of four odonate species in Iowa: Tramea onusta, Epitheca princeps, Pantala flavescens, and Calopteryx maculata. We conducted standardized visual encounter surveys for odonates at 233 public properties in Iowa from 2007 to 2011 and computed landscape variables within a 200, 600 m, and 1 km radius of each surveyed site. Using a robust design occupancy model in Program MARK, we estimated detection probability and site occupancy, site extinction, and site colonization probabilities for each species. We found few significant effects of landscape variables on site occupancy, extinction, or colonization, although landscape variables at 600 m were included in the best model for all species. Detection probability (SE) ranged from 0.30 (0.04) for Pantala flavescens to 0.49 (0.04) for Calopteryx maculata. Our study provides information to aid habitat restoration and management efforts on sites having suitable characteristics in the surrounding landscape and ultimately help conserve odonates

Termite sensitivity to temperature affects global wood decay rates.

Deadwood is a large global carbon store with its store size partially determined by biotic decay. Microbial wood decay rates are known to respond to changing temperature and precipitation. Termites are also important decomposers in the tropics but are less well studied. An understanding of their climate sensitivities is needed to estimate climate change effects on wood carbon pools. Using data from 133 sites spanning six continents, we found that termite wood discovery and consumption were highly sensitive to temperature (with decay increasing >6.8 times per 10°C increase in temperature)-even more so than microbes. Termite decay effects were greatest in tropical seasonal forests, tropical savannas, and subtropical deserts. With tropicalization (i.e., warming shifts to tropical climates), termite wood decay will likely increase as termites access more of Earth's surface

Riparian scrub recovery after clearing of invasive alien trees in headwater streams of the Western Cape, South Africa

Headwater rivers are the predominant kind of aquatic ecosystem in South Africa's Cape Floristic Region. Invasion by alien woody taxa (especially Acacia longifolia and Acacia mearnsii) have altered these rivers in recent decades, replacing indigenous vegetation and altering ecosystem functioning. Aliens have been systematically cleared in watercourses since 1995 as part of a national program ("Working for Water") to increase water production and improve water quality. Cleared sites are mostly left to recover to their pre-invasion state without additional intervention. We compared the vegetation of seven rivers that vary in their extent of invasion and clearing to identify factors limiting recolonization. Dense invasions cleared 3-6 years before the survey differ in vegetation structure and composition from uninvaded or lightly invaded/cleared riparian reaches in the following ways: (1) diminished extent of indigenous trees in the canopy and increased importance of shrubs or reinvading alien trees, (2) reduced species richness, (3) reduced likelihood of occupancy for more than one-third of common, indigenous species, and (4) reduced incidence of indigenous tree regeneration. Overall, indigenous tree regeneration is very low and not disturbance-triggered which will likely result in slow recovery without additional intervention. We recommend focusing active revegetation on common riparian scrub trees (i.e., Metrosideros angustifolia, Brachylaena neriifolia, Brabejum stellatfolium, and Erica caffra). These species tolerate open habitats favored by alien trees, eventually forming closed canopies required by shade-tolerant species. Accelerating establishment of these small trees is likely critical for shifting cleared riparian corridors from a state that favors alien reinvasion. Effective establishment strategies will need to be developed in the context of hydrologic impairment, since alien-invaded rivers in this region typically have reduced flow. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Inst Plant Conservat, Dept Bot, Univ Cape Tow