Invasive plant species can choke out other native plants and change ecosystems in fundamental ways. Researchers are still working to understand the depth and breadth of those changes.
For example, invasive phragmites: not the native North American breed but the invasive European one, this common reed found in wetlands actually affects the nesting behavior of water birds because of its dense root system. Invasive phragmites will also change the water chemistry.
How does this affect all the other life in the water – including benthic species? And does invasive phragmites even change the hydrology – the way the water flows in and through a wetland?
A single invasive plant species can significantly impact an entire ecosystem, says Dr. Stacy Endriss, a wetland ecologist at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She’s studying the impacts of invasive plants in order to advise land managers – and the rest of us – on the most effective ways to deal with these challenges.
In this episode, we find out how she conducts her work, partly through soundscapes from ecosystems – yes, we HEAR them. We also find out why biodiversity is a concept that, for her, reaches beyond the natural world and into her own lab.
Links / Resources:
UNCW Environmental Sciences Research
Southeast Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change Management Network (SE RISCC)
