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Vol. 61, 2022
(update: 2022.5.24)
The Impact of Lantana camara on Invertebrates and
Plant Species of the Groenkloof Nature Reserve, South Africa
Tlou D. Raphela1,* and Kevin
Duffy1
doi:-
1Institute
of System Science, Durban University of Technology, 4-43 M L Sultan
Road, P O Box, 1334, Durban, 4000, South Africa. *Correspondence:
E-mail: Madeizen@gmail.com (Raphela).
E-mail: kevind@dut.ac.za (Duffy)
Received 20 July 2021 / Accepted 4 May
2022
Communicated by Teng-Chiu Lin
Invasive plant species have
negative ecological impacts such as displacing indigenous plants and
invertebrates. These invasive plant species affect biodiversity by
impacting indigenous vegetation and the food webs associated with this
vegetation. We assessed how Lantana
camara affects indigenous plant species richness and
invertebrates and their feeding guilds in riparian habitats inside the
Groenkloof Nature Reserve in South Africa. We showed: (1) A lower
abundance and morphospecies richness of invertebrates as well as lower
numbers of plant species in lantana-invaded
habitat as compared to indigenous bush and grass-dominated habitats.
(2) A Negative association between plant species richness and L. camara above ground mass and
shoot density, but no association was found between plant species
richness and the size of L. camara
invaded areas. This finding suggests a link between the reduction in
overall invertebrate abundance and morphospecies richness and the
replacement of native plant species by invasive lantana. (3). This
increased biomass in natural vegetation was even more evident for
detrivores as compared to other feeding guilds. Extensive invasion by L. camara is affecting the quality
of riparian ecosystems especially for invertebrates that rely on
decaying plants and animals as food and this will affect overall
biodiversity.
Key words: Bushland, Grassland,
Riparian vegetation, Invasion, Feeding guilds.
Citation: Raphela TD, Duffy K. 2022. The
impact of Lantana camara on
invertebrates and plant species of the Groenkloof Nature Reserve, South
Africa. Zool Stud 61:33.
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