|
Vol. 61, 2022
(update: 2022.9.12)
The Impact of Lantana camara on Invertebrates and
Plant Species of the Groenkloof Nature Reserve, South Africa
Tlou D. Raphela1,*
and Kevin
Duffy1
doi:10.6620/ZS.2022.61-33
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. doi:10.6620/ZS.2022.61-33
|
