The Effects of Mammalian Herbivores on Successional Grasslands in Central Illinois
DeJaco, Carrie Elizabeth
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/85363
Description
Title
The Effects of Mammalian Herbivores on Successional Grasslands in Central Illinois
Author(s)
DeJaco, Carrie Elizabeth
Issue Date
2006
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Batzli, George O.
Department of Study
Biology
Discipline
Biology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Biology, Ecology
Language
eng
Abstract
Neither rabbit endozoochory nor rodent granivory affected plant communities in any successional stage. Rodents did not prefer larger seeds. Herbivory by rabbits and rodents influenced the plant communities more than did consumption or dispersal of seeds. Both groups of animals reduced abundance of palatable forbs and increased that of unpalatable forbs. Grasses palatable to voles increased in exclosures during mid- and late succession. Rodent exclusion also significantly increased abundance of the legume Medicago sativa, which had highly palatable shoots and seeds. Cirsium arvense, a palatable forb, increased substantially with the removal of deer and the grass Festuca elatior declined. Woody seedlings rarely occurred in the grasslands and none of the mammals affected their abundance.
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