The Impact of Invasive Oriental Bittersweet on Plant and Invertebrate Diversity In an Anthropogenic Edge Habitat of a Temperate Deciduous Biome

Abstract

Invasive species threaten the fragile balance of biodiversity within ecosystems. One species, invasive throughout much of the eastern and midwestern United States, Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) is spreading at an immense rate across Massachusetts forests and fields. The spread of this invasive allows it to outcompete preestablished native plant populations, potentially affecting invertebrate populations within those food webs. This research aimed to assess the impact of the presence of oriental bittersweet on both native plant and invertebrate communities. The two experimental groups in this project were land with no invasive species and land largely occupied by oriental bittersweet. In order to measure the impact of the oriental bittersweet, I used pitfall traps to measure the species richness and abundance of invertebrates. In addition, I observed the percentage of space that each plant took up per plot. By collecting data on both the flora and fauna, I was able to better see whether the oriental bittersweet mainly alters plant biodiversity by smothering native plants or if it has a larger impact on the ecosystem, altering the entire food web. I hypothesized that the more abundant Oriental bittersweet is in an area, the less biodiversity there will be of native species. For plants, this is because there is more competition for resources like light, nutrients, and space. For invertebrates, the absence of native plants can mean a decrease in food source and habitat availability. I did not find any statistically significant difference in invertebrate species richness, invertebrate abundance, or plant species richness, a result that could suggest that oriental bittersweet is not as detrimental to the environment on the plant and invertebrate levels.