The Effects of Mammalian Herbivores on Successional Grasslands in Central Illinois

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.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Biology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• DeJaco, Carrie Elizabeth

Contributors dc:contributor

• Batzli, George O.

• Biology, Ecology

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3242829

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/85363