Publication Date
2009
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Don Cipollini (Advisor), Thomas Rooney (Committee Member), John Stireman (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Abstract
It is unknown if the novel weapons or evolution of increased competitive ability hypotheses explain the invasiveness of L. maackii in eastern United States woodlands. I tested if L. maackii's allelopathic properties have a significant impact on the fitness of native Pilea pumila in addition to below ground competition as well as if L. maackii populations vary in allelopathic and/ or competitive ability within the invasive range and between native and invasive ranges. Addition of activate carbon to potting soil increased the ability of L. maackii to inhibit the fitness of P. pumila in addition to competition. L. maackii from Ohio had a greater effect on its competitors and responded less to competition than L. maackii from a population in China. Results indicate that L. maackii can alter soil chemistry resulting in inhibition of its neighbors and L. maackii from Ohio is a better competitor both inter- and intra-specifically.
Page Count
96
Department or Program
Department of Biological Sciences
Year Degree Awarded
2009
Copyright
Copyright 2009, some rights reserved. My ETD may be copied and distributed only for non-commercial purposes and may be modified only if the modified version is distributed with these same permissions. All use must give me credit as the original author.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
