Amy P. Ferriter

Bio: Amy P. Ferriter is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Floracarus perrepae & Fern. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 110 citations.

Old World Climbing Fern (Lygodium microphyllum), a Dangerous Invasive Weed in Florida

Abstract: -Lygodium microphyllum, a native of the warm and wet regions of the Old World, was first detected to be naturalized in southeastern Florida in 1965. This fern has become an aggressive invader of natural vegetation in many different habitats that are frequently dominated by the weed. Aerial surveys conducted in 1993, 1995, and 1997 detected increasing densities and continued expansion of its distribution in Florida. The fern is expected to continue to increase in Florida and could spread by spores to suitable habitats in Texas and Mexico. No effective method of control for the plant exists. Lygodium microphyllum (Cav.) R. Br. (Schizaeaceae), or Old World climbing fern, is native to wet tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World. It has become a serious weed in southeastern Florida, where it is increasing in density and range. In the present paper we discuss the ecological problems associated with the fern and its naturalization and spread, probable origin, and potential to spread, and the control attempts to date. The companion paper (Pemberton, 1998) discusses the potential of biological control to reduce populations of this plant and to limit its spread. The fern's native distribution and taxonomic relations, both essential information for a biological control program, are also reported.

Matching the origin of an invasive weed for selection of a herbivore haplotype for a biological control programme.

Abstract: The Florida Everglades have been invaded by an exotic weed fern, Lygodium microphyllum. Across its native distribution in the Old World tropics from Africa to Australasia it was found to have multiple location-specific haplotypes. Within this distribution, the climbing fern is attacked by a phytophagous mite, Floracarus perrepae, also with multiple haplotypes. The genetic relationship between mite and fern haplotypes was matched by an overarching geographical relationship between the two. Further, mites that occur in the same location as a particular fern haplotype were better able to utilize the fern than mites from more distant locations. From a biological control context, we are able to show that the weed fern in the Everglades most likely originated in northern Queensland, Australia/Papua New Guinea and that the mite from northern Queensland offers the greatest prospect for control.

Plant Invasions in Protected Areas

Abstract: There are numerous excellent volumes on the topic of biological invasions, some of which deal with conservation-related issues to varying degrees. Almost 30 years since the last global assessment of alien plant invasions in protected areas during the SCOPE programme of the 1980s, the present book aims to provide a synthesis of the current state of knowledge of problems with invasive plants in protected areas. To set the scene we outline some of the major challenges facing the field of invasion biology. We discuss the extent and dimensions of problems that managers of protected areas deal with and what can be learnt from research and management interventions conducted in protected areas. A virtual tour through different regions of the world sheds light on the rapidly growing knowledge L.C. Foxcroft (*) Conservation Services, South African National Parks, Private Bag X402, Skukuza 1350, South Africa Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa e-mail: Llewellyn.foxcroft@sanparks.org D.M. Richardson Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa e-mail: rich@sun.ac.za P. Pyšek Department of Invasion Ecology, Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Průhonice CZ 252 43, Czech Republic Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, CZ 128 44 Viničná 7, Prague 2, Czech Republic e-mail: pysek@ibot.cas.cz P. Genovesi ISPRA, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Via V. Brancati 48, I-00144 Rome, Italy Chair IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group, Rome, Italy e-mail: piero.genovesi@isprambiente.it L.C. Foxcroft et al. (eds.), Plant Invasions in Protected Areas: Patterns, Problems and Challenges, Invading Nature Springer Series in Invasion Ecology 7, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-7750-7_1, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013 3 base in different socio-geographical settings, and applies such insights to the problems that managers face. We hope that this book captures the core concerns and creates the critical links that will be needed if the growing impacts of alien plant invasions on protected areas are to be managed effectively. We also aim to promote the role of protected areas as leaders and catalysts of global action on invasive species, and key study areas for basic and applied invasion science.

Floral response to rapid warming in the earliest Eocene and implications for concurrent faunal change

Abstract: During the first 10-20 Kyr of the Eocene temperatures warmed by 4-88C in middle and high latitudes, then cooled again over the succeeding ;200 Kyr. Major changes in the composition of marine and terrestrial faunas, including one of the largest mammalian turnover events of the Cenozoic, occurred during this temperature excursion. To better understand the effects of rapid climatic change on continental biotas, we studied 60 fossil pollen samples collected from 900 m of section spanning approximately three million years of the late Paleocene and early Eocene; the samples come from the Fort Union Formation and Willwood Formation in the Bighorn Basin of northwestern Wyoming, paleolatitude approximately 47 8N. There are 40 samples from the 500 m of rock deposited during the one million year interval centered on the Paleocene/Eocene boundary, although pollen was not preserved well in rocks representing the short warm interval at the base of the Eocene. Overall, the palynoflora shows moderate change in composition and diversity. Two pollen taxa clearly expanded their ranges to include North America in the first 400 Kyr of the Eocene, Platycarya (Juglandaceae), and Intratriporopollenites instructus (cf. Tilia), but they account for less than 5% of pollen grains in the early Eocene. There are no last appearances of common taxa associated with the Paleocene/Eocene boundary. The most noticeable palynological changes are the decrease in abundance of Caryapollenites spp. and Polyatriopollenites vermontensis (Juglandaceae), and the in- crease in abundance of Taxodiaceae (bald cypress family), Ulmaceae (elm family), and Betulaceae (birch family), particularly Alnipollenites spp. (alder). There are 22% more species in the Eocene samples than in the Paleocene samples; mean richness of Eocene samples is 17% higher than the mean of Paleocene samples. The mean evenness of Eocene samples is higher than that of Paleocene samples, but the difference is not significant. The modest level of floral change during the late Paleocene and early Eocene contrasts with the major taxonomic turnover and ecological rearrangement of North American mammalian faunas observed at the same time. Faunal change probably resulted from intercontinental range expansion across Arctic land bridges that became habitable as a result of high-latitude warming, so it is sur- prising that climatically sensitive plants did not also experience a major episode of interchange. The absence of fossil plants from the temperature excursion interval itself could prevent us from recognizing a transient shift in floral composition, but it is clear that the flora did not undergo a major and permanent restructuring like that seen in the mammals. The contrast between the mod- erate floral response to warming and the strong faunal response is consistent with the idea that interactions between immigrant and native taxa, rather than climate directly, were the primary cause of terrestrial biotic change across the Paleocene/Eocene boundary.