Past Event! Note: this event has already taken place.
Dr. Ayesha Prasad
January 23, 2015 at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
| Location: | 4440Q Carleton Technology and Training Centre |
| Cost: | Free |
| Audience: | Anyone |
| Key Contact: | Andrew Simons |
| Contact Email: | andrew.simons@carleton.ca |
| Contact Phone: | 613-520-2600 ext. 3869 |
Exotic plant invasion in a tropical forest landscape – impacts, implications, and interventions
Dr. Ayesha Prasad
Postdoctoral Fellow
National Centre for Biological Sciences,
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Bangalore, India
Host: Cappuccino lab
Abstract: The dry forests of southern India, which are endangered tropical ecosystems and globally valued wildlife conservation landscapes, are extensively invaded by exotic plants. One such plant, Lantana camara (Verbenaceae, hereafter Lantana), a woody shrub native to the Neotropics, is the most abundant and widespread exotic invasive plant in these forests. Yet, until recently, experimental studies exploring the impacts of Lantana and other invasives, and their conservation implications for wildlife, particularly large mammals, were scarce. In 2006 I initiated one of India’s -rst scienti-c studies to address the challenges posed by plant invasion to biodiversity conservation. My research investigates (1) the adverse impacts of Lantana on native plant communities, (2) their implications for primary and secondary consumers (ungulates and large carnivores respectively), and (3) potential management approaches for mitigating its ecological impacts in tropical dry forest habitats.
Landscape Ecology – Conservation – Invasive Species