PARENT SESSION
Poster Session: Monitoring Invasive Plants
Wednesday, November 5, 2003, 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Global Ballroom
Leaf damage estimation on the exotic weed orange buddleia, Buddleja madagascariensis Lamarck.
Stock, Daniel*,1, Wild, Clyde1, 1 Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
ABSTRACT- The exotic ornamental weed orange buddleia, Buddleja madagascariensis Lamarck (Buddlejaceae), is considered one of the greatest environmental weed concerns for southeast Queensland due to its reputation to invade intact rainforest. Very little is known about orange buddleia, therefore, it was unknown if this weed poses a real threat to native species of southeast Queensland. The level of foliovory on B. madagascariensis in southeast Queensland was determined and compared to other exotic and native species. Results showed that orange buddleia in southeast Queensland loses significantly less leaf area lost to herbivory than nearly all other surrounding plants. It also has significantly less damage when compared to other exotics and even more so when compared to native species. This low level of leaf loss should provide B. madagascariensis with a competitive advantage over not only native species but also other exotics.
Key words: Herbivory, Buddleia, Impact, Competition