Feb 8, 2019
Anna Liang has published a paper in the Journal of Ecology on research she conducted as a Tyson undergraduate fellow. Anna and coauthors Claudia Stein, Eleanor Pearson, Jonathan Myers, Rae Crandall, and Scott Mangan - all veteran Tyson researchers - investigated the effects of snail herbivory on seedling establishment in the forest at Tyson. The study used a combination of lab trials, field studies in the deer exclosures, and census data from the ForestGEO plot, providing one of the first examples of the importance of snail herbivory on plant seedling growth and survival in a temperate forest. One key finding from their research is that snails preferred and therefore reduced the establishment of an invasive tree, Ailanthus altissima, contradicting previous research that snails do not differentially prefer native or exotic plant species.
Liang, A.J., Stein, C., Pearson, E., Myers, J.A., Crandall, R.M., & Mangan, S.A. (2019). Snail herbivory affects seedling establishment in a temperate forest in the Ozark region. Journal of Ecology
