White-tailed deer are a biotic filter during community assembly, reducing species and phylogenetic diversity

Promotional Statement: White-tailed deer browsing has been implicated in the loss of species diversity from forests throughout eastern North America. We build on this previous research by examining how browsing also affects phylogenetic community structure. With this approach, we can better understand the role of deer browsing in the community assembly process. In browsed plots, we found that reductions in phylogenetic diversity were much greater than reductions in species richness or diversity. Species persisting in browsed communities were also closely-related. Our findings indicate deer browsing acts as a biotic filter during the community assembly process.

• Publication year

  2014

• Venue

  AoB Plants

• Publication date

  2014-06-09

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1093/aobpla/plu030PMID 24916059PMCID 4078168
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 13.

  2016cited by this paper
• Nucleic Acids Research

  2015cited by this paper
• R: A language and environment for statistical computing.

  2014cited by this paper
• Phylogenetic alpha and beta diversities of butterfly communities correlate with climate in the western Swiss Alps

  2013cited by this paper
• Deer herbivory as an important driver of divergence of ground vegetation communities in temperate forests

  2013cited by this paper
• Large herbivores favour species diversity but have mixed impacts on phylogenetic community structure in an African savanna ecosystem

  2013cited by this paper
• The white-tailed deer: A keystone herbivore

  2012cited by this paper
• Rethinking Community Assembly through the Lens of Coexistence Theory

  2012cited by this paper
• Shocks to the system: community assembly of the oak savanna in a 40-year fire frequency experiment

  2012cited by this paper
• GLOBAL PATTERNS OF LEAF DEFENSES IN OAK SPECIES

  2012cited by this paper
• Chronic over browsing and biodiversity collapse in a forest understory in Pennsylvania: Results from a 60 year-old deer exclusion plot

  2011cited by this paper
• Biological Diversity: Frontiers in Measurement and Assessment

  2011cited by this paper
• Picante: R tools for integrating phylogenies and ecology

  2010cited by this paper
• Pervasive interactions between ungulate browsers and disturbance regimes promote temperate forest herbaceous diversity.

  2010cited by this paper
• An uncorrelated relaxed-clock analysis suggests an earlier origin for flowering plants

  2010cited by this paper
• Opposing effects of competitive exclusion on the phylogenetic structure of communities.

  2010cited by this paper
• Measuring phylogenetic biodiversity

  2010cited by this paper
• Selectivity in Mammalian Extinction Risk and Threat Types: a New Measure of Phylogenetic Signal Strength in Binary Traits

  2010influential reference
• Top-down and bottom-up consequences of unchecked ungulate browsing on plant and animal diversity in temperate forests: lessons from a deer introduction

  2010cited by this paper
• The its Region of Nuclear Ribosomal DNA: A Valuable Source of Evidence on Angiosperm Phylogeny

  2010cited by this paper
• Plant DNA barcodes and a community phylogeny of a tropical forest dynamics plot in Panama

  2009influential reference
• High regional differentiation in a North American crab species throughout its native range and invaded European waters: a phylogeographic analysis

  2009cited by this paper
• High white-tailed deer densities benefit graminoids and contribute to biotic homogenization of forest ground-layer vegetation

  2009cited by this paper
• Phylogenetic and trait similarity to a native species predict herbivory on non-native oaks

  2009cited by this paper
• Mesquite: a modular system for evolutionary analysis. Version 2.6

  2009cited by this paper
• GenBank

  2009cited by this paper
• An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants. {APG} {III}

  2009cited by this paper
• Efficient computation of the phylogenetic likelihood function on multi-gene alignments and multi-core architectures

  2008cited by this paper
• A Two-Locus Global DNA Barcode for Land Plants: The Coding rbcL Gene Complements the Non-Coding trnH-psbA Spacer Region

  2007cited by this paper
• On the formation of dense understory layers in forests worldwide: consequences and implications for forest dynamics, biodiversity, and succession

  2006cited by this paper
• RAxML-VI-HPC: maximum likelihood-based phylogenetic analyses with thousands of taxa and mixed models

  2006influential reference
• Divergent nonlinear responses of the boreal forest field layer along an experimental gradient of deer densities

  2006cited by this paper
• Deer Density Reduction Without a 12-Gauge Shotgun (Wisconsin)

  2006cited by this paper
• Fifty years of change in northern upland forest understories: Identity and traits of “winner” and “loser” plant species

  2006cited by this paper
• Phylogeny and Classification of Carex Section Ovales (Cyperaceae)

  2006influential reference
• MUSCLE: a multiple sequence alignment method with reduced time and space complexity

  2004cited by this paper
• Biotic Impoverishment and Homogenization in Unfragmented Forest Understory Communities

  2004influential reference
• MUSCLE: multiple sequence alignment with high accuracy and high throughput.

  2004influential reference
• APE: Analyses of Phylogenetics and Evolution in R language

  2004influential reference
• Ecological Impacts of Deer Overabundance

  2004cited by this paper
• WHITE‐TAILED DEER IMPACT ON THE VEGETATION DYNAMICS OF A NORTHERN HARDWOOD FOREST

  2003influential reference
• Family-level relationships of Onagraceae based on chloroplast rbcL and ndhF data.

  2003influential reference
• Estimating absolute rates of molecular evolution and divergence times: a penalized likelihood approach.

  2002influential reference
• The impact of deer on woodlands: the effects of browsing and seed dispersal on vegetation structure and composition

  2001cited by this paper
• Phylogeny of the Coneflowers and Relatives (Heliantheae: Asteraceae) Based on Nuclear rDNA Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) Sequences and Chlorplast DNA Restriction Site Data

  2000influential reference
• Mechanisms of Maintenance of Species Diversity

  2000cited by this paper
• Ungulate effects on the functional species composition of plant communities; herbivore selectivity and plant tolerance

  1998cited by this paper
• Species Loss Over Sixty-Six Years in the Ground-Layer Vegetation of Heart's Content, an Old-Growth Forest in Pennsylvania, USA

  1997cited by this paper
• Erratum: The ITS Region of Nuclear Ribosomal DNAZ: A Valuable Source of Evidence on Angiosperm Phylogeny

  1995cited by this paper
• Phylogenetics of seed plants : An analysis of nucleotide sequences from the plastid gene rbcL

  1993cited by this paper
• Conservation evaluation and phylogenetic diversity

  1992cited by this paper
• Assembly and response rules: two goals for predictive community ecology

  1992cited by this paper
• Universal primers for amplification of three non-coding regions of chloroplast DNA

  1991influential reference
• Amplification and direct sequencing of fungal ribosomal RNA genes for phylogenetics

  1990influential reference
• PCR protocols: a guide to methods and applications.

  1990cited by this paper
• Graminoid Responses to Grazing by Large Herbivores: Adaptations, Exaptations, and Interacting Processes

  1985cited by this paper
• Changes in diet and nutrition with increased herd size in Texas white-tailed deer.

  1980cited by this paper
• Deer-forest habitat relationships in north Arkansas.

  1960cited by this paper
• Influence of deer on vegetation of the Apostle Islands, Wisconsin.

  1960cited by this paper
• The mathematical theory of communication

  1950cited by this paper
• An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants

  year unknowncited by this paper

• Twig age 2.0: A novel and reliable method to track variation in ungulate browsing over species, sites and time

  2025cites this paper
• Deer impact seedbanks and plant communities over 18 years of post-agricultural succession

  2025cites this paper
• Testing the intermediate-disturbance hypothesis – managed roe deer populations are not disrupting forest faunal communities

  2025cites this paper
• Browsing by deer and a recalcitrant layer of pawpaw (Asimina triloba) cause increased sapling mortality and decreased sapling growth in an ancient urban forest1

  2025cites this paper
• Shrublands act as refugia against the mammal community homogenization driven by urbanization, agriculture, and ungulate browsing

  2025cites this paper
• Ungulate-driven forest-steppe vegetation changes in enclosures

  2024cites this paper
• Are populations of trees threatened by non-native herbivorous mammals more secure in New Zealand's national parks?

  2024cites this paper
• Warning in the woods: Species-specific and functional responses of the understorey along a deer browsing intensity gradient in a mixed temperate forest in France

  2024cites this paper
• Herbivory limits success of vegetation restoration globally

  2023cites this paper
• Multiple stressors prevent gains in native plant diversity following invasive species removal

  2023cites this paper
• Effects of understory characteristics on browsing patterns of roe deer in central European mountain forests

  2023cites this paper
• Native tree species prosper while exotics falter during gap-phase regeneration, but only where deer densities are near historical levels

  2023cites this paper
• Trade-offs between deer herbivory and nitrogen competition alter grassland forb composition

  2023cites this paper
• Large herbivores trigger spatiotemporal changes in forest plant diversity.

  2022cites this paper
• Stasis in forest regeneration following deer exclusion and understory gap creation: A ten-year experiment.

  2022cites this paper
• Species-specific responses of a marsh-forest ecotone plant community responding to climate change.

  2021cites this paper
• A global phylogeny of Lycopodiaceae (Lycopodiales; lycophytes) with the description of a new genus, Brownseya , from Oceania

  2021cites this paper
• The Versatile Role of Pinus strobus Within the Composition and Structure of Permanent Plots in Five Mature Mixed Forests of the Upper Midwest U.S.A.

  2021cites this paper
• Effects of prescribed grazing by goats on non‐native invasive shrubs and native plant species in a mixed‐hardwood forest

  2021cites this paper
• 屋久島における絶滅危惧植物保護柵内外での植被率・種数・種組成の変化：防鹿柵による保護と光環境の影響の評価

  2021cites this paper
• Top-down effects of foraging decisions on local, landscape and regional biodiversity of resources (DivGUD).

  2021cites this paper
• Comparison of sample types from white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) for DNA extraction and analyses

  2021cites this paper
• Pulse grazing by reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) can increase the phylogenetic diversity of vascular plant communities in the Fennoscandian tundra

  2020cites this paper
• Soil pH influences patterns of plant community composition after restoration with native‐based seed mixes

  2020cites this paper
• Changes in vegetation structure and composition of urban and rural forest patches in Baltimore from 1998 to 2015

  2019cites this paper
• Riparian and Upland Afforestation: Improving Success by Excluding Deer from Small Areas with Low Fencing

  2019cites this paper
• Deer Florivory Is Associated with Changes in Clonal Structure of the Woodland Plant Bluebead Lily

  2019cites this paper
• Invasive shrub removal benefits native plants in an eastern deciduous forest of North America

  2019cites this paper
• Timing and ecological priority shaped the diversification of sedges in the Himalayas

  2019cites this paper
• Soil chemistry, and not short-term (1-2 year) deer exclusion, explains understory plant occupancy in forests affected by acid deposition.

  2019cites this paper
• Evaluating Inter-Rater Reliability and Statistical Power of Vegetation Measures Assessing Deer Impact

  2018cites this paper
• Manipulating ungulate herbivory in temperate and boreal forests: effects on vegetation and invertebrates. A systematic review

  2018cites this paper
• Global signal of top-down control of terrestrial plant communities by herbivores

  2018cites this paper
• Aplicación de índices filogenéticos para la definición de prioridades de conservación en los páramos del noroeste de los Andes

  2018cites this paper
• Effects of white-tailed deer and invasive plants on the herb layer of suburban forests

  2017cites this paper
• Herbarium specimens as tools to assess the impact of large herbivores on plant species

  2017cites this paper
• Interactive effects of deer exclusion and exotic plant removal on deciduous forest understory communities

  2017cites this paper
• The impacts of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) herbivory on the forage quality of forest vegetation

  2017cites this paper
• Effects of deer on the photosynthetic performance of invasive and native forest herbs

  2017cites this paper
• The paradox of long‐term ungulate impact: increase of plant species richness in a temperate forest

  2017cites this paper
• Nutrient foraging strategies are associated with productivity and population growth in forest shrubs

  2017cites this paper
• Deer herbivory affects the functional diversity of forest floor plants via changes in competition-mediated assembly rules

  2016cites this paper
• Deer herbivory reduces web-building spider abundance by simplifying forest vegetation structure

  2016cites this paper
• Changes in the community structure of urban and rural forest patches in Baltimore from 1998 to 2015

  2016cites this paper
• Community-level impacts of white-tailed deer on understorey plants in North American forests: a meta-analysis

  2015cites this paper
• Phylogeny in the service of ecological restoration.

  2015cites this paper
• TAIMEKOOSLUSTE FÜLOGENEETILISE MITMEKESISUSE SEOS TEISTE TROOFILISTE TASEMETEGA

  2015cites this paper
• Do Ground-Dwelling Vertebrates Promote Diversity in a Neotropical Forest? Results from a Long-Term Exclosure Experiment.

  2015cites this paper
• La conservation de la biodiversité dans les aires protégées en zones périurbaines : dynamique des communautés végétales au parc national du Mont-Saint-Bruno entre 1977 et 2013

  2015influential citation
• Direct and indirect effects of white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) herbivory on beetle and spider assemblages in Northern Wisconsin

  2014cites this paper