Introduction to the Special Issue: Ungulates and invasive species: Quantifying impacts and understanding interactions

Abstract

White-tailed deer are emblematic ungulates that, due to anthropogenic modification of landscapes, currently occur at elevated densities. Elevated deer densities often co-occur with non-native plants, but it is not known if plant invasions are a consequence of deer impacts or occur independent of deer impacts on ecosystems, or whether these two stressors are synergistic. A colloquium on 'Interactions of white-tailed deer and invasive plants in forests of eastern North America' explored these topics at the 2016 annual meeting of the Botanical Society of America. Nine of those presentations are published in this special issue of AoB PLANTS.