Masting
This year appears to be a mast year in Maine. The acorn production I have observed in Western and Southern portions of the state has been much greater than usual. Masting is the synchronous production of seeds by a species over a wide range or region. Scientists are still trying to figure out exactly how this phenomenon occurs. One of the primary explanations as to why it occurs is that the overproduction of seeds increases the chances of reproduction by overwhelming seed predators.
A similar survival strategy can be seen in a number of animal species. In some bird species for example, the young of a group are all hatched within a few days or even hours. This in effect gives predators too much to eat, a glut of prey, allowing some members of the cohort to develop to a point where they are more able to defend themselves or escape capture.
But enough of that. I don't want Desyl to feel justified in her contention that I see myself as Aldo Leopold...
I just have a degree in natural resources, that's all. And I can actually REMEMBER what I learned in undergrad...
" Multiple ecological interactions between species in a model Eastern deciduous forest result in a trophic cascade in which the effects of acorn crop size ripple through the food web, setting off a chain of events that cause animal populations to change. Large amounts of energy (arrows) flow through the system during a mast year (right) when a large acorn crop is produced by an oak (center), causing populations of deer, mice and ticks to increase and raising the incidence of tick-borne Lyme disease ( ). Populations of ground-nesting birds and gypsy moths decrease (-) owing to predation by mice. During a mast failure (left) effects of an acorn shortage on the food web are negative for acorn-eaters and their predators and positive for birds and moths, whose eggs and larvae are eaten by mice. "
~ Barbara Aulicino
A similar survival strategy can be seen in a number of animal species. In some bird species for example, the young of a group are all hatched within a few days or even hours. This in effect gives predators too much to eat, a glut of prey, allowing some members of the cohort to develop to a point where they are more able to defend themselves or escape capture.
But enough of that. I don't want Desyl to feel justified in her contention that I see myself as Aldo Leopold...
I just have a degree in natural resources, that's all. And I can actually REMEMBER what I learned in undergrad...
" Multiple ecological interactions between species in a model Eastern deciduous forest result in a trophic cascade in which the effects of acorn crop size ripple through the food web, setting off a chain of events that cause animal populations to change. Large amounts of energy (arrows) flow through the system during a mast year (right) when a large acorn crop is produced by an oak (center), causing populations of deer, mice and ticks to increase and raising the incidence of tick-borne Lyme disease ( ). Populations of ground-nesting birds and gypsy moths decrease (-) owing to predation by mice. During a mast failure (left) effects of an acorn shortage on the food web are negative for acorn-eaters and their predators and positive for birds and moths, whose eggs and larvae are eaten by mice. "
~ Barbara Aulicino