Decomposition of red oak acorns (Quercus spp.; Section Erythrobalanus) could decrease forage biomass and gross energy (GE) available to wintering ducks from acorns. We estimated changes in mass and GE for 3 species of red oak acorns in flooded and non-flooded bottomland hardwood forests in Mississippi during winter 2009–2010. Mass loss of acorns was 8.1% and reduction in GE 0.03 kcal/g after ex...

Several squirrel species excise the embryo of acorns of most white oak species to arrest germination for long-term storage. However, it is not clear how these acorns counter embryo excision and survive in the arms race of coevolution. In this study, we simulated the embryo excision behavior of squirrels by removing 4 mm of cotyledon from the apical end of white oak acorns differing in embryo de...

In 2000, we determined levels of damage by acorn weevils (Curculio spp.) and patterns of acorn fall in a northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) seedling orchard in eastern Tennessee. The mean (ISE) production of acorns among 43 selected trees was 5,930 rt 586 acorns per tree with a maximum production level of 16,969 acorns for one tree. Trees were selected in the spring of 2000 based on abundance ...

Selecting seeds for long-term storage is a key factor for food hoarding animals. Siberian chipmunks (Tamias sibiricus) remove the pericarp and scatter hoard sound acorns of Quercus mongolica over those that are insect-infested to maximize returns from caches. We have no knowledge of whether these chipmunks remove the pericarp from acorns of other species of oaks and if this behavior benefits se...

We examined movements and behavior of female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) relative to the acorn mast-fall from 1986 through 1989 in a mature deciduous forest in Front Royal, Virginia. Ten white-tailed deer with radiotransmitters increased their home range to incorporate acorn-producing areas during mast-fall. Consumption of acorns by deer constituted ca. 50% of foraging time durin...

Questions: (1) How does the effort that birds invest in harvesting acorns, including the distance the acorns are moved – a key factor affecting population structure of the trees – covary with the size of the acorn crop? (2) How well are harvest patterns, previously inferred by indirect, genetic methods, matched by data from direct observations of harvesting? Organisms: The acorn woodpecker (Mel...

In drought temperate forest, seedling recruitment is highly dependent on seed burial by native animal dispersers. To prolong seed storage, animals often take measures to impede seed germination. Aiming to understand the strategic balance between the natural seed germination and the role played by animals in the constraint germination procedures, we investigated the stages on the germinated acor...

Studies from both tropical and temperate systems show that scatter-hoarding rodents selectively disperse larger seeds farther from their source than smaller seeds, potentially increasing seedling establishment in larger-seeded plants. Size-biased dispersal is evident in many oaks (Quercus) and is true both across and within species. Here, we predict that intraspecifc variation in seed size also...

Acorns are an important wildlife food resource and seed source for oak regeneration. Most acorn production studies note wide and consistent differences in acorn productivity among individuals, but none clearly demonstrate determinants of productivity. Acorn production by black, northern red, scarlet, chestnut and white oak was measured from 1993 to 1997 in the southern Appalachians was measured...

We investigated how pre-dispersal strategies may mitigate the effects of weevil infestation of acorns in a population of Quercus schottkyana, a dominant oak in Asian evergreen broad-leaved forests, and assess if weevil infestation contributes to low seedling recruitment. We counted the number of acorns produced, daily from the end of August to mid-late November for 9 years from 2006-2014. We al...