This goal of this project is to better understand how variation in land-cover patterns and annual seed availability influence acorn dispersal by blue jays and squirrels in the Central Hardwoods ecoregion. Oaks are one of the most important components of the hardwood forests of North America and provide an excellent model system to address questions relating to animal-mediated seed dispersal in landscapes that have been altered by human activities. The proposed work will examine how fragmentation of forests has altered this seed-dispersal system through effects on movement patterns and habitat associations of the jays and squirrels. The PIs will combine radio-tracking studies of both jays and acorns with experiments designed to test the effects of cache site on seed germination.
The Central Hardwoods includes some of the most economically and ecologically productive hardwood timberland in the US. Over the past century, however, fire suppression and landscape fragmentation have altered eastern deciduous tree communities. Although mature oaks remain dominant in the forest canopy, various factors have suppressed oak reproduction regionally. Oaks influence energy, nutrient, and disease dynamics, food webs, hydrology, and biodiversity throughout the eastern deciduous forest. They also help to support important timber-related industries in Indiana and other mid-western states. Results from this study will provide insights into the consequences of landscape fragmentation for seed dispersal, and ecosystem function with critical implications for conservation and sustainability.
