Re:Squirrel stores thousands of nuts inside man's parked truck
by throwaway0a5e on Tuesday September 28, 2021 @07:29PM
(#28688663)
Lots of tree species do this. They sync up and every few years overwhelm whatever eats their seeds.
Re:Squirrel stores thousands of nuts inside man's parked truck
by codeismath on Tuesday September 28, 2021 @08:45PM
(#28689135)
Phenological event known as "masting": https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mast_(botany)
Re:Squirrel stores thousands of nuts inside man's parked truck
by setr on Tuesday September 28, 2021 @07:58PM
(#28688852)
So the same prey saturation strategy as cicadas? I wonder if that also produces a prime-number cycle preference
Re:Squirrel stores thousands of nuts inside man's parked truck
by 1e-9 on Tuesday September 28, 2021 @10:21PM
(#28689612)
Similarly, periodical cicadas synchronously emerge in great numbers (more 370 per square meter) every 13th or 17th year.[1] This overwhelms predators and it's thought that the prime-numbered intervals prevent predators from synchronizing their reproductive cycles with that of the cicadas.
Oaks produce huge numbers of acorns about one season every 7 years. My yard had thousands and thousands a few years ago, for example, but very few since. Oaks seem to do this to overwhelm squirrels and ensure that a few acorns manage to germinate. Squirrels that can save acorns for years will do much better than squirrels that can only save enough for each winter.