"LeeAnne" wrote in
:

Gray Squirrels' Faulty Memories Help Forests


Nov 26, 8:07 am ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Gray squirrels' faulty memories turn out to be
good for forests, but the nut-hoarding habits of their red cousins are
not, U.S. scientists said on Tuesday.
The bane of suburban gardeners and backyard bird feeders, the
ubiquitous gray squirrel buries walnuts, acorns and other nuts across
the landscape in a pattern called "scatter hoarding," a Purdue
University scientist said.

Some nuts are forgotten and have a chance to germinate and sprout into
black walnut, oak and hickory trees needed to regenerate steadily
retreating hardwood forests.

The red squirrel, which invaded the U.S. Midwest from higher altitudes
within the past century, usually piles nuts in a few above-ground
caches, where the seeds dry out or are eaten.

Seven times as many walnuts gathered by gray squirrels germinate
compared with walnuts hoarded by red squirrels, ecologist Rob Swihart
said in a statement released by the West Lafayette, Indiana,
university. His findings were published in the latest issue of the
Canadian Journal of Zoology.




SAY NO TO SQUIRREL RACISM