Ep. 311 - How Oaks Get Around
In Defense of Plants Podcast
In Defense of Plants
4.8 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 4 April 2021
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This episode is all about the fascinating world of oak seed dispersal. Many of us have undoubtedly enjoyed watching frenzied squirrels and jays hurriedly collecting and stashing acorns. But such observations are only the tip of the extremely complex iceberg of oak seed dispersal. Join ecologist Dr. Michael Steele and me as we discuss his new book "Oak Seed Dispersal: A Study in Plant-Animal Interactions," which brilliantly outlines decades of research on this topic. From how oaks pump their acorns with various chemicals to ensure at least some survive long enough to germinate to the role of predators like hawks and owls in ushering in the next generation of oak trees, this episode will open your eyes to the fascinating ecology of oaks and animals. This podcast was produced in part by Colleen, Natalie, Liam, Ario, Nathan, Laura, Cari, Laura, Kali, Margaret, Mary, Connor, Nathan, Jan, Jerome, Brian, Melody, Azomonas, Ellie, University Greens, Cynthia, John, Ashley, Peter, Cathrine, Melvin, OrangeJulian, Porter, Grif, Jules, Joan, Les, Marabeth, Ali, Margaret, Southside Plants, Robert, Keiko, Bryce, Brittany, Helen, Amanda, Mikey, Rhiannon, Michelle, Kate, German, Joerg, Alejandra, Cathy, Jordan, Judy, Steve, Kae, Carole, Mr. Keith Santner, Dana, Chloe, Aaron, Sara, Kenned, Vaibhav, Kendall, Christina, Brett, Jocelyn, Kathleen, Ethan, Kaylee, Runaway Goldfish, Ryan, Donica, Chris, Shamora, Alana, Laura, Alice, Sarah, Rachel, Joanna, Griff, Philip, Paul, Matthew, Clark, Bobby, Kate, Steven, Brittney, McMansion Hell, Joey, Catherine, Brandon, Hall, Vegreville Creek and Wetlands Fund, Kevin, Oliver, John, Johansson, Christina, Jared, Hannah, Katy Pye, Brandon, Gwen, Carly, Stephen, Botanical Tours, Moonwort Studios, Liba, Mohsin Kazmi Takes Pictures, doeg, Clifton, Stephanie, Benjamin, Eli, Rachael, Plant By Design, Philip, Brent, Ron, Tim, Homestead Brooklyn, Brodie, Kevin, Sophia, Mark, Rens, Bendix, Irene, Holly, Caitlin, Manuel, Jennifer, Sara, and Margie.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, everyone, and welcome to the In Defensive Plants Podcast, the official podcast of Indefensiveplants.com. |
| 0:05.8 | What's up? This is your host, Matt. Welcome to the show. How's everyone doing this week? A big thank you to everyone who has reviewed In Defensive Plants this far. If you're enjoying the book, please consider giving it a review if you haven't already. If you're interested in nature, and especially if you're interested in plants or just know someone in your life that would enjoy a book like this, please, please, please consider picking up a copy |
| 0:25.3 | or at least letting them know about it. But today is a really exciting topic because we're |
| 0:31.0 | heading back to the world of oaks to talk about oak seed dispersal. Joining us is Dr. Michael |
| 0:36.7 | Steele from Wilkes University in Pennsylvania. |
| 0:39.5 | And as you're going to hear, he's a mammalian ecologist with a special interest in squirrels. |
| 0:44.3 | But that interest in squirrels in their behavior has led to much larger questions as it involves |
| 0:49.6 | their interaction with the greater natural world around them. |
| 0:52.7 | After all, no species operates in a vacuum, |
| 0:55.1 | and what they're eating has a lot to do with how they're behaving, and if you know anything about |
| 0:59.9 | squirrels, the traditional idea of a squirrel, looking for nuts, you're inevitably going to come |
| 1:04.9 | across oaks and acorns. Squirrels are excellent acorn dispersal agents, and this has led Dr. |
| 1:10.6 | Steele to write an amazingly |
| 1:12.3 | detailed but also very compelling and easy read of a book called Oaks Seed Dispersal, |
| 1:17.6 | a study in plant-animal interactions. |
| 1:20.5 | It's an incredible read. I can't recommend it enough. It's not overly technical. I think |
| 1:24.9 | anyone with an interest in nature, natural history, trees, |
| 1:27.9 | oaks, squirrels, birds, you're going to find something of value in here, and you're going to learn |
| 1:33.0 | a lot in the process. And the thing that amazes me about books like this is it's just shaving |
| 1:37.2 | off a tiny corner of the ecological realm. And when you pick this book up and feel its weight and |
| 1:41.8 | realize all of the work that's gone into trying to understand what's detailed in this book, you realize just how complex the natural |
| 1:47.6 | world truly is. But what amazes me the most is that it's not just about oaks and it's not just |
... |
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