Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Predator-Prey Interactions

Predator-Prey Interactions

Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.

Energy Budgets

Energy Budgets

Organisms must balance energy intake with the energy required for growth, maintenance and reproduction. These trade-offs result in a variety of survivorship and reproductive strategies, including semelparity and iteroparity. Semelparous species, like annual plants, have only one reproductive episode in their lifetimes and consequently have short lifespans. Iteroparous species, by contrast, have many reproductive events during their lifetimes but have relatively few offspring. These two...

Threats to Biodiversity

Threats to Biodiversity

There have been five major extinction events throughout geological history, resulting in the elimination of biodiversity, followed by a rebound of species that adapted to the new conditions. In the current geological epoch, the Holocene, there is a sixth extinction event in progress. This mass extinction has been attributed to human activities and is thus provisionally called the Anthropocene. In 2019 the human population reached 7.7 billion people and is projected to comprise 10 billion by...

Migration

Migration

Migration is long-range, seasonal movement from one region or habitat to another. This common strategy, carried out by many different organisms around the world, is an adaptive response that typically corresponds to changes in an organism’s environment, like resource availability or climate. Migrations can involve huge groups of thousands of animals as well as single individuals traveling alone and can range from thousands of kilometers to just a few hundred meters.

Conservation of Declining Populations

Conservation of Declining Populations

Conservation of declining population focuses on ways of detecting, diagnosing, and halting a population decline. The approach uses methods to prevent populations from going extinct.

Habitat Fragmentation

Habitat Fragmentation

Habitat fragmentation describes the division of a more extensive, continuous habitat into smaller, discontinuous areas. Human activities such as land conversion, as well as slower geological processes leading to changes in the physical environment, are the two leading causes of habitat fragmentation. The fragmentation process typically follows the same steps: perforation, dissection, fragmentation, shrinkage, and attrition.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Camera Trap Design Determines Taxa Detected at Carrion Sites.

Ecology and evolution·2026

Same author

Ecology Careers in the AI Era: Early-Career Data Literacy Must Be Protected.

Ecology and evolution·2026

Same author

Nocturnal at Noon? Addressing False Positives in Activity Pattern Data.

Ecology and evolution·2026

Same author

How wildlife respond to tropical cyclones: short-term tactics and long-term impacts.

Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·2026

Same author

Fire enables passive directed seed dispersal by birds.

Current biology : CB·2025

Same author

Lasting Effects of Different Scaled Mass Mortality Events on Soil Microbial Communities.

Microbial ecology·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 26, 2025

Quantifying Corticolous Arthropods Using Sticky Traps

Quantifying Corticolous Arthropods Using Sticky Traps

Published on: January 19, 2020

Intra-annual variation in oak masting affects wildlife feeding behavior.

Kelsey M Demeny¹, E Hance Ellington^1,2, Kellie M Kuhn³

¹Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, 1745 McCarty Drive, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.

Current Zoology

|February 25, 2025

Summary

Oak masting patterns vary seasonally and annually, influencing wildlife feeding behaviors. Understanding these seasonal acorn production dynamics is crucial for wildlife management and oak regeneration strategies.

Keywords:

Quercus acorns anthropogenic subsidies gray squirrel raccoon white-tailed deer

More Related Videos

Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid

Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid

Published on: August 8, 2017

A Method for Quantifying Foliage-Dwelling Arthropods

A Method for Quantifying Foliage-Dwelling Arthropods

Published on: October 20, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 26, 2025

Quantifying Corticolous Arthropods Using Sticky Traps

Quantifying Corticolous Arthropods Using Sticky Traps

Published on: January 19, 2020

Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid

Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid

Published on: August 8, 2017

A Method for Quantifying Foliage-Dwelling Arthropods

A Method for Quantifying Foliage-Dwelling Arthropods

Published on: October 20, 2019

Area of Science:

Ecology
Wildlife Biology
Forest Science

Background:

Oaks (Quercus spp.) are vital food sources for wildlife, particularly during fall and winter.
Existing research on oak masting primarily focuses on annual patterns, potentially overlooking seasonal variations.
Seasonal masting patterns may significantly influence wildlife behavior and resource utilization.

Purpose of the Study:

To quantify seasonal oak masting patterns for three species: water oak (Q. nigra), laurel oak (Q. laurifolia), and swamp chestnut oak (Q. michauxii).
To link seasonal masting patterns with the visitation and feeding behaviors of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), and raccoons (Procyon lotor).

Main Methods:

Utilized seed traps to monitor seasonal acorn production from 205 oak trees over two fall seasons (2021-2022).
Employed camera traps to observe wildlife visitation and feeding behaviors at 30 selected trees concurrently with seed trapping.
Analyzed seasonal masting variations within and across species and years.

Main Results:

Significant differences in seasonal masting patterns were observed among the three oak species and varied across years.
White-tailed deer showed increased visitation and consumption of swamp chestnut oak acorns as production rose.
Gray squirrels and raccoons visited laurel oak trees, with gray squirrels consuming water oak acorns more frequently as acorn availability increased.

Conclusions:

Seasonal acorn production patterns differ significantly among oak species and across years, impacting wildlife foraging.
Wildlife visitation and feeding behaviors are closely linked to the seasonal availability and species of acorns.
A multi-temporal scale approach to evaluating acorn production is essential for a comprehensive understanding of oak-wildlife interactions and their implications for oak regeneration.