By now, you have an idea of how the squirrels and trees interact. Let's
take a
look at the big picture and see what happens over time.
In the forest, red oak and white oak
trees drop many acorns every year.
Once the acorns have been dropped, the oaks need outside forces,
including squirrels, to carry the acorns to other parts of the forest.
(What
are other ways acorns might be moved away from the parent tree?)
Sometimes
after a
squirrel has buried an acorn in a different part of the forest, the squirrel will
forget
to
go back and eat it. The acorn is then left in the ground to sprout into a
beautiful new oak tree. Certainly, the
oak trees need the
squirrels
for their survival -- But the squirrels need the oak trees just as much!
Their main
source of
food is the acorns that fall from oak trees. (Quick Review: Do you
remember
how they are different?) Because the acorns from the red oak and the white oak
are
different, a squirrel has to be able to "decide" which one to eat. When a
squirrel is
selecting which to eat, its actions are determined by how much fat the acorn
has,
how many tannins
it
has, how many insects it has, and its sprouting season. It seems like a
lot to
think about: do you think squirrels are good desicion makers?
Although many scientists, such as Michael Steele have done
wonderful
research about squirrels and oak trees, there are still many questions to
be
asked and answered. If you look outside, you will see that squirrels and oak
trees are all
around our homes and schools. Watch them and maybe you can come up with
some
questions
of your own to explore.