2018-05-10

[public] 1.27M views, 28.6K likes, dislikes audio only

MinuteEarth

Every once in a while, all the oaks or spruces or other plants in a region suddenly produce a tremendous bounty of seeds – up to 100 times more than usual. But why do they do it, and how do they all manage to sync up?

LEARN MORE

**************

To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:

- Mast Year: A year in which all the plants of a particular species in a region ramp up their seed production.

- Predator Satiation Hypothesis: The hypothesis that mast seeding is a strategy plants use for controlling the population of squirrels and other seed-eating animals.

CREDITS

*********

Script Writer: Emily Elert

Script Editor: Alex Reich

Video Illustrator: Ever Salazar

Video Director: Alex Reich

Video Narrator: Emily Elert

With Contributions From: Henry Reich, Kate Yoshida, Peter Reich, David Goldenberg

Music by: Nathaniel Schroeder

MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC

https://neptunestudios.info

SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH

**************************

If you like what we do, you can help us!:

- Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth

- Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth

- Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books

- Share this video with your friends and family

- Leave us a comment (we read them!)

OUR LINKS

************

Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth

TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth

Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth

Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth

Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth

Website | https://minuteearth.com

Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176

REFERENCES

**************

Fletcher, Quinn E., Stan Boutin, Jeffrey E. Lane, Jalene M. LaMontagne, Andrew G. McAdam, Charles J. Krebs, and Murray M. Humphries. 2010. “The Functional Response of a Hoarding Seed Predator to Mast Seeding.” Ecology 91 (9): 2673–83.

Kelly, Dave, and Victoria L. Sork. 2002. “Mast Seeding in Perennial Plants: Why, How, Where?” Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 33 (1). Annual Reviews: 427–47.

Kelly, D. 1994. “The Evolutionary Ecology of Mast Seeding.” Trends in Ecology & Evolution 9 (12): 465–70.

LaMontagne, J. 2018. Personal Communication.