The Effects of Squirrels’ Storing Behavior
In a process known as scatter-hoarding, some species of squirrels store food for future use in many different locations. Using this process, the squirrels will store hundreds if not thousands of seeds and nuts per individual squirrel. Early observations led to the long-held notion that squirrels store more than they need and then forget where many seeds and nuts are stored, allowing some of them to germinate(begin growing into new plants) and become established(grow roots). More recent research, however, suggests a far more complicated picture, one in which the squirrels are considerably more efficient at seed and nut recovery and in which germination and establishment occur under far more limited circumstances than previously thought. Nevertheless, scatter-hoarding squirrels are critical for seed dispersal and, in many forest systems, they may serve as its principal agents. Experimental evidence strongly suggests that individual squirrels remember precise locations of their stored nuts, most likely based on spatial information, as is also shown for the scatter- hoarding corvids (birds such as rocks, jays and crows). This is not to say that they don’t steal from one another, pilfering is common and sometimes even extreme. Yet in many situations these scatter-hoarders may have control over their own scatter-hoards.
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