How Jays Helped Restore an Oak Forest

Corvids, like crows and jays, are known for caching seeds instead of eating them immediately. Sometimes, those seeds take root before the birds return. Mario Pesendorfer, a forest and behavioral ecologist at BOKU in Vienna, says that’s what happened on Santa Cruz Island in southern California. It’s part of Channel Islands National Park where native shrub oak habitats were largely decimated by grazing livestock. After these animals were removed in the 80s and 90s, Santa Cruz Island regained vegetation faster than its neighbors — thanks to seed-dispersing Island Scrub-Jays! It’s just one example of how birds could help restoration ecologists regrow forests around the world. Learn more about restoration ecology in the latest season of Bring Birds Back!

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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