{"id":23261,"date":"2016-02-04T07:42:01","date_gmt":"2016-02-04T12:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/?p=23261"},"modified":"2017-01-30T17:10:33","modified_gmt":"2017-01-30T22:10:33","slug":"jays-and-crows-act-as-ecosystem-engineers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/jays-and-crows-act-as-ecosystem-engineers\/","title":{"rendered":"Jays and Crows Act as Ecosystem Engineers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n              <figure class=\"size-medium alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/EJay-Adami.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/EJay-Adami.jpg 531w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/EJay-Adami-480x554.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"European Jay by Karl Adami\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><figcaption>A Eurasian Jay with an acorn. <em>Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/oCaqhg\">Karl Adami<\/a> via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/groups\/birdshare\/\">Birdshare<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption>\n              <\/figure>\n            <\/div>\n<p><!--\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_23293\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"531\"]<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-23293 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/EJay-Adami.jpg\" alt=\"A Eurasian Jays with an acorn. Photo by Karl Adami via Birdshare.\" width=\"531\" height=\"613\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/EJay-Adami.jpg 531w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/EJay-Adami-480x554.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 531px) 100vw, 531px\" \/> A Eurasian Jay with an acorn. <em>Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/oCaqhg\">Karl Adami<\/a> via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/groups\/birdshare\/\">Birdshare<\/a>.<\/em>[\/caption]\n\n--><small><em>Editor&#8217;s note: The following press release\u00a0describes a new article in <\/em>The Condor<em>, the journal of the Cooper Ornithological Society, and was provided by the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aoucospubs.org\/\">Central Ornithology Publication Office<\/a>.<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group sidebar-alignright sidebar-space order-bottom\"><!--HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\"><span class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\" id=\"hs-cta-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\"><!--[if lte IE 8]><div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div><![endif]--><a href=\"http:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/95627\/a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" id=\"hs-cta-img-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\" style=\"border-width:0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/95627\/a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3.png\"  alt=\"New self-paced course: Learn How to Identify Bird Songs, Click to Learn More\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a><\/span><script charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/js.hscta.net\/cta\/current.js\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> hbspt.cta.load(95627, 'a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3', {}); <\/script><\/span><!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code -->\r\n<!--<span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\">\r\n    <span class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\" id=\"hs-cta-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\">-->\r\n        <!--[if lte IE 8]><div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div><![endif]-->\r\n        <!--<a href=\"http:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/95627\/394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\"  target=\"_blank\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" id=\"hs-cta-img-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\" style=\"border-width:0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/95627\/394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd.png\"  alt=\"Join the Cornell Lab\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\r\n    <\/span>\r\n    <script charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/js.hscta.net\/cta\/current.js\"><\/script>\r\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n        hbspt.cta.load(95627, '394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd', {});\r\n    <\/script>\r\n<\/span>-->\r\n<!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\n\n<p>A new\u00a0review in <em>The Condor: Ornithological Applications<\/em> explores how oaks and pines depend on corvids, the group of birds that includes ravens, crows, and jays, to reproduce and spread\u2014and how birds may be the key to helping these valuable trees weather the challenges of habitat fragmentation and climate change.<\/p>\n<p>Corvids store seeds in small caches spread across the landscape, a behavior called \u201cscatter-hoarding.\u201d Birds cache more seeds than they eventually eat, so some seeds sprout and scatter-hoarding becomes seed dispersal, helping trees colonize new areas. Many oaks and pines have specific adaptations to encourage dispersal by birds, producing large, nutritious seeds with protective chemicals that keep them from rotting, which encourages scatter-hoarding by eliminating the need for animals to eat the seeds immediately.<\/p>\n<p>The review by Mario Pesendorfer of the University of Nebraska\u2013Lincoln and his colleagues at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and The Nature Conservancy explores specific examples of such relationships from around the world. In Europe, Eurasian Jays are proving to be a crucial ally for oaks as habitat fragmentation and climate change increasingly impact European hardwoods. In the western U.S., researchers have shown that repeated long-distance dispersal events by Clark\u2019s Nutcrackers are essential to establish and maintain Ponderosa Pine populations and that Pinyon Jays help maintain the tree\u2019s genetic diversity. And in the eastern U.S., Blue Jays speed forest fire recovery by increasing their caching effort after fires and selecting canopy gaps as cache sites.<\/p>\n<p>Harnessing this bird behavior may aid habitat restoration. Europeans have been aware of the relationship between jays and oaks for centuries, and managers in some areas of Western Europe are planting small stands of seed-source trees and relying on corvids to help disperse them across the landscape. In America, conservationists are exploring the possibility of reintroducing Channel Island Scrub-Jays to islands where they were extirpated to speed the recovery of oak and pine vegetation after livestock removal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn light of the globally changing climate and increasing habitat fragmentation, these winged dispersers that transport seeds over long distances are likely to become more important, as they enable plant populations to shift their range,\u201d says Pesendorfer. \u201cSince oaks and pines are important keystone species that themselves provide habitat for hundreds of animal species, such dispersal can have ecosystem-wide benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>About the journal:<\/strong> <em>The Condor: Ornithological Applications<\/em> is a peer-reviewed, international journal of ornithology. It began in 1899 as the journal of the Cooper Ornithological Club, a group of ornithologists in California that became the Cooper Ornithological Society.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group well-gray has-lightgray-background-color has-background\">\n<h4>Reference<\/h4>\n<p>Pesendorfer, M.B., et al. 2016.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bioone.org\/doi\/abs\/10.1650\/CONDOR-15-125.1\">Scatter-hoarding corvids as seed dispersers for oaks and pines: A review of a widely distributed mutualism and its utility to habitat restoration<\/a>. <em>The Condor<\/em> 118: 215-237.<br \/>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Editor&#8217;s note: The following press release\u00a0describes a new article in The Condor, the journal of the Cooper Ornithological Society, and was provided by the Central Ornithology Publication Office. A new\u00a0review<a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/jays-and-crows-act-as-ecosystem-engineers\/\" title=\"ReadJays and Crows Act as Ecosystem Engineers\">&#8230; Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23291,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_birdpress_living_bird_toc":0,"_birdpress_living_bird_toc_title":"","_birdpress_featured_image":false,"_birdpress_hero_toggle":false,"_birdpress_hero_type":"image","_birdpress_hero_image_type":"image","_birdpress_hero_style":"default","_birdpress_hero_ratio":"","_birdpress_hero_h1":"","_birdpress_hero_media_id":0,"_birdpress_hero_media_array_id":[],"_birdpress_hero_media_array":[],"_birdpress_hero_media":0,"_birdpress_hero_video_id":0,"_birdpress_hero_video":0,"_birdpress_hero_youtube":"","_birdpress_hero_content":true,"_birdpress_hero_byline":"","_birdpress_hero_byline_bottom":"","_birdpress_hero_button_link":"","_birdpress_hero_button_text":"","_birdpress_hero_button_color":"","_birdpress_hero_date":false,"original_guid":"","_birdpress_hide_search":false,"_birdpress_page_width":"","_birdpress_global_cta":false,"_birdpress_widget_sidebar":"","_birdpress_next_article":0,"_birdpress_next_article_title":"","_birdpress_prev_article":0,"_birdpress_prev_article_title":"","_birdpress_sub_navigation_id":0,"_birdpress_sub_navigation":"","_birdpress_sub_navigation_title":false,"_birdpress_anchor_navigation_id":0,"_birdpress_anchor_navigation":"","_birdpress_postType":"both","_birdpress_categoryID":0,"_birdpress_tagID":0,"_birdpress_parentPostID":0,"_birdpress_parentPostTitle":"","_birdpress_menuID":0,"_birdpress_menuName":"","_birdpress_listHeader":"","_birdpress_listLayout":"card-display","_birdpress_listColumns":"","_birdpress_maxItems":12,"_birdpress_listPaginate":true,"_birdpress_displaySort":true,"_birdpress_sortOrder":"DESC","_birdpress_sortBy":"date","_birdpress_listID":"","_birdpress_listClass":"","_birdpress_displayImages":true,"_birdpress_displayCaptions":false,"_birdpress_displayExcerpts":false,"_birdpress_attTop":"","_birdpress_attBottom":"","_birdpress_showLogos":false,"_birdpress_post_logo":0,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_topic":0,"wds_primary_content-format":0,"wds_primary_cornell-lab-project":0,"wds_primary_host-project":0,"wds_primary_read-more-tag":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"topic":[1103,998],"content-format":[1055],"cornell-lab-project":[],"host-project":[],"read-more-tag":[],"class_list":["post-23261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","topic-news","topic-news-and-features","content-format-article"],"metadata":{"associated-posts":[""],"_edit_lock":["1550002424:4"],"_edit_last":["4"],"wdsi_message_id":[""],"wdsi_do_not_show":[""],"_wds_meta-robots-adv":[",,,"],"wpa_off":[null],"custom-byline":["<div 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