Picture of a squirrel with a cone.
Found at: http://www.flickir.com/photos/cjfinley/328325129/
- There is an evolutionary arms race between squirrels and trees that is taking place.
- The squirrels need food for themselves and their offspring and the trees are protecting themselves and their crops.
- Recent developments include squirrels being able to harvest the cones of trees before they are able to grow and the trees develop a process called masting, which is to produce an overabundance of cones one year, and very few in another year.
- Squirrels must be able to predict when the seed boom occurs, otherwise if they reproduce during the famine period, their pups may not be able to survive and there would be strong competition for food.
- If squirrels reproduce right before the abundance of cones, then more squirrels are able to survive and reproduce.
Reflection
This article about the evolutionary arms race between suqirrels and trees is a very odd, but common story. I'm slightly surprised that the squirrels and trees are actually smart enough to predict and counter each others' moves. I decided to choose this story because it seemed like such a common topic in many other sections of life, such as war, industry, and technology. I think that the trees' masting process is having limited success, however. If the squirrels are able to reporduce right before the overproduction of seeds, this only increases the chancese of more squirrels surviving, rather than some of them dying due to the lack of food. Some questions that may arise from this situation may include: Who will turn out to be the most adapted and have the upper hand over the other organism? Will one species go extinct due to the other species dependence on it? I think that the squirrels and trees will grow so complex, that they won't need to depend on each other. This has taught me that humans aren't the only organisms evolving in this world and we aren't the only ones who fight agaisnt others.
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