The Acorn Connections – Complex Interaction Webs in Oak Forests

Clive G. Jones
Institute of Ecosystem Studies

Gypsy Moth defoliation and Lyme disease are major problems in eastern US oak forests. Using a combination of long-term studies and large-scale experiments, our collaborative research has shown that acorns initiate a complex series of ecological chain reactions. These interactions can ultimately determine whether or not Gypsy Moth outbreaks will occur, and can determine Lyme disease risk to people. Acorns are a key food for white-footed mice. The mice are key predators on Gypsy Moth pupae. When there are many acorns the mouse population increases, which keeps the moth population low. However if there are no acorns, the mouse population collapses allowing the moth population to increase. Acorns also attract white-tailed deer into oak forests to feed on acorns. The deer carry adult ticks that drop off and spend the winter in the oak forests. The next year the female ticks lay eggs that hatch into larval ticks. The larval ticks are not infected with the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, but become infected when they feed on the mice that have increased because of acorns. This means that the risk of Lyme disease can be higher in oak forests two years after a large acorn crop. Acorns initiate other chain reactions among species (e.g., mice, chipmunks and songbirds; see Ostfeld), and Gypsy Moth defoliation has many effects on the forest, including influences on nutrient cycling (see Lovett). Because moth defoliation reduces acorn production, understanding how moths are able to persist in the forest amidst intense predation pressure by mice has also been a recent focus of our work. This has led us to study the roles of local dispersal of moths relative to local spatial variation in mouse predation as the primary determinants of moth persistence (see Goodwin, Ostfeld, Schauber).

Overall, our research is trying to understand how the complexity of interactions among species – including how they vary in space and time – affects the functioning of oak forest ecosystems with important implications for understanding forest ecosystem health and human health.

Acorn Connections Publications

• Schauber, E. M., B. J. Goodwin, C. G. Jones, and R. S. Ostfeld.   2007.   Spatial selection and inheritance: Applying evolutionary concepts to population dynamics in heterogeneous space. Ecology   88(5):1112-1118.
  
  
• Schauber, E. M., and C. G. Jones.   2006.   Comparative predation on naturally occurring Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) pupae and deployed freeze-dried pupae. Environ. Entomol.   35(2):293-294.
  
  
• Connors, M. J., E. M. Schauber, A. Forbes, C. G. Jones, B. J. Goodwin, and R. S. Ostfeld.   2005.   Use of track plates to quantify predation risk at small spatial scales. J. Mammal.   86(5):991-996.
  
  
• Goodwin, B. J., C. G. Jones, E. M. Schauber, and R. S. Ostfeld.   2005.   Limited dispersal and heterogeneous predation risk synergistically enhance persistence of rare prey. Ecology   86(12):3139–3148.
  
  
• Schauber, E. M., R. S. Ostfeld, and C. G. Jones.   2004.   Type 3 functional response of mice to gypsy moth pupae: Is it stabilizing? Oikos   107(3):592-602.
  
  
• Jones, C. G.   2003.   Fungi, mice control tree menace. Poughkeepsie Journal, Poughkeepsie, New York   16 November, Sect B:7-8.
  
  
• Lovett, G. M., L. M. Christenson, P. M. Groffman, C. G. Jones, J. E. Hart, and M. J. Mitchell.   2002.   Insect defoliation and nitrogen cycling in forests. BioScience   52:335-341.
  
  
• Ostfeld, R. S., E. M. Schauber, C. D. Canham, F. Keesing, C. G. Jones, and J. O. Wolff.   2001.   Effects of acorn production and mouse abundance on abundance and Borrelia burgdorferi-infection prevalence of nymphal Ixodes scapularis ticks. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases   1:55-63.
  
  
• Ostfeld, R. S., and C. G. Jones.   1999.   Peril in the understory. Audubon Magazine   101(4):74-82.
  
  
• Jones, C. G., R. S. Ostfeld, M. P. Richard, E. M. Schauber, and J. O. Wolff.   1998.   Chain reactions linking acorns to gypsy moth outbreaks and Lyme disease risk. Science   279:1023-1026.
  
  
• Jones, C. G., R. S. Ostfeld, M. P. Richard, E. M. Schauber, and J. O. Wolff.   1998.   Mast seeding and Lyme disease.   Trends Ecol. Evol.   13:506.
  
  
• Lovett, G. M., J. E. Hart, L. M. Christenson, and C. G. Jones.   1998.   Caterpillar guts and ammonia volatilization: retention of nitrogen by gypsy moth larvae consuming oak foliage.   Oecologia   117:513-516.
  
  
• Ostfeld, R. S., C. G. Jones, M. P. Richard, E. M. Schauber, and J. O. Wolff.   1998.   Tick population trends and forest type [Response to Ginsberg et al.]   Science   281:350-351.
  
  
• Ostfeld, R. S., F. Keesing, C. G. Jones, C. D. Canham, and G. M. Lovett.   1998.   Integrative ecology and the dynamics of species in oak forests. Integr. Biol.   1:178-186.
  
  
• Ostfeld, R. S., C. G. Jones, and J. O. Wolff.   1996.   Of mice and mast: ecological connections in eastern deciduous forests. BioScience   46:323-330.
  
  
• Moore, K. E. B., and C. G. Jones.   1992.   Estimating field hatch and parasitism of the gypsy moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae).   Environ. Entomol.   21:276-280.
  
  
• Jones, C. G., M. K. Steininger, P. Luciano, and K. E. B. Moore.   1990.   Estimating gypsy moth fecundity in the field: a comparison between data from North America and Sardinia (Italy).   Environ. Entomol.   19:108-110.
  
  
• Wallner, W. E., C. G. Jones, J. S. Elkinton, and B. L. Parker.   1990.   Sampling low-density gypsy moth populations.   USDAFS-NEFES. Gen. Tech. Rep.   NE-146:40-44.
  
  
• Moore, K. E. B., and C. G. Jones.   1987.   Field estimation of fecundity of the gypsy moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae).   Environ. Entomol.   16(1):165-167.
  
  

Publications pre-Cary Institute

Karnosky, D. F. and Jones, C. G. 1981. Living with the gypsy moth. Garden 5:8-13.

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