Michael A. Steele

TL;DR: Three systems in which detailed studies have demonstrated strong evolutionary interactions between squirrels and trees are reviewed: one in which squirrels act primarily as seed predators, another as herbivores, and a third in which Squirrels act as both seed predators and dispersal agents.

TL;DR: The authors found from a synthesis of tree species in North America that climate-condition interactions dominate responses through two pathways: effects of growth that depend on climate, and effects of climate that depends on tree size.

TL;DR: It is argued that the primary function of this behavior is to ensure successful storage of sound acorns, at least for short-term storage, and the potential impact of pericarp removal on weevil populations and long-term patterns of seed survival and establishment from the Siberian chipmunk’s caches is considered.

TL;DR: It is found that masting results in a bottom-up effect on the insect population; both through increased reproductive output and aggregation at seed-rich trees and possibly hindering satiation effects of masting.

TL;DR: Squirrel foraging behaviors are influenced by a combination of phylogenetically conserved and more evolutionarily labile seed traits that is consistent with a weak or more diffuse coevolutionary relationship between rodents and hardwood trees rather than a direct coev evolutionary relationship.