WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- A study of the Clark's nutcracker suggests its whitebark pine seed storage may not be effective at restoring the dwindling pine, the U.S. Forest Service said.
Scientists have learned the seed caching during the late summer and early fall may not be enough to regenerate populations of the imperiled conifer in most of its range, the service said Wednesday in a release.
The research suggests success of whitebark pine restoration may be tied to conservation of the ponderosa pine.
"Whitebark pine is a keystone species in the high-mountain ecosystems of the northern Rockies, Cascades, Olympics, and eastern Sierra Nevada because it plays a major role in creating suitable conditions for the growth of other plants and in supplying seeds, which are consumed by a number of animals," said Martin Raphael, a research wildlife biologist with the station and one of the study's collaborators. "But the species is in trouble and is experiencing declines of 45 percent across some of its range."
Raphael said the study helped scientists understand "how unlikely it is that whitebark pine seeds will end up in good germination spots."
But the study documented the role of the birds in disseminating the seeds of ponderosa pine. The nutcrackers gathered ponderosa pine seeds within their ranges, and were more effective in dispersing them to germination sites than they were at dispersing whitebark pine seeds.
"Because we found ponderosa pine seeds to be an important food for nutcrackers in Washington and Oregon, the success of whitebark pine restoration may be irrevocably linked to the conservation of low-elevation ponderosa pine," said Teresa Lorenz, a doctoral student working on the study.
The findings are included in the February issue of Science Findings, a monthly publication of the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station.
