The role of the wood mouse in Quercus serrata acorn dispersal in abandoned cut-over land

Abstract

To determine the dispersal and post-dispersal predation patterns of Quercus serrata acorns by wood mice, we performed an acorn dispersal experiment using 1800 magnet-inserted acorns and a magnetic locator in a 1.8-ha study plot, which spanned cut-over land and an adjacent deciduous forest. Eighteen wire mesh baskets, each containing 100 acorns, were placed on the borders between these two habitat types. At the end of the experiment, about 8.0% ( n = 144) of the total acorns remained in the baskets, whereas 81.7% ( n = 1470) were located throughout the study plot using the magnetic locator. A significantly greater number of acorns was dispersed throughout the cut-over land than the forest. However, only six acorns in the cut-over land and three in the forest escaped post-dispersal predation by wood mice to survive until the following spring. In the cut-over land, the acorns were preferentially dispersed near fallen trees or branches, including logs and stumps abandoned after clear-cutting. Therefore, we concluded that woody debris serves as a key microhabitat for acorn dispersal by wood mice; however, most of the dispersed acorns were consumed.