Dispersal Distance and Burial Mode of Acorns in Eurasian Jays Garrulus glandarius in European Temperate Forests

Abstract

Abstract. Dispersal distance and burial mode of acorns are two of the most important characteristics in renewal processes of oaks that result from the food hoarding ecology of the Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius. To obtain the dispersal distance and to locate precisely the caches with scattered acorns we used radio-tracked transmitters with flexible 13 cm long sticking out antennae injected into drilled acorns. From mid-September to mid-October acorns of Pedunculate Oak Quercus robur with transmitters were mixed with untagged acorns and exhibited on five feeders distributed from each other at a distance of at least 1.3 km (max. 3.8). We obtained information on 121 tagged acorns scattered by Jays in two consecutive years (2014 — 42 records, 2015 — 79 records). For both seasons, mean dispersal distance was 115.7 metres (SE = 9.2). The maximum detected distance was 456 m, the minimum was 3 m. Most of the acorns (52.6%) were deposited by Jays up to 100 m from the source. Dispersal distance differed significantly between the two years of research and between feeders. Mean dispersal distance was much higher in 2014 (166 m, N = 42) than in 2015 (86 m, N = 72) and differed between seasons while the seed crop was similar and low. Only four acorns (3.5%) were found on the litter with no signs of hiding, which suggests accidental loss during transport (dyszoochory). Most of the cached acorns (44.6%) were deposited in the Scots Pine Pinus silvestris litter or moss cushions no deeper than 0.5 cm. The additional covering of caches with pieces of bark or leaves were noted accidentally in nine cases (9.8%).