Nature's Archive #26: Dr. Doug Tallamy on What Makes Oaks the Most Important Tree
Today's guest is Dr. Doug Tallamy, and let me say up-front that the episode title doesn't really do justice to our wide ranging discussion!
Doug Tallamy is the T. A. Baker Professor of Agriculture in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has authored over 100 research publications and has taught insect related courses for 40 years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. His book Bringing Nature Home was published by Timber Press in 2007 and was awarded the 2008 Silver Medal by the Garden Writers' Association. Nature’s Best Hope (2020) a New York Times Best Seller, and his latest book The Nature of Oaks was released by Timber Press in 2021. Dr. Tallamy is the recipient of numerous awards for his conservation and communication efforts.
Today we discuss the aforementioned The Nature of Oaks.
Oaks aren't just a little important, but stand well above others in terms of the number of insects they support. Why is this important? As you'll hear, the majority of birds require insects to raise young, and not only that, but immense numbers of caterpillars. And this is just scratching the surface of the food web impacts. We also talk about gall-making wasps that use oaks, and the parasitoid wasps that rely on those gall-making wasps! Dr. Tallamy gives a great introduction into gall maker life histories.
We discuss some basic ecological concepts in relation to oaks, including keystone species, trophic levels and energy transfer. We consider the roles oaks played back when our forests were more diverse, before the American Chestnut was wiped out, before Dutch Elm Disease wiped out 75% of mature elms, and before the current die-off of eastern Ash trees.
Doug discussing semi-random acorn masting, and reviews the four fascinating hypothesis as to why this is.
Doug started Homegrown National Park (instagram) that helps people understand the critical connection they have with functional food webs and ecosystems. We discuss how Homegrown National Park came to be, how to help people make yards more ecologically functional, and some tips and suggestions for connecting with people if you too want to advocate for this good cause.
FULL SHOW NOTES
MORE LINKS
California Native Plant Society CalScape native plant finder
Kenneth V. Rosenberg - lead author of study showing 3 billion birds have been lost
Michelle Alfandari - Partnered with Doug to create Homegrown National Park
Sudden Oak Death
Tammany Baumgarten - advocate for the "1
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com
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Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!