Zoology - General & Miscellaneous, Plants - Trees, Animal Husbandry, Animal Ecology, Animals & Habitats in Environmental Science, Botany - General & Miscellaneous

Made for Each Other

Name: Made for Each Other
Author: Ronald M. Lanner
ISBN: 9780195089028

by Ronald M. Lanner

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Overview

In Made for Each Other: A Symbiosis of Birds and Pines, Ronald M. Lanner details for the first time this fascinating relationship between wingless-seeded pine trees and seed-dispersing Corvids (nutcrackers and jays), showing how mutualism can drive not only each others' evolution, but affect the ecology of many other members of the surrounding ecosystem as well. In a complex process of mutual dependency, myriad species of both plants and animals - from Engelmann spruce, elk, and moose to red squirrels, bear, and fungi - advance the overall life cycle by taking advantage of the ecological terrain that precedes them. Focusing on the Rocky Mountains and the American Southwest, and ranging as far afield as the Alps, Finland, Siberia, and China, this beautifully illustrated and gracefully written work illuminates the phenomenon of co-evolution.

About the Author, Ronald M. Lanner

Ronald M. Lanner is Professor Emeritus of Forest Resources at Utah State University. He is the author of a number of books, including The Piñon Pine, Trees of the Great Basin, Autumn Leaves: A Guide to the Fall Colors of the Northwoods, and the forthcoming, The Conifers of California.

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Editorials

Library Journal

Combining personal research with the works of others, Lanner (professor emeritus, Utah State) presents a documented account of the obligatory mutualism that exists between those species of pines having wingless seeds and birds such as nutcrackers and jays. He explains how the food dependency of the birds on the pines has interacted with the tree's reproduction to result in the coevolution of both, with the birds being the directing force. Lanner proposes a new sequence in the evolution of the "limber pine complex" because of his findings. The importance of this bird-and- pine association in the plant and animal communities is discussed, as are the environmental threats that may destroy it. This accessible book will interest nature and bird enthusiasts. Recommended for larger collections.Frank Reiser, Nassau Community Coll., Garden City, N.Y.