Scientists baffled by mysterious acorn shortage

CNN ^ | Dec 12, 2008 | Marsha Walton

[neverdem]

• Naturalists are baffled this fall by a shortage of acorns in the eastern U.S.
  
• Residents in some areas report plenty of acorns, while others have seen none at all
  
• Acorn growth runs in cycles, so a lean year may be normal after last year's big crop
  
• Some scientists fear the shortage will affect squirrel populations
  
  

  (CNN) -- Up and down the East Coast, residents and naturalists alike have been scratching their heads this autumn over a simple question: Where are all the acorns?

  Oak trees have shed their leaves, but the usual carpet of acorns is not crunching underfoot.

  In far-flung pockets of northern Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and other states, scientists have found no acorns whatsoever.

  "I can't think of any other year like this," said Alonso Abugattas, director of the Long Branch Nature Center in Arlington, Virginia.

  Louise Garris, who lives in the Oakcrest neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia, first noticed the mysterious phenomenon early this fall when doing yardwork beneath a canopy of large oak trees.

  "I have lived in the area my entire life and have never not seen any acorns!" she said. Garris checked with some local plant nurseries and they confirmed her observation.

  The mystery has found its way to the Internet, where a "No acorns this year" discussion on Topix.com yielded more than 180 comments from people reporting acorn disappearances as far away as Connecticut and North Carolina.

  "WHAT IS GOING ON?" posted a resident of Maplewood, New Jersey. "Now we are finding dead squirrels! SHOULD WE ALL BE CONCERNED?"

  Not necessarily, naturalists say. Last year Garris reported a bumper crop of acorns, which scientists say may be one clue to this year's scarcity. Virginia extension agent Adam Downing...

[LibLieSlayer]

I have seen the same behavior here.

LLS

[Texas Mom]

Satsumas are a citrus, very much like an Orange but peels like a tangerine. Only one seed per Satsuma. Delicious..

[SunkenCiv]

Millions of starving homeless have to eat acorns. Global warming. Bush’s fault.

Thanks neverdem.

[SunkenCiv]

Acorn Watchers Wonder What Happened to Crop
The Washington Post | 30 Nov 2008 | Brigid Schulte
Posted on 12/02/2008 8:52:08 AM PST by BGHater
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2141497/posts

[fanfan]

Same here, ton’s of acorns last year, none this year.

We did have tons of pine cones this year. Much more than usual.

[fanfan]

We had hornets this year, and some ground bees, but I didn’t see many bumble bees.

Do only certain bees pollinate certain flowers?

[R. Scott]

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Maybe North Dakota and Montana had a lot of acorns this year. :-)

[hinckley buzzard]

I have no acorns at all this year. Of course I have no oak trees. Got a bumper crop of hickory nuts though. Squirrels and wild turkeys are happy.

[hinckley buzzard]

This is one of the dumbest dumba$$ed articles I've read in a good while. Must have been written by city folk for city folk.

You got that right.

I like this one: "Oak trees have shed their leaves..."

Oak trees don't shed their leaves till Spring, when new ones grow.

[bert]

To some extent. Honey bees can’t get nectar from red clover because their tounges are too short. They there fore don visit and don’t pollinate.

Many trees are wind pollinated