Ponderosa pine seed : for animals or trees? /

Ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa Laws. ) seed development and sur- vival studies in northwestern Montana showed that small forest animals reduced the potential seed crop very little during the 2-year cone develop- ment period but they consumed an average of 24 out of 25 pine seeds that matured.Red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus richardsoni Bachman) harvested an average of 66% of the mature cones, and after the seeds were dispersed deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus artemisiae Rhoads), chip- munks (Eutamias amoenus luteiventris Allen), and birds consumed the equivalent of an additional 30%.Deer mouse populations apparently fluctu- ated in direct response to the size of the previous year's seed crop.