What Should a Clever Moose Eat? Natural History, Ecology, and The No
John Pastor explores the natural history of the North Woods, an immense and complex forest that stretches from the western shore of Lake Superior to the far coast of Newfoundland. From the geological history of the region to the shapes of leaves and the r
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John Pastor FOREWORD BY BERND HEINRICH
What Should a Clever Moose Eat?
What Should a Clever Moose Eat? NATURAL HISTORY, ECOLOGY, AND THE NORTH WOODS
John Pastor Illustrated by the author
Washington | Covelo | London
Copyright © 2016 John Pastor All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher: Island Press, 2000 M Street NW, Suite 650, Washington, DC 20036 Island Press is a trademark of The Center for Resource Economics. Library of Congress Control Number: 2015937835 Printed on recycled, acid-free paper Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Keywords: Adirondacks, balsam fir, beaver, blueberries, boreal forest, fire, food web, glaciation, ice sheet, Lake Superior, life cycles, life histories, Maine, maple, Minnesota, moose, moraines, natural history, North Woods, pine, pollen analysis, spruce budworms, spruce, tent caterpillar, voyageurs
For my grandson, Laszlo Pastor
Everything changes; everything is connected; pay attention. —Jane Hirshfield
Contents List of Drawings xiii Foreword xv Preface xix Prologue: The Beauty of Natural History xxvii Introduction: The Nature of the North Woods 1 Part I: The Assembly of a Northern Ecosystem and the European Discovery of Its Natural History 19 1. Setting the Stage 21 2. The Emergence of the North Woods 35 3. Beaver Ponds and the Flow of Water in Northern Landscapes 49 4. David Thompson, the Fur Trade, and the Discovery of the Natural History of the North Woods 57 Part II: Capturing the Light 65 5. How Long Should a Leaf Live? 67 6. The Shapes of Leaves 79 7. The Shapes of Crowns 91 8. How Should Leaves Die? 101 Part III: Foraging, Food Webs, and Population Cycles of Predators and Their Prey 111 9. Foraging in a Beaver’s Pantry 115 xi
xii
CONTENTS
10. Voles, Fungi, Spruce, and Abandoned Beaver Meadows 123 11. What Should a Clever Moose Eat? 131 12. Tent Caterpillars, Aspens, and the Regulation of Food Webs 143 13. Predatory Warblers and the Control of Spruce Budworm in Conifer Canopies 151 14. The Dance of Hare and Lynx at the Top of the Food Web 159 Part IV: Pollinators, Flowers, Fruits, and Seeds 171 15. Skunk Cabbages, Blowflies, and the Smells of Spring 175 16. When Should Flowers Bloom and Fruits Ripen? 181 17. Everybody’s Favorite Berries 189 18. Crossbills and Conifer Cones 197 Part V: Fire and the Dynamics of the Landscape 205 19. Does Fire Destroy or Maintain the North Woods? 207 20. The Legacies of a Fire 219 21. Fire Regimes and the Correlated Evolution of Serotiny and Flammability 227 Epilogue: Climate Change and the Disassembly of the North Woods 237 Postscript: The Natural History of Beauty 245 Notes 255 Glossary 263 Bibliography 269 Index 289
List of Drawings The snout of an ice sheet 24 A grooved cobble with chatter marks from the Superior Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet 29 Pollen grains of pine, birch, and maple 36 Beaver dam
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