[APWG] Those they leave for me to enjoy. Why is that?

[Marc Imlay]

Hal,

In regards to wineberry the birds leave for you to enjoy, it takes many 
tens to hundreds of thousands of years for instinct to change for most 
birds through mutations and selection, and thousands of years if cultural 
evolution can work for birds.  In the approximately 100 million years 
the continents have been separated such adaptions are normal and 
presumbably desirable for biodiversity but not at the pace of today.

The Eurasian and American continents have been apart 100 million 
years. Occasionally living species cross with birds, logs etc. and 
nature can adjust. However, the great influx of living material today 
has brought in many species that proliferate in the new continent 
with nothing that eats them or controls them.   

Does anyone have more information on the selectivity by birds of 
native blackberries and raspberries over non-native wineberry. Thanks!

Marc

Marc Imlay,
Board member of the Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council,
Hui o Laka at Kokee State Park, Hawaii
Vice president of the Maryland Native Plant Society,
Chair of the Biodiversity and Habitat Stewardship Committee for the
Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Planes" <planes at bellatlantic.net>
To: "Marc Imlay" <ialm at erols.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2004 9:38 PM
Subject: Last Sunday at Chapman's


Marc,

I just wanted to say thanks for the guided tour on the Sassafras Trail
at Chapman State Park Sunday.  It was a highlight of a pleasant and
enjoyable annual gathering of the Conservancy for Charles County and I
appreciate your contribution.

I enjoyed your comments on the various plants and the volunteer work to
eradicate invasive species and was stupified by the vision of three-foot
diameter sassafras trees.  I was especially gratified to learn the
identity of wineberry, as I have been snacking on a patch of those on my
property near Zekiah Swamp over the three decades we've lived here. The
wineberries border my back garden at the edge of a forest and are near
my raspberries.  The birds plunder my raspberries mercilessly despite my
efforts to protect them with netting and they help themselves to the
berries of various bushes and hollies that I keep around just for them.
But, strangely, they don't seem to touch the wineberries.  Those they
leave for me to enjoy.  Why is that?

Thanks again.

Hal Delaplane