News

What is a mast or bumper year? It’s when some trees go into an overdrive and produce an excessive amount of fruits such as berries, seeds and nuts.

It is believed to be a synchronised survival strategy, namely to produce so much crop at the same time that it is impossible for predators to consume it all and thus ensuring the establishment of the new generation of plants. This year the weather conditions appear to have been just right, resulting in a mast year.

It is a truly amazing phenomenon! Mast years take place only every few years (doing it every year would be just way too energy consuming for the plants) and it is proposed that trees coordinate the mass fruiting event by communicating through, according to some theories, the complex underground fungal network.

A broad range of species benefit from the abundance of mast years along the entire food chain; with mammals, birds and invertebrates feeding on the mass-produced berries, nuts and acorns directly, who in turn might themselves become food for carnivores further up the food chain. Fungi and microbes also benefit from the abundance of crops, further strengthening the local ecosystem.

We are blessed with a lush green campus that supports a wonderful variety of wildlife – as revealed by our species and habitat surveys and the University’s iNaturalist records. Autumn is an excellent time of year to spot wildlife – just keep still and quiet, and there’s a good chance you will spot several species as they are busy feeding on nuts, acorns and fruit.

Join us on our upcoming Biodiversity Walks and other events and discover the amazing array of species and habitats the campus supports.

You can also explore the campus in your own time using our new Autumn Biodiversity Trail app, which will give you handy tips about where to find large oak trees, hedgerows and other good wildlife spotting areas.