Fire Island News

Fire Island: Site of a Symbiotic Relationship
By Sue Chehrenegar
No Date

Fire Island: Site of a Symbiotic Relationship The fauna of the Sunken Forest rely on the abundant plant life for sustenance. In turn, certain insects and birds play an important part in the life cycle of the forest’s various plants. IN fact, they help to perpetuate the existence of the forest’s most abundant plant—the American holly. Unlike a majority of plants, the American holly is dioecious. That means that each American holly plant can be designated as being either “female” or “male.” Bees, wasps, ants, moths and yellow jackets serve as a vehicle for pollination, thus insuring propagation of the forest’s holly plants. Still, the bees, wasps, ants, moths and yellow jackets do not like to travel great distances. The forest must contain at least three female plants for each male plant, in order for the desired pollination to take place. Both male and female trees develop tiny, cream colored flowers, but only the female holly trees can produce a bright colored seed carrier. Pollination of the American holly trees allows red berries to grow on the female holly trees. After the songbirds and thrashers on Fire Island eat the holly berries, then those birds allow the seeds inside the berries to pass through their digestive systems. Excrement from the songbirds and thrashers often contains seeds from the holly trees. As the birds fly over the Island, they help to spread the range of the American holly on the Island. Still, each American holly plant grows best in a protected area, an area with a minimal amount of wind and salt spray. The Sunken Forest is such an area. That fact underlines the reason for the generous number of holly trees within the Sunken Forest.
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