Fall migration increases the demand for fuel for forest birds. Before the colours change, tree leaves contain a huge store of potential fuel.
How to get that fuel in the tree leaves into the birds to power their long migratory flights?
Easy. Convert those inedible leaves into caterpillars. Fall webworms (Hyphantria cunea) find those leaves edible and, before leaves drop to the forest floor, convert them into nutritious and energy-rich bird food to fuel those long flights south.
Ecologists think this way. Instead of suggesting ways to control species that we have been taught to list with the bad guys, we think about the ecosystem processes and how they drive the system.