Re: Dinosaurs, Size, and Land Area

["Steve Salisbury" <steve_salisbury@bigpond.com>]

----------
>From: "Rob Schenck" <rs7286@albany.edu>
>To: "The Dinosaur Mailing List" <dinosaur@usc.edu>
>Subject: Re: Dinosaurs, Size, and Land Area
>Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2001 2:43 PM

>> Most croc populations are often segregated into various size cohorts, the
>> most prevalent separation being between juveniles and larger males.  The
>> ranges of nesting females and juveniles frequently overlap.  The main
>> factor
>> contributing to dispersal appears to be agonistic interactions between
>> adults and growing juveniles; large crocs will often prey on
>> intermediate-sized animals and hatchlings.  As a result of this agonistic
>> behaviour, intermediate-sized animals are often excluded from areas they
>> were able to occupy when they were smaller, and take refuge in
> >non-breeding areas known as 'stockyards'.
>>
>> Steve
>>
>
> what is it that keeps the stockyard animals from agressively defending
> territory?

Size and perhaps, dare I say it, intelligence.

>It seems like the meek ones are forced into places that are not
> claimed by agressive ones, the stockyards.  Where does the meekness come
> from tho, is it a behavioural trait related to their size, meaning are the
> intermediate ones cowed into not being agressive, or are they non agressors
> to begin with?

It's just a size thing.  Even if intermediate size crocs were more
aggressive towards larger ones, I don't think it would make much difference.
A decrease in meekness corelates well with an increase in size.  Even the
most agressive big male would've done it's time in a stockyard.

>this might be interesting because it leads me to ask, what
> with dinosaurs being so large, is it possible that the same things making
> some large types agressive also affecting their appearance?  Could
> individuals that are seperated into two species actual be "morphs" of
> "agression dimorphism"? I'm not suggesting that this is the case for estant
> "crocs" of course, it should be apparent that it is not.  However, if this
> nascent idea is correct, it would dictate that larger crocodiles are more
> agressive right of the bat, and that they demonstrate some degree of
> difference in appearance from less agressive smaller ones, at least
> differences not related to size.  Is this ludicris or no?

Um . . . not quite sure what you're getting at.

Steve


---------------------------
Dr Steven Salisbury
Palaeontology and Geology, Queensland Museum
PO Box 3300, South Brisbane, Q 4101, Australia

email: steve_salisbury@bigpond.com
phone: +61 0407788660

http://www.Qmuseum.qld.gov.au/organisation/sections/PalaeontologyGeology/