Re: K/T birds

["Ray Stanford" <dinotracker@earthlink.net>]

    Michael de Sosa says (of my earlier discussion -- see below),
"Interesting then, that every single genus of amphibian in the Lancian Hell
Creek pulls through the extinction and goes on into the Paleocene Tullock,
both of which are decidely in the Northern Hemisphere. Don't most amphibians
bite the proverbial big one when you change the pH of their pond just a
little in either direction, let alone subject them to rain with a pH of one
or less?"

    So far as I know he is correct about the pH effect upon amphibians, so
you make an interesting point.  Yet, I think his analysis might be a bit too
simplistic, or may not consider enough variables.  For every generalized
condition, there are local variations.  I could speculate about the causes
for them, but don't have time for that just now.

    Thanks, however, to Michael for bringing up a good point to ponder.

    Ray Stanford

"You know my method.  It is founded upon the observance of trifles." --
Sherlock Holmes in The Boscombe Valley Mystery

Ray Stanford wrote:

>     By the way, the K/T impact strongly effected both
> hemispheres.  However,
> due to hemispheric air circulation patterns and the location of
> the impact,
> it is very probable that the northern hemisphere was more
> severely effected,
> including rains that were more acid than those in the south.
> However, acid
> ground waters in the southern hemisphere should still have been a serious
> danger to egg shells.