Subterranean K-T strategies (was "I know why...")

["Ken Kinman" <kinman@hotmail.com>]

Scott,
    I disagree with the 24/7 caring mother idea, and not just because
oviraptorids didn't survive.  Any bird or dinosaur sitting on a nest on the
ground or in a tree was probably doomed (along with its eggs) no matter how
devoted a parent it was.
     A more effective strategy was living underground (the same way most
mammals survived).  Having a nest in a subterranean burrow would have been a
much better idea, or better yet a freshly inseminated female surviving in
such a burrow and laying her eggs later in the protection of said burrow.
     Or a variant on that "Subterreanean strategy" may have been shared by
crocodiles and some birds (burial of eggs, as you mentioned).  Freshly
buried eggs in a mound of alkaline soil (which would help neutralize acid
rain).  Even if all the parents are killed off in the disaster, some
surviving eggs could hatch into precocious chicks, and a few lucky species
managed to squeak through the extinction.
     Offhand I don't which of these underground strategies would have been
better, but either would be far better than an exposed parent above the
surface of the ground:  they would have been "sitting ducks" or "sitting
oviraptors" (bad pun, but obviously intended).  :-)
     Whatever survived underground could try to make a living coming out to
scavenge, eat insects, seeds, or whatever (or underground insects, seeds,
tubers).  Underground was the place to be for land dwellers, and of course
living in water was an even better alternative (except for the phytoplankton
and animals which were dependent on phytoplankton for food at some stage in
the life cycle, such as those poor ammonites).
    No single, simple answers to K-T survival, but there seem to be trends
such as those discussed above.  Also being small (and not requiring lots of
food) helped, and of course being an Australian or Antarctic form was a
piece of luck that would have given one a distinct advantage over those in
North America.  Anyway, those birds which did survive the extinction (less
than a dozen species?) were probably mostly southern and liked to dig holes.
 Those are my thoughts.
                   --------Ken Kinman
********************************************************
> From: "Scott P. Smith" <scott@scott-smith.com>
> Reply-To: scott@scott-smith.com
> To: <dinosaur@usc.edu>
> Subject: I know why birds and some reptiles survived mass extiction
> Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2001 10:34:32 -0400
>
> OK, now that I've got your attention...
>
> Sorry if this has already been discussed, but it seems to me that the
> determining factor as to why all non-avian dinosaurs died while avian
> dinosaurs survived is the degree to which they cared for their eggs.  I
> believe that species that protected their eggs from the elements by either
> burying them or constantly sitting on the nest are the ones that survived
> the extreme climatic changes at the K-T boundary.  Simple explanation to
> explain why we have no non-avian dinos today.  Maybe only a few (or one)
> species of avian dinosaur sat on its nest 24/7 and gave rise to all the
> varieties we see today.
>
>
> Thought?
>
>
> Scott
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