Re: attack on dinosaur--horrific video

[john bois <jbois@verizon.net>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "don ohmes" <d_ohmes@yahoo.com>
To: <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Sent: Thursday, November 22, 2007 10:17 AM
Subject: Re: attack on dinosaur--horrific video


> Lastly, a question -- does predation really appear in the record to be a 
> primary extinctor of taxa? It sometimes happens of course, transgression 
> of island refugia by invasive species being a prime example, but isn't it 
> usually more of a 'coup-de-grace' type of thing, in populations reduced by 
> environmental change or niche competition?

This is very much the question I am trying to keep open.  But I agree, there 
is probably never a single reason--rather, complex synergy between factors 
is the rule.  My only point here is that the equation is affected by the 
reproductive mode of the relevant species.