I have been watching a lot of old documentaries about prehistoric animals, and I've noticed something. It seems like when there is a really major to disruption to an ecosystem, like one caused by an asteroid impact, the apex predators and other really large animals are really vulnerable because they need so much food (and thus such a large range). It also seems like if an ecosystem is relatively stable for a long time, there are always bigger niches to fill; if you are a herbivore, being larger takes you out of the reach of many predators (among other advantages), and then being a larger predator brings the larger prey within your reach. It seems like the pattern is that larger and larger animals evolve until there is a major disruption. A lot of them die off, and then the process begins again in the next stable period.
If any of you know anything about ecology / biology and can verify / invalidate this theory, let me know.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
That is indeed the thought. Look at a lot of the threatened species today; whales, bears, elephants, big cats. Aside from specialists, big stuff goes first, and not just from mass extinctions. The Holocene North America looked more like africa with its mammoths and camels and big cats, but our arrival put enough stress on the system to axe the big critters.
Post a Comment