Re: Maiasaura stuff in this week's _Science_

[Robert.J.Meyerson@uwrf.edu (Rob Meyerson)]

Nick Pharris writes;

>I'd like to inject something into this discussion.  The mere fact
>that hatchling maiasaurs *could* walk around does not mean that they
>*did*, at least not much.  The crushed eggshells and
>differently-sized babies are evidence enough for me that the baby
>maiasaurs were hanging around the nest, for a while at least,
>whereas the baby orodromes were not.

Is there any precidence for precocial birds using the main nest as a base
 camp?  is it possible that maiasaurs used the nest as a place to stay in
 the evenings, while travelling during the day in search of food.  It would
 seem to me that an herd filled with animals the size of _Maiasauria_ would
 deplete the easily attainable food supplies very quickly if they stayed in
 one area for any length of time.  Perhaps one ecological strategy they used
 was to forage far from the nesting area.  This would have a double effect
 of preventing a drain on the food supply near the nest, as well as reducing
 the amount of time the animals were in the nesting area (so the place
 wouldn't smell of baby maiasaurs, leading predators in for a easy meal).

The imagination runs amok.

Rob

***
"Perhaps if we made a large wooden badger."
        -MPATHG