Re: Herbivore protection

[Stanley Friesen <sarima@ix.netcom.com>]

At 05:16 PM 5/30/97 -0400, John Bois wrote:
>These creatures are probably not analogous to dinosaurs in this 
>respect.
>Sea turtle babies ...  Lay and leave policies reduce predation.
>Maiasaurs probably tended their nest. 
>
>Penguins usually take advantage of differential locational ability, >...
they can group
>together in areas of low predator density, ...

All true of these particular examples.

But mast fruiting in oaks does not involve differential location *or*
briefly available offspring (the nuts lie around for quite some time).  It
is pure saturation.

The main limitation in predator locational change may well be
territoriality.  They generally space themselves in a manner that allows
year-round living, and resist invasions into their territory by outsiders.
This will tend to limit the ability of predators to concentrate as
effectively as their prey.


--------------
May the peace of God be with you.         sarima@ix.netcom.com
                                          sfriesen@netlock.com