Re: Herbivore protection

[Wabandco@aol.com]

John Bois suggests "...clutch size exists to increase Darwinian fitness, not
to satiate predators...predator satiation needs justification before it can
be claimed for adaptive value for colonial hadrosaur nests."  I can't help
but note that we mustn't think of Darwinian selection or any other version of
evolutionary selection in terms that imply sentience; predator satiation
would be an effect of increased clutch size, and increased clutch size would
thus be Darwinianly fit (flame away, I've got it coming on that one...;-)
because those who reproduce in large clutches are more likely to have
surviving offspring... ie, we have the traditional "hadrosaur or the egg"
issue re: which came first...(pun fully intended... flame again!)

Obviously, the large-clutch laying critter (hadrosaur or any other) doesn't
intend to satiate the predators; but those herbivores whose clutches are
large provide the predators with sufficient nutrient to allow some survival,
and thus, large-clutch herbivores will prevail over time.

Thus, "...Darwinian fitness..." and "...satiate[d] predators..." go hand in
hand...

Again, just an observation.

Wayne A. Bottlick.