Re: DINOSAUR DEATH & DIGITS

[Jeff Hecht <jhecht@world.std.com>]

Brian (franczak@ntplx.net wrote:
>
>So within a few hours, days, or weeks ALL DINOSAURS (yeah, yeah, and
>lotsa other things) were dead? ALL of them?
>
It depends on the scenario. In some, such as "turn off the lights for a few
years", the plants die first, the plant-eaters follow, then the carnosaurs,
and finally the scavengers. Only the little critters that can hibernate or
aren't terribly fussy about what they scavenge survive. You don't have to
kill off every single animal immediately to wipe out a species; you could
leave numbers too small for a viable population, or the survivors too
unhealthy to reproduce for a long period. When food is scarce, many birds
don't raise young; they essentially decide to "wait till next year." If
things are bad enough, next year may never come.

-- Jeff Hecht