Re: Carcharocles [Carcharodon] megalodon

[william@wbonnet.net]

Hi,

> I find it very strange that Lipowski can feel so
> certain about these "inevitable superpredators" when
> he seems incapable of naming even a single candidate.

I am a bit confused about what Lipowski writes :

"[Who were Earth's great superpredators?]For all we know, it could be a
bacterium. [...]It doesn't have to eat all the other species?it just has to
change the equilibrium."

I don't see bacteria as predators. Even if a bacteria or a virus can be a source
of mass exctintion. It don't think they have a "predator" role, at least in the
food chain. Moreover bacteria does not change the equilibrium of the ecosystem
as a predator would do.

To be able to destroy the whole food chain, a superpredator cannot be at the top
of the food chain like C. Megalodon was, but at the bottom.  Or the whole system
will not collapse.

A superpredator could only destroy the chain by hunting "too much", so he will
spread very fast hunting more and more. But such a predator, would not be a
predator for all the species at the bottom of the chain ? So it is difficult to
 imagine a single superpredator could affect the whole food chain as a disease
would do.

Moreover, if the predator is at the bottom of the chain, he will also have some 
predators. Isn't he ?  So i imagine, its number of predator would increase also,
and the system would go through a kind of regulation. Am i right ?

I feel that the superpredator in Lipowski's news looks more like a
super-killer-virus.

Regards,
William