Re: don' t think that flies

["Richard W. Travsky" <rtravsky@uwyo.edu>]

On Mon, 24 Nov 2008, Dann Pigdon wrote:
> Quoting Graydon <oak@uniserve.com>:
> > On Sun, Nov 23, 2008 at 11:20:31PM +0100, David Marjanovic scripsit:
> > > > Nest Structure for Sauropods: Sedimentary Criteria for Recognition ...
> > > > PALAIOS; February 2004
> > >
> > > Oops.
> >
> > That's not evidence against piling heaps of vegetation over the nests
> > and walking away, is it?
> >
> > It's evidence against a buried-in-sand, sea-turtle style nest; it's not
> > evidence against a Mallee fowl style nests, though.
>
> The problem with burying eggs in vegetation is that it heats up as it 
> rots. Mallee fowls and megapodes have to constantly tend their nest 
> mound, checking the temperature inside them with their beaks and either 
> scraping vegetation out (if it's getting too hot) or adding more to the 
> mound (if it's cooling down). If the nest mound gets too cold or too 
> hot, then the eggs die.

Tending would require staying in the same locality for an extended period 
of time and local food resources for a creature the size of a sauropod I'm 
sure would run out.

> Burying in sand is the better option for the lay'em and leave'em types, 
> since the temperature tends to remain fairly constant.