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II. GETTING AT METABOLISM FROM DINOSAURIAN
STRUCTURAL PARALLELSA. NOW WE CAN SEE THAT DINOSAURS COULD PROBABLY
RUN VERY FAST BUT SO CAN SOME REPTILE FOR
SHORT DISTANCESB. STRUCTURALLY, HOWEVER, THEY ARE MAMMAL OR BIRD LIKE
1. STRUTHIOMIMUS - OSTRICH
2. DEINONYCHUS - ARCHAEOPTERYX
3. HADROSAUR - ELK
C. LARGE ANIMALS HAVE SIMILAR STRCTURAL REQUIREMENTS
1. SAUROPOD AND ELEPHANT
III. INTERNAL CONSTANCY VS VARIABILITY OF TEMP
A. WHAT ABOUT HEAT PRODUCTION
1. RESTING METABOLIC RATE GREATER IN MAMMALS
AND BIRDS THAN IN REPTILESSLIDE OF RESTING METABOLIC RATE FROM MC A
2. SIZE CONFERS SOME THERMAL INERTIA
1. SURFACE AREA IS WHERE HEAT IS LOST
2. SURFACE AREA INCREASES AS THE SQUARE OF linear DIM
3. BUT VOLUME INCREASES AS THE CUBE
4. THEREFORE FOR THINGS OF SIMILAR SHAPE,
LARGE THINGS LOSE HEAT SLOWER5. BIG ANIMALS HAVE GREAT THERMAL INERTIA
SO BIG DINOS WERE COULD HAVE BEEN INERTIAL
HOMEOTHERMSSLIDE DATA ON LITTLE VS BIG TEMPS
3. ALSO THIS MEANS THAT LARGE THINGS WITH
HIGH METABOLIC RATES NEED TO DUMP HEAT4. BUT SMALL THINGS LIKE SHREWS NEED TO
CONSERVE IT ALWAYS5. SOMETIMES BIRDS WITH GOOD INSULATION NEED
TO COOL - AIR SAC SYSTEM6. AIR SAC SYSTEM PRESENT IN GIANT SAUROPODS
- PROBABLY FOR COOLINGB. OF COURSE, IF YOU HAVE HIGH METABOLIC RATES
YOU NEED TO EAT MORE FOODSLIDE OF BAKKERS DOG VS LIZARD PG 376
1. THUS WE WOULD EXPECT THE SAME NUMBER OF PREY
ANIMALS TO BE ABLE TO FEED A LARGE NUMBER OF
LOW METABOLIC RATE ANIMALS THAN HIGH ONES2. IN FACT IF WE LOOK AT THE DISTRIBUTION OF
PREDATOR-PREY RATIOS WE CAN SEE THAT DINOSAURS
HAVE A LOWER PREDATORY/PREY RATIO THAN EOCENE MAMMALSSLIDE OF PREDATOR/PREY RATIOS DRAWING FROM BAK PG 351
3. THUS IT EVIDENTLY TOOK MANY, MANY HERBIVOROUS
DINOSAURS TO FEED ONE CARNIVOROUS ONESIV. ACTIVITY LEVEL VS. BONE STRENGTH
1. IT HAS LONG BEEN OBSERVED THAT THE STRUCTURE
OF THE BONES IN MAMMALS AND BIRDS IS DIFFERENT
THAN THAT SEEN IN OTHER LIVING REPTILESADAPTED SLIDE FROM BAKKER PG 352
HAVERSIAN SYSTEM PRESENT IN BIRDS AND MAMMALS
EXPLAIN
SLIDE OF HAVERSIAN SYSTEM AND NOT
EXPLAIN CROMPTON'S ARGUMENT
V. PHYLOGENETICS
SHARED DERIVED CHARACTERS OF DINOSAURS AND BIRDS
FOUR CHAMBERED VS THREE CHAMBERED HEART
VII. SUMMARY
A. DINOSAURS COULD RUN VERY FAST
B. DINOSAURS WERE BUILT FOR LONG PERIODS OF ACTIVITY
C. LARGE DINOSAURS COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN INERTIAL
HOMEOTHERMS BUT SMALL ONES HAD TO PRODUCE EXTRA
HEAT OR WOULD HAVE TO ADAPT THEIR BEHAVIOR TO
RECEIVE IT FROM ENVIRONMENTD. LARGE DINOSAURS NEEDED TO LOSE HEAT
E. PREDATOR/PREY RATIOS SUGGEST THAT CARNIVOROUS
DINOSAURS NEEDED AS MUCH FOOD AS CARNIVOROUS MAMMALSF. DINOSAUR BONES REMODELED AS OFTEN AS MAMMAL AND
BIRD BONE SUGGESTING HIGH ACTIVITY LEVELSG. BIRD ARE DINOSAURS AND MAY HAVE INHERITED THEIR
METABOLIC SYSTEMSCONCLUSION:
AT LEAST SOME DINOSAURS WERE AS ACTIVE AND
"WARM BLOODED" AS ANY MAMMAL OR BIRDAND SO ALTHOUGH WE CANT GO BACK IN TIME AND
MEASURE THEM WE CAN INFER, MAKE PREDICTION AND
TEST THEM IN THE FOSSIL RECORDNOTE THAT COMBINED WITH THEIR LOCOMOTOR ADAPTATIONS
IT BECOMES EASY TO SEE WHY DINOSAURS REMAINED
DOMINANT FOR SO LONG OVER MAMMALS
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