p. 325 “Fortunately, a lack of evidence for Mesozoic bowers did not stop the imaginations of screenwriters and computer-graphics artists for the Discovery Channel, in the TV series Dinosaur Revolution (2011)… .” This fun and ichnologically rich scene was in the first episode of this four-part series.
p. 325 “This scene starred a computer-generated image of the large feathered theropod Gigantoraptor, an oviraptorosaur from the Late Cretaceous (70 mya) of Mongolia.” Xu, X., Tan, Q., Wang, J., Zhao, X., and Tan, L. 2007. A gigantic bird-like dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of China. Nature, 447: 844-847.
p. 327 “The trace that results from a dust bath is a shallow semicircular depression slightly wider than the wingspan of the bird; sparrows make ones that are only about 10 to 15 cm (4–6 in) across, whereas turkeys’ dust baths are more than 50 cm (20 in) wide.” (1) Elbroch and Marks (2001). (2) Martin (2013).
p. 327 “On the opposite end of the size spectrum from sparrows, ostriches in Africa make dust baths by sitting down… .” Several videos of ostriches dust-bathing are online, but probably my favorite (at the time of this writing) for its insights on the traces that might be left by a similar-sized feathered dinosaur is the following, titled “Ostrich having a dust bath”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e868pFsd2PI
p. 328 “However, paleontologist Darren Naish, in a 2013 blog post, made such a link by reviewing sunbathing in modern birds… .” Naish, D. 2013. It’s hot and sunny, so birds lie down and sunbathe. Tetrapod Zoology (Scientific American blog), http://blogs.scientificamerican. com/tetrapod-zoology/2013/07/22/sunbathing-birds-2013/: posted
July 22, 2013. Other references listed in this post include: (1) Hauser, D. 1957. Some observations on sunbathing in birds. The Wilson Bulletin, 69: 78-90. (2) Johnston, R.F. 1965. Sunbathing by birds. The Emu, 64: 325-326. (3) Horsfall, J. 1984. Sunbathing: is it for the birds? New Scientist, 103: 28-31.
p. 330 “This was verified with chickens (Gallus gallus), which are often impugned as the dumbest of all birds and thus deserving of roasting pans.” Karakashian, S.J., Gyger, M., and Marler, P. 1988. Audience effects on alarm calling in chickens (Gallus gallus). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 102: 129-135.
p. 330 “This sort of learning, recall, and teaching ability has been documented in American crows.” (1) Marzluff, J.M., Walls, J., Cornell, H.N., Withey, J.C., and Craig, D.P. 2010. Lasting recognition of threatening people by wild American crows. Animal Behaviour, 79: 699-707. (2) Cornell, H.N., Marzluff, J.M., and Pecoraro, S. 2012. Social learning spreads knowledge about dangerous humans among American crows. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B, 279: 499-508. (3) These works were preceded by a book that provides an overview of the complexity of American crow behavior: Marzluff, J.M., and Angell, T. 2005. In the Company of Crows. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT: 408 p. I also recommend watching the Nature documentary, A Murder of Crows (2010), aired by PBS and available free online.
p. 330 “Other birds that can learn individual human faces include pigeons, magpies (Pica pica), and northern mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottus)… .” (1) Stephan, C., Wilkinson, A., and Huber, L. 2012. Have we met before? pigeons recognise familiar human faces. Avian Biology Research, 5: 75-80. (2) Lee, W.Y., Lee, S., Choe, J.C., and Jablonski, P.G. 2011. Wild birds recognize individual humans: experiments on magpies, Pica pica. Animal Cognition, 14: 817-825. (3) Levey, D.J., et al. 2009. Urban mockingbirds quickly learn to identify individual humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106: 8959-8962.
p. 330 “How about superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) giving their chicks a ‘password’ (a single note) as a cue for feeding, but while the chicks are still snugly inside their eggs?” Colombelli-NeÅLgrel, D., Hauber, M.E., Robertson, J., Sulloway, F.J., Hoi, H., Griggio, M., and Kleindorfer, S. 2012. Embryonic learning of vocal passwords in superb fairy-wrens reveals intruder cuckoo nestlings. Current Biology, 22: 2155-2160.
p. 330 “Nonetheless, when this was first documented starting in the 1960s, it was an eye-opener for behavioral biologists.” (1) Van Lawick-Goodall, J., and Van Lawick-Goodall, H. 1966. Use of tools by the Egyptian vulture, Neophron percnopterus. Nature, 212: 1468-1469. (2) Alcock, J. 1972. The evolution of the use of tools by feeding animals. Evolution, 26: 464-472. (3) Bentley-Condit, V.K., and Smith, E.O. 2010. Animal tool use: current definitions and an updated comprehensive catalog. Behaviour, 147: 185-32A.
p. 331 “Of these birds, New Caledonian crows are the most impressive of tool users and problem solvers.” Chappell, J., and Kacelnik, A. 2002. Tool selectivity in a non-primate, New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides). Animal Cognition, 5: 71-78.
p. 331 “Woodpecker finches latch on to cactus spines or twigs with their beaks and then manipulate these like fine surgical tools to extract insect larvae from tight spots in trees.” Tebbich, S., Taborsky, M., Fessl, B., and Blomqvist, D. 2001. Do woodpecker finches acquire tool-use by social learning? Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B, 268: 2189-2193.
p. 331 “Egyptian vultures and bristle-thighed curlews share the practice of grabbing a rock with their beaks and throwing these at eggs to break them open.” (1) Thouless, C.R., Fanshawe, J.H., and Bertram, C.R. 1989. Egyptian vultures Neophron percnopterus and ostrich Struthio camelus eggs: the origins of stone-throwing behavior. Ibis, 131: 9-15. (2) Marks, J.S., and Hall, C.S. 1992. Tool use by bristle-thighed curlews feeding on albatross eggs. The Condor, 94: 1032-1034.
p. 331 “Male palm cockatoos grasp sticks in their beaks, which they then drum against trees to alert females that they are in the area… .” Wood, G.A. 1988. Further field observations of the palm cockatoo Probosciger aterrimus in the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. Corella, 12: 48-52.
p. 331 “Brown-headed nuthatches acquire short pieces of bark or sticks, which they lever against the bark on tree trunks to expose insects.” Morse, D.H. 1968. The use of tools by brown-headed nuthatches. The Wilson Bulletin, 80: 220-224.
p. 331 “These actually use mammal feces as a tool, by picking up pieces of bison or cattle dung, placing these in front of their burrows… .” Levey, D.J., Duncan, R.S., and Levins, C.F. 2004. Animal behaviour: use of dung as a tool by burrowing owls. Nature, 431: 39.
p. 331 “Lastly, a few species of herons, egrets, and seagulls go fishing by employing feathers, berries, and even bread as lures.” (1) Robinson, S.K. 1994. Use of bait and lures by green-backed herons in Amazonian Peru. The Wilson Bulletin, 106: 567-569. (2) Post, R.J., Post, C.P.K., and Walsh, J.K. 2009. Little egret (Egretta garzetta) and grey heron (Ardea cinerea) using bait for fishing in Kenya. Waterbirds, 32: 450-452. (3) Ruxton, G.D., and Hansell, M.H. 2011. Fishing with a bait or lure: a brief review of the cognitive issues. Ethology, 117: 1-9.
p. 331 “So do birds have memes—culturally acquired behaviors that modify over time—as well as genes?” Blackmore, S. 2000. The Meme Machine. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K.: 264 p.
CHAPTER 11: DINOSAURIAN LANDSCAPES AND EVOLUTIONARY TRACES
p. 334 “Sinclair Oil Corporation encouraged this illusion by sponsoring dinosaur exhibits at the Chicago and New York World’s Fairs… .” To this day, Sinclair is still making this connection, and they are quite proud of how this marketing-by-dinosaurs was ahead of its time: http://www.sinclairoil.com/history/symbol_01.html
p. 334 “It turns out that nearly all petroleum is from algae, most of which were deposited and buried in marine environments… .” Stoneley, R. 1995. Introduction to Petroleum Exploration for Non-Geologists. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K.: 119 p.
p. 334 “Indeed, some of the most prolific petroleum reservoirs in the world are filled with oil that post-dates the end-Cretaceous extinction of dinosaurs.” Naim, A.E.M., and Alsharhan, A.S. 1997. Sedimentary Basins and Petroleum Geology of the Middle East. Elsevier, Amsterdam: 878 p.
p. 337 “At this meeting, Tony Thulborn … gave a talk simply titled ‘Giant Tracks in the Broome Sandstone (Lower Cretaceous) of Western Australia.’” Thulborn, T., 2002. Giant tracks in the Broome S
andstone (Lower Cretaceous) of Western Australia. In Brock, G.A., and Talent, J.A. (editors), First International Palaeontological Congress, Abstracts No. 63, Geological Society of Australia, Sydney, 154-155.
p. 337 “In 2012, Thulborn elaborated on that idea in an article titled ‘Impact of Sauropod Dinosaurs on Lagoonal Substrates in the Broome Sandstone (Lower Cretaceous), Western Australia.’” Thulborn, R.A. 2012. Impact of sauropod dinosaurs on lagoonal substrates in the Broome Sandstone (Lower Cretaceous), Western Australia. PLoS One, 7(5): e36208. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0036208.
p. 338 “Such grand disturbances of pliable mud or sand … are sometimes called ‘dinoturbation.’” Lockley (1991).
p. 339 “Elephants consist of three species: the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), African savannah elephant (L. cyclotis), and Indian elephant (Elephas maximus).” Roca, A.L., Georgiadis, N., Pecon-Slattery, J., and O’Brien, S.J. 2001. Genetic evidence for two species of elephant in Africa. Science, 293: 1473-1477.
p. 339 “Thanks to fossil trackways recently discovered in the United Arab Emirates which show a series of parallel and overlapping tracks (group behavior) crossed by one trackway (a lone male)… .” Bibi, F., Kraatz, B., Craig, N., Beech, M., Schuster, M., and Hill, A. 2012. Early evidence for complex social structure in Proboscidea from a late Miocene trackway site in the United Arab Emirates. Biology Letters, 23: 670-673.
p. 339 “Elephant trails can also form depressions deep enough for water to flow along them, creating canals that connect previously isolated rivers or ponds.” Mosepele, K., Moyle, P.B., Merron, G.S., Purkey, D.R., and Mosepele, B. 2009. Fish, floods, and ecosystem engineers: aquatic conservation in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. BioScience, 59: 53-64.
p. 340 “In a study by geologist Daniel DeoCampo published in 2002, he documented how hippos in Tanzania… .” DeoCampo, D.M. 2002. Sedimentary structures generated by Hippopotamus amphibius in a lake-margin wetland, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania. Palaios, 17: 212-217.
p. 340 “This channelization via hippo traces, in which their trails eventually turn into new river channels, is also well documented in the Okavango Delta of Botswana.” McCarthy, T.S., Ellery, W.N., and Bloem, A. 1998. Some observations on the geomorphological impact of hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibious L.) in the Okavango Delta, Botswana: African Journal of Ecology, 36: 44-56.
p. 340 “In this respect, in 2006, two geologists—Lawrence Jones and Edmund Gustason—did indeed propose that avulsion features in the Morrison Formation of east-central Utah were likely caused by sauropod trails that created ‘channels’ for the flow of floodwaters.” Jones, L.J., and Gustason, E.R. 2006. Dinosaurs as possible avulsion enablers in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, east-central Utah. Ichnos, 13: 31-41.
p. 341 “These rivers include the Nile in eastern Africa, the Amazon of South America, the Macleay and Murrumbidgee of Australia, and the Colorado River of the western U.S., among others.” Here are a few references on the antiquity of river valleys, and how at least parts of their original drainage systems might have coincided with a dinosaurian presence: (1) Gani, N.D, Abdelsalam, M.G., Gera, S., and Gani, M.R. 2009. Stratigraphic and structural evolution of the Blue Nile Basin, northwestern Ethiopian Plateau. Geological Journal, 44: 30-56. (2) Potter, P.E. 1990. The Mesozoic and Cenozoic paleodrainage of South America: a natural history. Journal of South American Earth Sciences, 10: 331-344. (3) Oilier, C.D. 1982. The Great Escarpment of eastern Australia: tectonic and geomorphic significance. Journal of the Geological Society of Australia, 29: 13-23. (4) Flowers, R.M., and Farley, K.A. 2012. Apatite 4He/3He and (U-Th)/He evidence for an ancient Grand Canyon. Science, 338: 1616-1619.
p. 341 “If sauropods were as wary as elephants in negotiating sloping terrain, they would naturally have tended to walk on the lower and safer ground. …” Quoted verbatim from Thulborn (2012).
p. 342 “But geologists actually apply these two words to different mass movements of earth material… .” Clague, J.J., and Stead, D. 2012. Landslides: Types, Mechanisms and Modeling. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.: 429 p.
p. 342 “In an article by geologist David Loope published in 2006, he showed how Early Jurassic dinosaurs caused sand-dune surfaces to collapse as they walked across them.” Loope, D.B. 2006. Dry-season tracks in dinosaur-generated grainflows. Palaios, 21: 132-142.
p. 343 “Perhaps the most surprising conclusion of his investigation was that many of the dinosaur tracks had been made on dry sand, which was always regarded as a poor medium for preserving tracks.” Loope (2006).
p. 343 “Other geologists had reckoned that the climate for that area during the Early Jurassic was monsoonal, so Loope figured that the tracks were made and preserved during the dry season, which was likely in the winter.” Loope (2006).
p. 343 “This sort of movement is called grainflow, in which sand grains flow as if they are in water, but in this instance are cushioned by air between the grains.” Lowe, D.R. 1976. Grain flow and grain flow deposits. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 46: 188-199.
p. 344 “In cross-sections of the sandstone, Loope found theropod and prosauropod tracks directly associated with grainflows… .” Loope (2006).
p. 345 “High concentrations of dinosaur eggs elsewhere in the world, such as in South Africa, Spain, and India… .” Carpenter, K. 2000. Eggs, Nests, and Baby Dinosaurs: A Look at Dinosaur Reproduction. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana: 352 p.
p. 345 “In some instances, birds in breeding colonies, such as Australasian gannets (Morus serrator)… .” Wingham, E.J. 1984. Breeding biology of the Australasian Gannet Morus serrator (Gray) at Motu Karamarama, Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand. I. The egg. Emu, 84: 129-136.
p. 346 “In an article published in 2012, Jenni Scott, Robin Renaut, and Bernhart Owen described the terrain-altering effects of flamingo nesting grounds… .” Scott, J.E., Renaut, R.W., and Owen, R.B. 2012. Impacts of flamingos on saline lake margin and shallow lacustrine sediments in the Kenya Rift Valley. Sedimentary Geology, 277: 32-51.
p. 346 “Flamingos mine the lakeshore mud, which they do by dragging it with their beaks or scooping up mud in their bills and spitting it onto the nest.” Scott et al. (2012).
p. 347 “Jack Horner originally proposed that the Late Cretaceous hadrosaur Maiasaura of Montana may have had nesting colonies… .” (1) Horner and Makela (1979). (2) Horner (1982).
p. 347 “Near the Maiasaura nests are Troodon nests, which are rimmed, bowllike depressions that outwardly resemble flamingo nests.” Varricchio et al. (1999).
p. 347 “How about the recently extinct mound-nesting birds of New Caledonia, Sylviornis neocaledoniae and Megapodius molistructor, which made mound nests so big that archaeologists at first mistook these for human burial mounds?” Hansell (2004).
p. 348 “In at least one recent documentary (Dinosaur Revolution, 2011), Tyrannosaurus rex was depicted as a mound nester with an accordingly huge mound for its eggs.” The tyrannosaur mound-nesting scenes were in Episode 4 (“End Game”) of the Dinosaur Revolution series.
p. 349 “For example, in humans, a flatus produced by swallowed air that made its way through the digestive tract… .” Suarez, F., Furne, J., Springfield, J., and Levitt, M. 1997. Insights into human colonic physiology obtained from the study of flatus composition. American Journal of Physiology: Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, 272: G1028-G1032.
p. 349 “Most of the unpleasant smells we associate with flatulence come from sulfurous gases, such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S).” Suarez, F.L., Springfield, J., and Levitt, M.D. 1998. Identification of gases responsible for the odour of human flatus and evaluation of a device purported to reduce this odour. Gut, 43: 100-104.
p. 350 “As everyone now knows (with the exception of a few billionaires), the overproduction of certain gases … has insulating qualities in our atmosphere… .” Shortly after I wrote this sentence, the latest IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report (2013) on global-climate change, titled Climate Change 2013: The Physi
cal Science Basis, confirmed a 95% certainty that this change was human-caused, and this is agreed upon by about 97% of climatologists. For those who say we need to “teach the controversy” and “let’s hear both sides of the issue,” there is no controversy, and there is no other side.
p. 350 “Although carbon dioxide is often vilified for its role in climate change, methane in smaller concentrations has a greater impact… .” Howarth, R.W., Santoro, R., and Ingraffea, A. 2011. Methane and the greenhouse-gas footprint of natural gas from shale formations. Climatic Change, 106: 679-690.
p. 350 “In a 2012 paper, three scientists—David Wilkinson, Euan Nisbet, and Graeme Ruxton—asked themselves this: Did dinosaur-produced methane contribute to global warming?” Wilkinson, D.M., Nisbet, E.G., and Ruxton, G.D. 2012. Could methane produced by sauropod dinosaurs have helped drive Mesozoic climate warmth? Current Biology, 22: R292-R293.
p. 351 “Instead, it was warm throughout almost its entire 185 million years, from the start of the Triassic Period to the end of the Cretaceous Period.” Price, G.D., Twitchett, R.J., Wheeley, J.R., and Giuseppi, B. 2013. Isotopic evidence for long term warmth in the Mesozoic. Nature Scientific Reports 3, 1438: doi:10.1038/srep01438
p. 351 “For instance, the jury is still out on whether or not some herbivorous dinosaurs … used fermentation in their hindguts to digest their food.” (1) Farlow, J.O. 1987. Speculations about the diet and digestive physiology of herbivorous dinosaurs. Paleobiology, 13: 60-72. (2) Hummel, J., and Clauss, M. 2011. Sauropod feeding and digestive physiology. In Klein, N., Remes, K., and Gee, C. 2011. Biology of the Sauropod Dinosaurs: Understanding the Life of Giants. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana: 11-33.
p. 351 “Many modern animals, from termites to cattle, have this symbiotic relationship… .” (1) Brune, A., and Ohkuma, M. 2011. Role of the termite gut microflora in symbiotic digestion. In Bignell, D.E., Roisin, Y., and Lo, N. (editors), Biology of Termites: A Modern Synthesis. Springer, Berlin: 439-475.
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