Thank you, glad you liked it. I was trying to expose people to the literature that actually helps me teach this material so anyone interested could see how we actually use logic to understand extinct animal ecology.
No problem, the paper title is in the tile slide, and also here: A snapshot into the terrestrial ecosystem of an exceptionally well-preserved dinosaur (Hadrosauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of North Dakota, USA
My understanding is that the loricariid catfish eat large amounts of wood they can't digest. I don't think anyone really knows why, but I've heard they eat the wood (particularly dead wood) to digest the small animals living inside. Could the hadrosaurs have done the same?
I have no doubt that they ate some bugs, whether those made a substantial portion of their diet I doubt. Many large animals that eat wood will digest whatever else comes in, herbivores eat bugs all the time. In fact, some parasites have evolved to take advantage of this by making ants lock their mandibles on blades of grass just to ensure a herbivore eats them. However, to live off of bugs you need to eat a lot as a big animal and the hadrosaurs do not have adaptations that suggest they were highly dependent on insects. But it is good to point out, herbivores eat a lot of other things than plants. Thanks for the question.
I believe there's an error in this lecture; figure 5 shows the proportions of different plant fossils around the dinosaur, not inside of its stomach. Judging from edmontosaurus coprolites it's pretty safe to say that it did not primarily eat wood.
This channel is above my pay grade. But it’s awesome. Thank u so much.
Great lecture! Really enjoyed the hell Creek ecosystem part.
Thank you, glad you liked it. I was trying to expose people to the literature that actually helps me teach this material so anyone interested could see how we actually use logic to understand extinct animal ecology.
Do you by any chance have the source of the Edmontosaurus gut contents? Would like to read more on that.
No problem, the paper title is in the tile slide, and also here: A snapshot into the terrestrial ecosystem of an exceptionally well-preserved dinosaur (Hadrosauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of North Dakota, USA
@@thomasevans3387 great thanks!
My understanding is that the loricariid catfish eat large amounts of wood they can't digest. I don't think anyone really knows why, but I've heard they eat the wood (particularly dead wood) to digest the small animals living inside. Could the hadrosaurs have done the same?
I have no doubt that they ate some bugs, whether those made a substantial portion of their diet I doubt. Many large animals that eat wood will digest whatever else comes in, herbivores eat bugs all the time. In fact, some parasites have evolved to take advantage of this by making ants lock their mandibles on blades of grass just to ensure a herbivore eats them. However, to live off of bugs you need to eat a lot as a big animal and the hadrosaurs do not have adaptations that suggest they were highly dependent on insects. But it is good to point out, herbivores eat a lot of other things than plants. Thanks for the question.
@@thomasevans3387 thanks for the answer. Unrelated, but can you upload more ichthyology lectures?
I believe there's an error in this lecture; figure 5 shows the proportions of different plant fossils around the dinosaur, not inside of its stomach. Judging from edmontosaurus coprolites it's pretty safe to say that it did not primarily eat wood.