So what actually happened when the dinosaurs died?🦕 Using simple ecological rules*, we explore how the interplay between ecosystem engineering, seed size and light environment can explain temporal patterns of animal and seed sizes from the fossil record🌳🐘🐀🌱 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... - ThreadSky

jeep4x4.bsky.social • 20 days ago

So what actually happened when the dinosaurs died?🦕

Using simple ecological rules*, we explore how the interplay between ecosystem engineering, seed size and light environment can explain temporal patterns of animal and seed sizes from the fossil record🌳🐘🐀🌱

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pala.70002

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jeep4x4.bsky.social•20 days ago

*based on the ecological roles #animals play in intact modern #ecosystems, and could play in restored ecosystems, if we restore them (or functional substitutes) through #rewilding 🦬

@carlsbergfondet.dk @andrewabraham.bsky.social @econovoau.bsky.social @naturerecovery.bsky.social

jeep4x4.bsky.social•20 days ago

An explainer of our new study: https://phys.org/news/2025-02-dinosaur-extinctions-environment-contributed-fruit.html

ecosystemengineer.bsky.social•20 days ago

With cell-grazing plus varying degrees of forest thinning & pruning it's possible to reproduce estimated structures of even the very largest herbivores.
I created an elephant inspired test plot about 5 years ago and a couple of friends in N.America run similar trials.

ecosystemengineer.bsky.social•20 days ago

My woodland plot is about 100m x 40m and within 2 yrs it transformed from a dark empty woodland interior, with minimum ground cover, unviable saplings and a couple of mosquitos, to a much more open and well vegetated space, where buzzards now hunt beneath the canopy and a ural owl arrived on site.

nearlywild.bsky.social•17 days ago

Your cell grazing experiments are desperately needed to advance our understanding of herbivore / ecosystem dynamics. I'm especially curious to know which combinations of herbivores / density / intensity yield the best structural and/or biodiversity improvements.

ecosystemengineer.bsky.social•20 days ago

Food availability and access to it has greatly increased.

Cell grazing has certain advantages over std rewilding models because the herbivore impacts and any floral and faunal responses are all measurable, including dates, number and types of herbivores and grazing frequency etc.

ecosystemengineer.bsky.social•20 days ago

With a larger plot it would be possible to run side-by-side variations in structure, with area Nr 1 receiving no pruning, Nr 2 a little and then running up to Nr 10 with maximum thinning and pruning, and with all recieving the same grazing regime with planned periodic regrazings.

ecosystemengineer.bsky.social•20 days ago

Cell grazing also enables close up observations of the herbivores in action and with the sheep and cattle I used they appeared to instinctively know exactly what to do and what to eat.
Sheep stradle browsing bendy saplings is a sight to behold and they never remove all the leaves.

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