tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122264947710690584.post1817386775061887133..comments2023-10-26T10:13:59.322-04:00Comments on The Aquatic Amniote: the problem with microwear #1 (of many to come)....or... "if seacows eat seagrass, why can't we consider them grazers?"Brian Lee Beattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09964393108719483799noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122264947710690584.post-32270030503762445762015-06-24T16:00:06.578-04:002015-06-24T16:00:06.578-04:00Call me Dave. I studied seagrass ecology before re...Call me Dave. I studied seagrass ecology before retiring and my observation is that more often than it might seem, manatees in the Tampa Bay area eat true grasses such as Spartina and Paspalum along shorelines. These may contain phytoliths. Also studies of fossils show that seagrass have silicon in them (origin could be associative) and current seagrass growing in calcareous substrates have calcium oxalate crystals. Could these be the cause of microwear? Just a thought.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122264947710690584.post-65760013628103497392009-11-06T20:40:23.834-05:002009-11-06T20:40:23.834-05:00Yeah, I always wonder if my microwear demonstrates...Yeah, I always wonder if my microwear demonstrates my vegetarianism or my inordinate fondness for mints....Brian Lee Beattyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09964393108719483799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122264947710690584.post-47026300971252786912009-10-16T22:40:10.467-04:002009-10-16T22:40:10.467-04:00I love how animals so consistently refuse to fit i...I love how animals so consistently refuse to fit into our adaptive models. I've watched my dog kill and eat mice and bugs, graze on grass, eat asparagus and broccoli, crunch bones from everything from cows to turkeys, scavenge dead birds, moles, and deer, and eat cat poo from the litter box. Clearly a scavenging, insectivorous, osteophagus, coprophagus, grazing active predator. She even has a wear facet on a tooth that broke when she tried to eat a rock thrown out of an excavation pit.Alton Dooleyhttp://www.paleolab.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122264947710690584.post-83569427429191263402009-10-15T18:55:22.579-04:002009-10-15T18:55:22.579-04:00Hi Brian!
Congratulations for the blog and especia...Hi Brian!<br />Congratulations for the blog and especially for this dental microwear post...<br /><br />I agree with you when you say that different systems are not comparable for dental microwear causes... and I'm pretty convinced that extrinsic particles are more capable to abrade enamel than phytoliths...<br />I'm working mostly in primates and humans... and it seems that both kind of particles are capable to create microfeatures on enamel... but when a higher extrinsic particles are included in the diet than usual, dental microwear rates clearly increases...<br />Here you have, in case you're interested, a recent poster about it (which we will send to publish soon):<br /><br />http://www.microwear.eu/AAPA2009%20Chicago%20Romero_etal.pdf<br /><br />Best,<br /><br />jordiJordi Galbanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13531306821120934279noreply@blogger.com