In the Cretaceous period, sauropods were major ecosystem engineers. They knocked down trees and distributed nutrients through their poop, dramatically altering the landscape of ancient Earth.
Move over, TikTokers. It's time to shine a spotlight on some of the earliest influencers around: dinosaurs. When these ecosystem engineers were in their heyday, forest canopies were open and seeds were small. But around the time most dinosaurs were wiped out, paleontologists noticed an interesting shift in the fossil record: Seeds got bigger — much bigger. There was a fruit boom. Did the death of these dinosaurs have something to do with it? And who are the modern day equivalent of dinosaur influencers? To find out, host Emily Kwong talks to Chris Doughty, an ecologist at Northern Arizona University.
Tell us what other tales of dino past you want us to regale you with by emailing us atshortwave@npr.org!
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This episode was produced by Berly McCoy and edited by Rebecca Ramirez. It was fact-checked by Tyler Jones. The audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez.