Subject: Re: Grey Phalarope in SA
Date: Feb 18 08:38:37 1998
From: "Robert Taylor" - taylorrt at foxinternet.net


Hi Tweeters

What follows was a personal reply to Michael Price earlier but since
Richard Rowlett's comment on the phalarope, I will stick my neck out and
maybe take a few whacks!!

I wrote:

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If you are talking about the phalarope's spin, I would be absolutely amazed
if the Coriolis Effect is present at such a micro level. Coriolis is a
weak force at best and any of the purported info that water down a drain
spins clock/counterclock is close to hogwash. I believe that you will hear
others say something to the effect that were one to fill a swimming pool
and allow any disturbance from the filling to subside that the rotation
down the drain would still be a matter of chance but biased toward
clock/counterclock depending on n or s of the equator.

The coriolis effect on the oceans is present along with convection
currents, insolation, wind effects, etc, etc and probably also a factor in
magma movements within the planet an a small scale and also with tectonic
plate movement but a phalarope's spinning? But, according to Chaos Theory
the flap of a butterfly's wing can start a tornado (or ..............?)
halfway around the world if the belief is that an perturbation can be
amplified or nullified. Hmmmmmmm?

I would like to know what you get in responses.

BTW I listen in on SABirdNet and enjoy their coversation. It was sad to
see Sam de Beer get slammed and then he 'unsubscribed'. Wow, he must have
been flamed seriously in private e-mail.

B
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I also thought that the spin of a phalrope was associated with the creation
of a vortex below it that sucked micro-organisms to the surface or at least
to within in beak reach. It would then appear that a vortex was more
easily created in one direction than the other due to the 'Coriolis
Effect'. Perhaps?

Bob
Federal Way, WA
taylorrt at foxinternet.net