Snapshot Serengeti Talk

Article: another wildebeest contribution to the ecosystem

  • BHamer by BHamer

    A pair of ecologists at a research institute in New York have quantified what turns out to be a significant but previously unappreciated driver of ecosystem dynamics in the Serengeti region, a result of the annual wildebeest migration. And what, exactly, is it that these wildebeest are doing to contribute so much to the ecosystem?

    Drowning en masse while crossing the Mara River:

    http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/06/every-year-thousands-drowned-wildebeest-feed-african-ecosystem

    Now, there's some dedicated research for you: clambering around amid piles of decaying carcasses sampling the remains for nutrient content.

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  • tillydad by tillydad moderator in response to BHamer's comment.

    I remember seeing the migration in 1990 from the Maasai Mara and the river was full of dead and decaying wildebeest . The stench was truly awful . The vultures were so full that they could not fly and the crocs were hauled out satiated and basking in the Sun .

    As you say, dedicated researchers !! Thanks for sharing the link, it is a fascinating piece of work 😃

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  • davidbygott by davidbygott moderator in response to BHamer's comment.

    Thanks, that's an interesting one!

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