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Annual Mass Drownings of the Serengeti Wildebeest Migration Influence Nutrient Cycling and Storage in the Mara River
Annual mass drownings of the Serengeti wildebeest migration influence nutrient cycling and storage in the Mara River Amanda L. Subaluskya,b,1, Christopher L. Duttona,b, Emma J. Rosib, and David M. Posta aDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511; and bCary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY 12545 Edited by James A. Estes, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, and approved May 16, 2017 (received for review September 8, 2016) The annual migration of ∼1.2 million wildebeest (Connochaetes taur- hundreds to thousands of bison drowning in rivers of the western inus) through the Serengeti Mara Ecosystem is the largest remaining United States in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when overland migration in the world. One of the most iconic portions of large bison herds were still intact (16, 17). River basins that no their migration is crossing of the Mara River, during which thousands longer contain terrestrial migrations may have lost the annual drown annually. These mass drownings have been noted, but their input of resources from mass drownings, which may fundamen- frequency, size, and impact on aquatic ecosystems have not been tally alter how those river ecosystems function now compared quantified. Here, we estimate the frequency and size of mass drown- with the past. The more well-studied annual migrations of ings in the Mara River and model the fate of carcass nutrients through anadromous fishes and subsequent carcass inputs have been > the river ecosystem. Mass drownings ( 100 individuals) occurred in at shown to be important in rivers (18, 19), but equivalent exami- least 13 of the past 15 y; on average, 6,250 carcasses and 1,100 tons of nation of the influence of terrestrial migrations is lacking. -
How Large Herbivores Subsidize Aquatic Food Webs in African
COMMENTARY Howlargeherbivoressubsidizeaquaticfoodwebsin African savannas COMMENTARY Robert M. Pringlea,1 Mass migration—the periodic, synchronized movement in the Kenyan portion of the Mara almost every year from of large numbers of animals from one place to another— 2001 to 2015, on average four to five times per year, is an important part of the life cycle of many species. resulting in a mean annual total of 6,250 wildebeest car- Such migrations are variously a means of avoiding cli- casses. These carcasses contribute more than 1,000 tons matic stress, escaping food and water scarcity, and sa- of biomass into the river—equivalent to roughly 10 blue tiating predators (thereby reducing individuals’ risk of whales—comprising dry mass of 107 tons carbon, being eaten). They are among the most spectacular 25 tons nitrogen, and 13 tons phosphorus. of natural phenomena, and also among the most Subalusky et al. (3) conducted a suite of detailed threatened: by building walls and dams, disrupting measurements and calculations to track the fate of the climate, and decimating wildlife populations, peo- these nutrients. By combining photographic surveys ple have steadily diminished and extinguished many of of carcasses with an energetic model for vultures, they the huge migrations known from historical records estimate that avian scavengers consume 4–7% of the (1, 2). Although tragic on purely aesthetic grounds— carbon and nitrogen, much of which is transported back nobody today knows the music of several million to land (Fig. 1C). Unscavenged soft tissues—such as American bison (Bison bison) snuffling and shuffling skin, muscle, and internal organs, which together make across the Great Plains—the extinction of great migra- up 56% of each carcass—decompose rapidly within tions also poses a profound threat to the functioning of 70 d, saturating the water with nutrients that are either ecosystems. -
Serengeti: Nature's Living Laboratory Transcript
Serengeti: Nature’s Living Laboratory Transcript Short Film [crickets] [footsteps] [cymbal plays] [chime] [music plays] [TONY SINCLAIR:] I arrived as an undergraduate. This was the beginning of July of 1965. I got a lift down from Nairobi with the chief park warden. Next day, one of the drivers picked me up and took me out on a 3-day trip around the Serengeti to measure the rain gauges. And in that 3 days, I got to see the whole park, and I was blown away. [music plays] I of course grew up in East Africa, so I’d seen various parks, but there was nothing that came anywhere close to this place. Serengeti, I think, epitomizes Africa because it has everything, but grander, but louder, but smellier. [music plays] It’s just more of everything. [music plays] What struck me most was not just the huge numbers of antelopes, and the wildebeest in particular, but the diversity of habitats, from plains to mountains, forests and the hills, the rivers, and all the other species. The booming of the lions in the distance, the moaning of the hyenas. Why was the Serengeti the way it was? I realized I was going to spend the rest of my life looking at that. [NARRATOR:] Little did he know, but Tony had arrived in the Serengeti during a period of dramatic change. The transformation it would soon undergo would make this wilderness a living laboratory for understanding not only the Serengeti, but how ecosystems operate across the planet. This is the story of how the Serengeti showed us how nature works. -
Human Pressure Threaten Swayne's Hartebeest to Point of Local
Research Article Volume 8:1,2020 Journal of Biodiversity and Endangered DOI: 10.24105/2332-2543.2020.8.239 Species ISSN: 2332-2543 Open Access Human Pressure Threaten Swayne’s Hartebeest to Point of Local Extinction from the Savannah Plains of Nech Sar National Park, South Rift Valley, Ethiopia Simon Shibru1*, Karen Vancampenhout2, Jozef Deckers2 and Herwig Leirs3 1Department of Biology, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia 2Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium 3Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerpen, Belgium Abstract We investigated the population size of the endemic and endangered Swayne’s Hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei) in Nech Sar National Park from 2012 to 2014 and document the major threats why the species is on the verge of local extinction. The park was once known for its abundant density of Swayne’s Hartebeest. We used direct total count methods for the census. We administered semi-structured interviews and open-ended questionnaires with senior scouts who are a member of the local communities. Historical records were obtained to evaluate the population trends of the animals since 1974. The density of the animal decreased from 65 in 1974 to 1 individual per 100 km2 in 2014 with a decline of 98.5% in the past 40 years. The respondents agreed that the conservation status of the park was in its worst condition ever now with only 2 Swayne’s Hartebeest left, with a rapid decline from 4 individuals in 2012 and 12 individuals in 2009. Mainly hunting and habitat loss, but also unsuitable season of reproduction and shortage of forage as minor factors were identified as threats for the local extinction of the Swayne’s Hartebeests. -
Connochaetes Gnou – Black Wildebeest
Connochaetes gnou – Black Wildebeest Blue Wildebeest (C. taurinus) (Grobler et al. 2005 and ongoing work at the University of the Free State and the National Zoological Gardens), which is most likely due to the historic bottlenecks experienced by C. gnou in the late 1800s. The evolution of a distinct southern endemic Black Wildebeest in the Pleistocene was associated with, and possibly driven by, a shift towards a more specialised kind of territorial breeding behaviour, which can only function in open habitat. Thus, the evolution of the Black Wildebeest was directly associated with the emergence of Highveld-type open grasslands in the central interior of South Africa (Ackermann et al. 2010). Andre Botha Assessment Rationale Regional Red List status (2016) Least Concern*† This is an endemic species occurring in open grasslands in the central interior of the assessment region. There are National Red List status (2004) Least Concern at least an estimated 16,260 individuals (counts Reasons for change No change conducted between 2012 and 2015) on protected areas across the Free State, Gauteng, North West, Northern Global Red List status (2008) Least Concern Cape, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal TOPS listing (NEMBA) (2007) Protected (KZN) provinces (mostly within the natural distribution range). This yields a total mature population size of 9,765– CITES listing None 11,382 (using a 60–70% mature population structure). This Endemic Yes is an underestimate as there are many more subpopulations on wildlife ranches for which comprehensive data are *Watch-list Threat †Conservation Dependent unavailable. Most subpopulations in protected areas are stable or increasing. -
IUCN Briefing Paper
BRIEFING PAPER September 2016 Contact information updated April 2019 Informing decisions on trophy hunting A Briefing Paper regarding issues to be taken into account when considering restriction of imports of hunting trophies For more information: SUMMARY Dilys Roe Trophy hunting is currently the subject of intense debate, with moves IUCN CEESP/SSC Sustainable Use at various levels to end or restrict it, including through increased bans and Livelihoods or restrictions on carriage or import of trophies. This paper seeks to inform SpecialistGroup these discussions. [email protected] Patricia Cremona IUCN Global Species (such as large antlers), and overlaps with widely practiced hunting for meat. Programme It is clear that there have been, and continue to be, cases of poorly conducted [email protected] and poorly regulated hunting. While “Cecil the Lion” is perhaps the most highly publicised controversial case, there are examples of weak governance, corruption, lack of transparency, excessive quotas, illegal hunting, poor monitoring and other problems in a number of countries. This poor practice requires urgent action and reform. However, legal, well regulated trophy Habitat loss and degradation is a primary hunting programmes can, and do, play driver of declines in populations an important role in delivering benefits of terrestrial species. Demographic change for both wildlife conservation and for and corresponding demands for land for the livelihoods and wellbeing of indigenous development are increasing in biodiversity- and local communities living with wildlife. rich parts of the globe, exacerbating this pressure on wildlife and making the need for viable conservation incentives more urgent. © James Warwick RECOMMENDATIONS and the rights and livelihoods of indigenous and local communities, IUCN calls on relevant decision- makers at all levels to ensure that any decisions that could restrict or end trophy hunting programmes: i. -
The Hippopotamus 4
lesson The Hippopotamus 4 Before You Read Look at the picture. Read the sentences. Check (✔) True, False, or Don’t Know. True False Don’t Know 1. The hippopotamus is big. 2. It lives in the snow and ice. 3. It has wings and a tail. 15 Lesson 4: The Hippopotamus 4 The Hippopotamus The hippopotamus, or hippo, lives in the hot part of Africa. It is a mammal. That is, its babies are born alive, and they drink milk from the mother’s body. The hippopotamus is a large animal. It weighs four big tons. Its stomach is seven meters long, and it eats only plants. It is a mammal, but it spends a lot of time in the water. During the day, it sleeps beside a river or a lake. at the side of Sometimes it wakes up. Then it goes under the water to get some plants for food. It can close its nose and stay under water for ten minutes. Its ears, eyes, and nose are high up on its head. It can stay with its body under the water and only its ears, eyes, and nose above the water. over Then it can breathe the air. At night, the hippo walks on the land and looks for food. It never goes very far from the water. A baby hippo often stands on its mother’s back. The mother looks for food underwater. The baby rides on her back above the water. 16 Unit 1: Animals a Vocabulary Put the right word in each blank. The sentences are from the text. -
The Effect of Species Associations on the Diversity and Coexistence of African Ungulates
The effect of species associations on the diversity and coexistence of African ungulates. By Nancy Barker For Professor Kolasa BIO306H1 – Tropical Ecology University of Toronto Wednesday, August 24th, 2005 Abstract: The effects of species associations on species diversity and coexistence were investigated in East Africa. The frequency and group sizes of African ungulates were observed and analyzed to determine for differences in species associations based on their density and distribution, as well as their associations with other species. Associations between species were determined to be nonrandom and seen to affect the demographics of associating herds. Such associations mirrored in other studies were shown to be the result of interspecific competition, habitat preferences and predation pressure which increases the potential for coexistence between species. This suggests a potentially important role in the regulation of species diversity by ecological dynamics in species rich communities. In the face of today’s biodiversity crisis, such understanding of species associations and how they are regulated may have huge implications for conservation. Introduction: known with the famous Darwin’s finches of the Galapagos Islands. However, there are many other Sympatric coexistence of organisms within a guilds with what seems to be extensive community poses several questions for ecologists. overlapping in their resources, such as the grazing High levels of species association occur with high herds in Africa which eat common and widely species packing, as is seen within the Selous game dispersed foods. Sinclair (Sinclair, 1979 as cited in reserve of Tanzania in east Africa. Sinclair (1985) Sinclair, 1985) has found that this seemingly notes that mixed herds are frequently seen in east extensive overlap among these herds have also Africa and Connor and Simberloff (1979) have undergone niche separation. -
Common Eland
Tragelaphus oryx – Common Eland recognised, though their validity has been in dispute (Thouless 2013): Tragelaphus o. livingstonii (Sclater 1864; Livingstone's Eland): also called kaufmanni, niediecki, selousi and triangularis. It is found in the Central Zambezian Miombo woodlands i.e. south- central Africa (Angola, Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi). Livingstone's Eland has a brown pelt with up to twelve stripes. Tragelaphus o. oryx (Pallas 1766; Cape Eland): also called alces, barbatus, canna and oreas. This subspecies is found south of the Zambezi river (South Africa, Botswana and Namibia). The fur is tawny, and adults lose their stripes. Regional Red List status (2016) Least Concern Tragelaphus o. pattersonianus (Lydekker 1906; East National Red List status (2004) Least Concern African Eland or Patterson's Eland): also called Reasons for change No change billingae. It is found in east Africa extending into the Somali arid areas, hence its common name. Its coat Global Red List status (2008) Least concern can have up to 12 stripes. TOPS listing (NEMBA) None Tragelaphus o. oryx occurs throughout the larger part of South Africa, but the far northern Limpopo Province CITES listing None bordering Zimbabwe is regarded as a transitional zone Endemic No between T. o. oryx and T. o. livingstonii or an area where they overlap. This argues the case that they should rather During drought conditions Eland roam extensively be described as ecotypes (in ecotypes, it is common for in order to meet forage and water requirements; in continuous, gradual geographic variation to impose the southern Kalahari during abnormally dry analogous phenotypic and/or genetic variation; this conditions, Eland were found to cover more than situation is called cline.). -
Mammal Species Richness at a Catena and Nearby Waterholes During a Drought, Kruger National Park, South Africa
diversity Article Mammal Species Richness at a Catena and Nearby Waterholes during a Drought, Kruger National Park, South Africa Beanélri B. Janecke Animal, Wildlife & Grassland Sciences, University of the Free State, 205 Nelson Mandela Road, Park West, Bloemfontein 9301, South Africa; [email protected]; Tel.: +27-51-401-9030 Abstract: Catenas are undulating hillslopes on a granite geology characterised by different soil types that create an environmental gradient from crest to bottom. The main aim was to determine mammal species (>mongoose) present on one catenal slope and its waterholes and group them by feeding guild and body size. Species richness was highest at waterholes (21 species), followed by midslope (19) and sodic patch (16) on the catena. Small differences observed in species presence between zones and waterholes and between survey periods were not significant (p = 0.5267 and p = 0.9139). In total, 33 species were observed with camera traps: 18 herbivore species, 10 carnivores, two insectivores and three omnivores. Eight small mammal species, two dwarf antelopes, 11 medium, six large and six mega-sized mammals were observed. Some species might not have been recorded because of drought, seasonal movement or because they travelled outside the view of cameras. Mammal presence is determined by food availability and accessibility, space, competition, distance to water, habitat preferences, predators, body size, social behaviour, bound to territories, etc. The variety in body size and feeding guilds possibly indicates a functioning catenal ecosystem. This knowledge can be beneficial in monitoring and conservation of species in the park. Keywords: catena ecosystem; ephemeral mud wallows; habitat use; mammal variety; Skukuza area; Citation: Janecke, B.B. -
Understanding the Behavioural Trade-Offs Made by Blue Wildebeest (Connochaetes Taurinus): the Importance of Resources, Predation and the Landscape
Understanding the behavioural trade-offs made by blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus): the importance of resources, predation and the landscape Rebecca Dannock Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Zoology A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2016 School of Biological Sciences Abstract Prey individuals must constantly make decisions regarding safety and resource acquisition to ensure that they acquire enough resources without being predated upon. These decisions result in a trade-off between resource acquisition behaviours (such as foraging and drinking) and safety behaviours (such as grouping and vigilance). This trade- off is likely to be affected by the social and environmental factors that an individual experiences, including the individual’s location in the landscape. The overall objective of my PhD was to understand the decisions a migratory ungulate makes in order to acquire enough resources, while not becoming prey, and to understand how these decisions are influenced by social and environmental factors. In order to do this, I studied the behaviour of blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) in Etosha National Park, Namibia, between 2013 and 2015. I studied wildebeests’ behaviour while they acquired food and water and moved within the landscape. Along with observational studies, I also used lion (Panthera leo) roar playbacks to experimentally manipulate perceived predator presence to test wildebeests’ responses to immediate predation risk. For Chapter 2 I studied the foraging-vigilance trade-off of wildebeest to determine how social and environmental factors, including the location within the landscape, were correlated with wildebeests’ time spent foraging and vigilant as well as their bite rate. -
Gazella Dorcas) in North East Libya
The conservation ecology of the Dorcas gazelle (Gazella dorcas) in North East Libya Walid Algadafi A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy April 2019 This work and any part thereof has not previously been presented in any form to the University or to any other body whether for the purposes of assessment, publication or any other purpose (unless previously indicated). Save for any express acknowledgements, references and/or bibliographies cited in the work, I confirm that the intellectual content of the work is the result of my own efforts and of no other person. The right of Walid Algadafi to be identified as author of this work is asserted in accordance with ss.77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. At this date, copyright is owned by the author. Signature: Date: 27/ 04/ 2019 I ABSTRACT The Dorcas gazelle (Gazella dorcas) is an endangered antelope in North Africa whose range is now restricted to a few small populations in arid, semi-desert conditions. To be effective, conservation efforts require fundamental information about the species, especially its abundance, distribution and genetic factors. Prior to this study, there was a paucity of such data relating to the Dorcas gazelle in Libya and the original contribution of this study is to begin to fill this gap. The aim of this study is to develop strategies for the conservation management of Dorcas gazelle in post-conflict North East Libya. In order to achieve this aim, five objectives relating to current population status, threats to the species, population genetics, conservation and strategic population management were identified.