The Wildebeests' Noble Sacrifice

    The drowned wildebeest contribute to the Mara River ecosystem long after their death by providing nutrients for countless organisms.  The wildebeest carcass offers a supply of phosphorus, nitrogen, and carbon, which are ingredients needed for the growth of a vast variety of plants, animals and microbes.  The most direct example of these organisms gaining from the wildebeest are the vultures that eat the carcass.  These scavenger birds consume five percent of the nitrogen and another five percent of the carbon from the drowned bodies.  The phosphorus and nitrogen is also absorbed into the stream-bed to act as fertilizer.  Further nutrients are washed down stream to feed other organisms.
    I would like to research a phenomenon that this study reminded me of, which is how roadkill impacts other species in the area, especially the decomposers.  I am curious to see how this man-made issue compares to the natural phenomenon of the mass drowned wildebeest.  I originally thought that this is a completely negative event, however, this article made me think of the issue in a new light of how the bodies could provide nutrients for the environment.