Wildebeest

Every year in the Serengeti, hundreds of thousands of wildebeest migrate through the Mara River. As they stop to feed and rest, the environment and its various inhabitants take the lives of around 6500 of these animals. When the rest of the herd moves on, the dead carcasses of the wildebeest continue to contribute to the rich Serengeti ecosystem.

The bodies initially provide food for the other animals in the environment. They make up 50% of the local fish diet, feed crocodiles, and attract scavengers such as vultures. As they decay, they release essential nutrients such as phosphorous, nitrogen, and carbon into the environment. According to the Science article by Elizabeth Pennisi, "Annually, the bodies add about 13 tons of phosphorus, 25 tons of nitrogen, and 107 tons of carbon to the ecosystem in half a dozen pulses that each last about a month." Even the bones, which take up to seven years to decay, sustain microbes that in turn feed fish and other river- dwelling creatures.

These effects are essential to maintaining the Mara River ecosystem. What may seem like nothing more than a dismal mass death actually provides vitality and fosters growth throughout the river and the surrounding environment. Studying how the large-scale wildebeest deaths affect this specific ecosystem is very important. “The [wildebeest] findings have implications for understanding the ecological role of past and present animal migrations,” says David Janetski, an aquatic ecologist at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Ecosystems are vast, complicated webs of influence and when organisms- even those that may only pass through an environment- decline, everyone is affected. Understanding this is a key to understanding the best preservation and restoration methods.