What you should know about wildebeest migration
What you should know about the wildebeest migration Much research has focused on the influence of animal migrations on the terrestrial ecosystem. Mass drowning is an understudied phenomenon associated with migrations that may have substantial impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Wildebeest migration occurs nearly annually between Serengeti and Masai Mara. The Mass drowning’s contributed the equivalent biomass of 10 blue whale carcasses per year to this moderately sized river. Soft tissues of the carcass decompose within several weeks and are assimilated by both in-stream and terrestrial consumers. Bones decompose over years, which may influence nutrient cycling and food webs in the river on decadal time scales. The loss of migrations and associated mass drownings May fundamentally alter river ecosystems in ways previously unrecognized. The annual migration of nearly 1.2 million wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) through the Serengeti Mara Ecosystem is the largest remaining overl...