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36 results for “Serengeti”
Data from: Multifaceted density dependence: Social structure and seasonality effects on Serengeti lion demography
<p>This dataset contains the data and R scripts to estimate the survival, transition, and detection probabilities (Lions_Survival_Transition_MultistateCMRModel.zip) as well as the probability of reproduction and recruitment to 1 year old (Lions_Reproduction_Recruitment_GLMM.zip) in a population of African lions (<em>Panthera leo</em>) monitored between 1984 and 2014 in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.</p> <p>We assessed the season-specific effects of density measures at the intra- (number of females in a pride and male coalition size) and extra-group levels (number of nomadic coalitions in the home range of a group) using a Bayesian multistate capture-mark-recapture model for the survival and transition rates and Bayesian generalized linear mixed models for reproduction probability and recruitment. <br><br>The README file further describes each uploaded file.</p>
Linked collectors and determiners for: Checklist of Serengeti Ecosystem Grasses.
Natural history specimen data linked to collectors and determiners held within, "Checklist of Serengeti Ecosystem Grasses". Claims or attributions were made on Bionomia by volunteer Scribes, <a href="https://bionomia.net/dataset/e396bc9e-99f8-4187-85c5-ef2b4e500392">https://bionomia.net/dataset/e396bc9e-99f8-4187-85c5-ef2b4e500392</a> using specimen data from the dataset aggregated by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, <a href="https://gbif.org/dataset/e396bc9e-99f8-4187-85c5-ef2b4e500392">https://gbif.org/dataset/e396bc9e-99f8-4187-85c5-ef2b4e500392</a>. Formatted as a Frictionless Data package.
Data and code from: Three decades of wildlife-vehicle collisions in a protected area: main roads and long-distance commuting trips to migratory prey increase spotted hyena roadkills in the Serengeti
<p>This is the first release. Potential updates will be available on GitHub: <a href="https://github.com/MarwanNaciri/Three_decades_of_spotted_hyena_roadkill_in_a_protected_area">https://github.com/MarwanNaciri/Three_decades_of_spotted_hyena_roadkill_in_a_protected_area</a></p>
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in roots and soil respond differently to biotic and abiotic factors in the Serengeti
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Data from: Mycorrhizal symbioses influence the trophic structure of the Serengeti
It is known that tropical grasslands such as Serengeti host large populations of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and that they respond to abiotic and biotic factors. It is also known that AM symbioses are important for the uptake of essential plant nutrients, which, in turn, influences the biomass and nutritional quality of herbivores and their predators. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of AM symbioses on the biomass of different trophic levels of an ecosystem. To do this, we first measured the neutral lipid fatty acid biomarker 16:1ω5 to estimate the biomass of AM fungi in a long-term grazing exclusion experiment. Then, we used model selection of Bayesian linear regressions to infer the primary factors that influence AM fungal biomass. Using model selection of different combinations of soil characteristics, we selected the best model using the leave-one-out cross-validation information criterion. Finally, we used the Madingley model to simulate the influence of AM fungi on higher trophic levels. We combined spatially explicit information about soil phosphorus and AM fungal biomass to explore the emergent patterns of the Serengeti resulting from AM symbioses. Our Bayesian analysis indicated that total soil phosphorus was the strongest predictor of AM fungal biomass, and there were significant interactions with grazing. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal biomass is lowest in soil where phosphorus is limited and increases with increasing phosphorus concentration. Biomass was also significantly higher in plots that were not grazed. The Madingley model indicated that nutritional benefits of AM symbioses maintain a substantial proportion of the biomass across all trophic levels. Synthesis. Our analysis shows that inputs of phosphorus through arbuscular mycorrhizal symbioses substantially increase the ability of plants to grow and maintain nutritional quality, cascading through the biomass of consumers and predators in the ecosystem. Although they account for less than 1% of the total modelled biomass, the predicted nutritional benefit provided by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi increased the biomass of macro-organisms in the Serengeti by 48%. When considering the management of biodiversity, future ecosystem models should account for the influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on all trophic levels.
Data from: Spatial transitions in tree cover are associated with soil hydrology, but not with grass biomass, fire frequency, or herbivore biomass in Serengeti savannahs
1. Although there is a well-known association between tree cover and soil texture in savannahs, the hydrological drivers of tree cover variation have not been systematically explored, particularly in parallel with factors such as fire, herbivory, and tree-grass interactions. The relationship between hydrological factors and tree cover is important for resolving the relative contribution of bottom-up vs. top-down factors in structuring savannah vegetation. 2. We quantified soil moisture dynamics across eight 1-km transects spanning tree cover gradients from open to woody savannah in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania using soil moisture sensors coupled with dataloggers. We mapped tree cover at two spatial scales through supervised classification of high-resolution satellite imagery. We simultaneously produced water retention curves in open and woody habitats within each transect to compare soil hydrological properties and to convert volumetric water content (θ) from dataloggers to plant-available water over the course of an annual cycle. We also quantified grass biomass at 100 locations per transect, estimated fire frequency from MODIS satellite data, and quantified herbivore occupancy with paired camera traps situated in open and woody habitats within each transect. 3. We found a positive relationship between tree cover and soil moisture drainage rate, and found that open habitats had more negative water potentials than woody habitats for a given value of θ. In contrast, we found no evidence for a consistent relationship between grass biomass or fire frequency and tree cover. We found evidence for higher browser occupancy in woody than open habitats, but no habitat effects on herbivores as a group (browsers plus grazers), suggesting that herbivory is unlikely to be the dominant factor explaining variation in tree cover. 4. Our results suggest that variation in tree cover is partly driven by hydrological (edaphic) factors unrelated to fire, herbivory, tree-grass interactions or mean annual precipitation at these spatial scales in Serengeti. We contrast our findings with previous work attributing tree cover shifts in Serengeti to precipitation gradients.
Spatial and temporal niche overlap of aardwolves and aardvarks in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
<p>Species interactions can influence species distributions, but mechanisms mitigating competition or facilitating positive interactions between ecologically similar species are often poorly understood. Aardwolves (<em>Proteles cristata</em>) and aardvarks (<em>Orycteropus afer</em>) are nocturnal, insectivorous mammals that co-occur in eastern and southern Africa, and knowledge of these species is largely limited to their nutritional biology. We used aardwolf and aardvark detections from 106 remote cameras during 2016–2018 to assess their spatial and temporal niche overlap in the grasslands of Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Using a multispecies occupancy model, we identified a positive interaction between occupancy probabilities for aardwolves and aardvarks. Slope, proportion of grassland, and termite mound density did not affect occupancy probabilities of either species. Probability of aardwolf, but not aardvark, occupancy increased with distance to permanent water sources, which may relate to predation risk avoidance. Diel activity overlap between aardwolves and aardvarks was high during wet and dry seasons, with both species being largely nocturnal. Aardwolves and aardvarks have an important ecological role as termite consumers, and aardvarks are suggested to be ecosystem engineers. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the spatial and temporal niche of insectivores like aardwolves and aardvarks, suggesting high spatial and temporal niche overlap in which commensalism occur, whereby aardwolves benefit from aardvark presence through increased food accessibility.</p>
Dataset of wild spotted hyenas from 3 clans in the Serengeti National Park
<p><span><span>Host</span> <span>immune</span> <span>defenses</span> <span>are</span> <span>important</span> <span>components of</span> <span>host-parasite</span> <span>interactions</span> <span>that affect</span> <span>the</span> <span>outcome</span> <span>of</span> <span>infection and may have fitness consequences for hosts when increased allocation of resources to immune responses undermines other essential life processes. Research on host-parasite</span> <span>interactions in large free-ranging wild mammals is currently hampered</span> <span>by</span> <span>a</span> <span>lack of verified non-invasive assays.</span> <span><span>We</span></span> <span>successfully</span> <span>adapted</span> <span>existing</span> <span>assays</span> <span>to measure innate and adaptive immune responses produced by the gastrointestinal mucosa in spotted</span> <span>hyena</span> <span>(</span><i><span>Crocuta</span></i><span><i> </i></span><i><span>crocuta</span></i><span>) faeces, including</span> <span>enzyme-linked immunosorbent</span> <span>assays</span> <span>(ELISAs)</span><span><span>, </span></span><span>to</span> <span>quantify</span><b> </b><span>faecal</span> <span>immunoglobulins (total</span> <span>IgA, total IgG) and</span> <span>total</span> <span>faecal</span> <span>O-linked</span> <span>oligosaccharides</span> <span>(mucin).</span> <span>We investigated the</span> <span><span>effect</span></span> <span>of infection load by an energetically costly hookworm (</span><i><span>Ancylostoma</span></i><span>), parasite richness, host age,</span> <span>sex, year of sampling and clan membership on</span> <span>immune</span> <span>responses</span> <span>and asked</span> <span>whether high investment in immune responses</span> <span>during</span> <span>early</span> <span>life</span> <span>affects longevity</span><span><span> in individually known spotted hyenas in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.</span></span><span> F</span><span><span>aecal concentrations of IgA, IgG and mucin</span></span> <span>increased with </span><i><span>Ancylostoma</span></i><span> egg load and were higher in juveniles</span> <span>than in</span> <span>adults. Females had higher mucin concentrations than males. Juvenile females had higher IgG concentrations than juvenile males whereas adult females had lower IgG concentrations than males. High</span> <span><span>IgA</span></span><span><span> concentrations </span></span><span>during</span> <span>the</span> <span>first</span> <span>year</span> <span>of</span> <span>life</span> <span>was linked to</span> <span>reduced </span><span><span>longevity</span></span><span><span> after controlling for</span></span> <span>age</span> <span>at</span> <span>sampling</span> <span>and</span> <i><span>Ancylostoma</span></i><span><i> </i></span><span>egg</span><span><span> load</span></span><span>. Our</span> <span>study demonstrates that the use of non-invasive methods can increase knowledge on the complex relationship between gastrointestinal parasites and host local immune responses in wild large mammals and reveal fitness-relevant effects of these responses.</span></span></p>
An underwater Serengeti: Seagrass-mediated effects on intake and cultivation grazing behavior of a marine megaherbivore
<p>Populations of green turtles (<em>Chelonia mydas</em>), a megaherbivore that consumes seagrasses via cultivation grazing, are recovering worldwide. Information on plant-mediated effects on herbivore foraging behavior is critical to understanding plant-herbivore interactions and sustainability of grazing as ecosystems continue to change. In a Caribbean seagrass ecosystem, we use stationary cameras and benthic surveys to evaluate effects of seagrass morphology and leaf nitrogen content on green turtle grazing behavior. Thalassia testudinum leaf morphology has significant effects on forage intake (mg dry mass [DM] min-1) for green turtles, whereas leaf nitrogen content has no effect. Intake increases in grazed areas with shorter leaves and higher leaf biomass concentration (mg DM cm-3), indicating more efficient foraging under these conditions. Bite rate (bites min-1) increases in grazed areas with short leaves, a result of reduced search time. Bite size (mg DM bite-1) increases in grazed areas with short but dense canopies, because a turtle crops more shoots with each bite. Increased foraging efficiency and reduced search time in grazed areas with high biomass concentrations collectively maximize intake. Ingested leaves are shorter than the mean height of all available leaves in grazed areas, indicating herbivore selection for shorter leaves. Our estimate for daily intake is 86.1 g DM d-1 per 33-kg turtle. Our study provides a novel contribution on the effects of plant-level cues on the grazing behavior of a marine megaherbivore, and how cultivation grazing behavior optimizes the green turtle foraging strategy by maximizing foraging efficiency and intake.</p>
Data from: Spatial transitions in tree cover are associated with soil hydrology, but not with grass biomass, fire frequency, or herbivore biomass in Serengeti savannahs
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Data from: Mycorrhizal symbioses influence the trophic structure of the Serengeti
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Interplay of competition and facilitation in grazing succession by migrant Serengeti herbivores
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Spatial and temporal niche overlap of aardwolves and aardvarks in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
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Data from: Cross-boundary human impacts compromise the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem
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An underwater Serengeti: Seagrass-mediated effects on intake and cultivation grazing behavior of a marine megaherbivore
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Effects of grassland fragmentation and precipitation on Secretarybird (<i>Sagittarius serpentarius</i>) reproduction in the Serengeti ecosystem
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Data from: Soil macrofauna communities vary by land use type and environmental conditions in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem
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Dataset of wild spotted hyenas from 3 clans in the Serengeti National Park
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Microbial community structure across grazing treatments and environmental gradients in the Serengeti
<p>Field-based observational research is the first step in understanding the factors that structure microbial communities and generate biogeography of soil microbes. As one of the last remaining naturally grazed ecosystems on Earth, the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania is an ideal location to study the influence of large migratory mammals on microbial communities. Also, active volcanoes generate strong environmental gradients due to ash deposition and a rain shadow. We used 16S rRNA amplicons to characterize bacterial and archaeal communities in soils from a 13-year herbivore removal experiment to study the influence of grazing and environmental gradients on the natural distribution of soil microbes. Removal of mammalian herbivores shifted microbial community structure, with 31 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) that were significant indicator taxa of the ungrazed treatment and only three ASVs that were significant indicators of the grazed treatment. The abundance of many ASVs were correlated with soil texture, phosphorus, iron, calcium and rainfall, and the evenness of taxa within samples increased with fine-textured soil. Bayesian general linear mixed effects models that parse the relative importance of multiple, highly correlated predictors of beta diversity were consistent with a significant, but weak (2%), effect of grazing, and stronger effects of phosphorus (14%) and silt (14%) contents in soil. Beta diversity of microbial communities was greater in grazed than in ungrazed plots; consequently, our results suggest that the impacts of grazing on the community assembly of microbes results from deterministic environmental filtering caused by the influence of herbivores on plant communities and soil properties rather than stochastic dispersal via herds of large mammalian herbivores. These herbivore effects are superimposed on deterministic environmental filtering by natural soil and precipitation gradients across the Serengeti.</p>
Data from: Grass competition overwhelms effects of herbivores and precipitation on early tree establishment in Serengeti
1. Savanna ecosystems span a diverse range of climates, edaphic conditions and disturbance regimes, the complexity of which has stimulated long-standing interest in the mechanisms that maintain tree-grass coexistence. One hypothesis suggests that tree establishment is strongly limited by one or several demographic bottlenecks at early stages of the tree life cycle. A major impediment to testing this hypothesis is the lack of data on the relative strengths of different bottlenecks across key environmental gradients. 2. To identify demographic bottlenecks that limit early tree establishment (0-18 months), we conducted a series of transplant experiments with two savanna trees species (Acacia robusta and A. tortilis) across a natural rainfall and soil fertility gradient in the Serengeti ecosystem, Tanzania. We tested the interactive effects of precipitation, herbivory, seed scarification, grass competition, water limitation and tree species identity on two key life stages: germination and early seedling survival (0-2 months) and juvenile seedling survival (2-18 months). 3. Germination and early seedling survival increased as a function of rainfall, in the absence of herbivores and when seeds were scarified. Juvenile seedling survival, in contrast, decreased with rainfall but increased in the absence of herbivores. Grass removal had the single strongest (positive) effect on juvenile seedling survival of any treatment. Soil moisture monitoring and grass-addition treatments revealed that grasses negatively affected seedlings in ways that were not necessarily linked to soil moisture. 4. A demographic model combining all effects across early life stages showed that the strength of grass competition on juvenile seedling survival was the key factor limiting early tree establishment. While rainfall had an unexpected opposing effect on the two life stages, the net effect of mean annual precipitation on early tree establishment was positive. 5. Synthesis: Successful tree establishment in Serengeti is maximized by a seemingly unlikely sequence of events: (1) scarification of seeds by browsers, (2) heavy rainfall to promote germination, (3) intensive grazing (but absence of browsers) and (4) dry conditions during juvenile seedling growth (>2 months) to reduce competition with grasses. By considering a wide suite of conditions and their interactions, our experimental results are relevant to ongoing debates about savanna vegetation dynamics and structural shifts in tree:grass ratios.
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