One change in an ecosystem can have far-reaching effects. This is evident in the Serengeti in East Africa, where tree density has increased since the 1960s, when the rinderpest virus, which attacks wildebeest, was eradicated. To figure out what the connection between these events might be, Ricardo Holdo of the University of Florida in Gainesville and his colleagues compared ten models of tree and fire dynamics on the famous savannah.
The researchers conclude that after the disease was wiped out, wildebeest grew in number and ate more grasses. With less grass to burn, fires decreased in frequency and more seedlings were able to grow to maturity. Other factors such as climate change and browsing by elephants seemed to have less of a role. The team adds that this shift means that the Serengeti may have become a carbon sink.
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Ecology: Wildebeest chain reaction. Nature 461, 700 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/461700c
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/461700c
