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Science 9 January 1976:
Vol. 191. no. 4222, pp. 92 - 94
DOI: 10.1126/science.191.4222.92
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Articles

Serengeti Migratory Wildebeest: Facilitation of Energy Flow by Grazing

S. J. McNAUGHTON 1

1 Biological Research Laboratories, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13210, and Serengeti Research Institute, P.O. Seronera, Via A rusha, Tanzania

Dense concentrations of migratory wildebeest leaving the Serengeti Plains in late May 1974 reduced green plant biomass by almost 400 grams per square meter, 85 percent of the initial standing crop. However, this grazing prevented senescence and stimulated net primary productivity of the grasslands. Thomson's gazelles leaving the plains a month later were significantly associated with areas previously grazed by wildebeest, and this association was still evident at the end of the dry season, 6 months later.

Submitted on February 28, 1975
Accepted on May 23, 1975


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