The influence of vertebrate scavengers on leakage of nutrients from carcasses.

ABSTRACT: The decomposition of carcasses by scavengers and microbial decomposers is an important component of the biochemical cycle that can strongly alter the chemical composition of soils locally. Different scavenger guilds are assumed to have a different influence on the chemical elements that leak into the soil, although this assumption has not been empirically tested. Here, we experimentally determine how different guilds of vertebrate scavengers influence local nutrient dynamics. We performed a field experiment in which we systematically excluded different subsets of vertebrate scavengers from decomposing carcasses of fallow deer (Dama dama), and compared elemental concentrations in the soil beneath and in the vegetation next to the carcasses over time throughout the decomposition process. We

SUBMITTER: Wenting E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11489260 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature