Livestock as vectors of organic matter and nutrient loading in aquatic ecosystems in African savannas.

ABSTRACT: Populations of large wildlife have declined in many landscapes around the world, and have been replaced or displaced by livestock. The consequences of these changes on the transfer of organic matter (OM) and nutrients from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems are not well understood. We used behavioural data, excretion and egestion rates and C: N: P stoichiometry of dung and urine of zebu cattle, to develop a metabolism-based estimate of loading rates of OM (dung), C, N and P into the Mara River, Kenya. We also directly measured the deposition of OM and urine by cattle into the river during watering. Per head, zebu cattle excrete and/or egest 25.6 g dry matter (DM, 99.6 g wet mass; metabolism) - 27.7 g DM (direct input) of OM, 16.0-21.8 g C, 5.9-9.6 g N, and 0.3-0.5 g P per day into the river

SUBMITTER: Iteba JO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8425544 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature