Now the days are getting shorter and colder, and the climate is getting drier and drier. This can be very challenging for wildlife here as they have to wait long times for the rains to come in October (or even later). But it makes things much easier for me, since I don’t have to worry about rain or extreme temperatures for a few months. Though this is goodbye for now, my research still continues!
I’ll be doing fieldwork until September 2025, when I’ll head back to the United States to check in with the Fulbright and start the long process of data analysis at Utah State University. I’m still a student (just like you!), and I’m still learning a lot about ecology and the process of science.
During my time here, I’ve tried to learn a bit about what happens after an elephant dies. It turns out that although scavengers play a major role in nutrient dispersal in the first few weeks, after that, elephants play a more prominent role in bone and nutrient dispersal as they revisit the sites where their kin died. Elephant behaviors, therefore, play an even bigger ecological role than we previously thought. Not only do carcass sites have high rates of soil respiration, nitrogen, and phosphorus content, but the plants that grow there also have more nutrients since they absorb carcass and dung nutrients. We’ve also found that as carcasses age, elephants eventually stop visiting, but hooved animals (like impala and buffalo) then start to visit more often as the sites shift from barren dead zones to fountains of life. But there’s still a lot more we don’t know. Which is why I’m still here!
I hope you’ve enjoyed spending time with me and learning a bit about my research.
