According to a new study, the health of the river and lakes in the East African savanna landscape depends largely on its giant grazing inhabitants, the hippopotamuses, and their fecal matter. The hippos would consume large amounts of silica-rich grass during the night, which they defecate into the nearby Mara River during the day. This habit of the animal group help moved Silicon from the land to the waters. Scientists pointed out that this process is vital for the health of the river, as well as the lakes found downstream Mara River.
The lead author of the study, Jonas Shoelynck, A postdoctoral research or at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, theorized that the hippopotamuses might be moving Silicon. The concept came to him when he was attending a presentation on Tthe role of the giant grazers in the Mara ecosystem.
Shoelynck relayed that his previous observation of hippopotamuses spreading a large amount of dung in the water while twisting their tail around connected the animals' behavior to silicon cycling.
For the research, Shoelynck and his colleagues traveled to Kenya to collect samples of soil, water, grass, and hippopotamus feces. The samples were collected from various points along the Mara River. The theme observed that some parts of the rivers are frequented by as many as 80 of the pachyderms, while in Other points Along the river, there were a few to none.
In analyzing their samples, the researchers found that the hippos consumed about 800 kg of silicon daily through the plants they feed on. The said animals would then excrete half of this amount of silicon in the water. The researchers later found out that the hippos contributed more than 76% of the silicon that was being transported along the Mara River. The scientists regarded the hippos as silicon pumps, because of these findings.
The scientists also observed that the hippos would spend a considerable amount of their 24 hours in the rivers to cool off their bodies after they have grazed on the land. While the hippopotamuses are in the water, most of the time, they would tend to defecate. The scientists explain that this daily behavior of the hippos causes the massive transport of silicon through the river.
The abundance of silicon in the Mara river ecosystem is important because East African lakes, such as Lake Victoria, depend on Silicon to support the food chains that rely on these bodies of water.
