Savanna Ecology: Flagship Research in Large Mammal Diets & Conservation
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Our work in East African savannas revolves around the intellectual foundation of the Kartzinel Lab.
Across East African rangelands — from Mpala Research Centre in Kenya to Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique — we have pioneered the large-scale application of dietary DNA metabarcoding to wildlife ecology. This work has transformed how scientists conceptualize the foraging behaviors, trophic networks, and coexistence of large mammalian herbivores — and it continues to inform conservation strategies across the region. |
The Breakthrough: Hidden Structure in Herbivore Diets
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In 2015, we published one of the first large comparative studies that applied DNA metabarcoding to resolve fine-grained diet variation using hundreds of samples from large mammalian herbivores at Mpala Research Centre in Kenya.
By integrating:
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DNA metabarcoding illuminates dietary niche partitioning by African large herbivores.
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The results clearly reflected the well-known grazer–browser spectrum in which some species ate mostly grass ("grazers"), others ate almost no grass ("browsers"), and some used intermediate proportions of both groups ("mixed-feeders). But the results went beyond this simplistic dichotomy to reveal deeper structure. Even the pairs of species that appeared to be the most ecologically similar differed substantially in what they consumed: two zebra species grazing in the same landscapes and eating nearly identical proportions of grass nonetheless differed significantly in the plant species they consumed.
Dietary niche partitioning was more nuanced — and more pervasive — than we had previously recognized.
The study generated extensive commentary in the field with international media coverage, and the approach has since been replicated widely in systems around the world.
Dietary niche partitioning was more nuanced — and more pervasive — than we had previously recognized.
The study generated extensive commentary in the field with international media coverage, and the approach has since been replicated widely in systems around the world.
→ See coverage in the New York Times, National Geographic, NPR, Smithsonian Magazine, Science
→ Read PNAS Commentary by David Tilman and Elizabeth Borer
→ Use the HHMI BioInteractive Virtual Safari Lab for teaching biology based on this work
→ Read PNAS Commentary by David Tilman and Elizabeth Borer
→ Use the HHMI BioInteractive Virtual Safari Lab for teaching biology based on this work
Mammalian Diversity Mirrors Floristic Diversity
As dietary DNA approaches have expanded globally, a consistent pattern has emerged: niche partitioning is common — though not inevitable — even in many places where scientists did not expect to find it.
Our savanna research helped catalyze a broader conceptual shift: the diversity of large mammals may be more tightly linked to plant diversity than previously recognized — taxonomically, functionally, and nutritionally.
Savannas are structured not only by rainfall and predators, but by subtle, species-specific interactions between plants and herbivores. Understanding those interactions requires us to understand the characteristics and behaviors of both groups across species, lineages, and landscapes.
Our savanna research helped catalyze a broader conceptual shift: the diversity of large mammals may be more tightly linked to plant diversity than previously recognized — taxonomically, functionally, and nutritionally.
Savannas are structured not only by rainfall and predators, but by subtle, species-specific interactions between plants and herbivores. Understanding those interactions requires us to understand the characteristics and behaviors of both groups across species, lineages, and landscapes.
Mpala and Beyond: A Regional Research Network
Mpala Research Centre is where this work began, and it remains a central hub for our long-term research, training, and inspiration. At this home-base, we:
But the program extends well beyond a single site. We maintain partnerships across Kenyan conservancies and protected areas to study dietary ecology across gradients of climate, management, and conservation status.
→ Follow news & updates about our work in and around Mpala Research Centre.
→ Download bioinformatic pipelines & data developed for this system.
→ Use the field & molecular protocols we employ in these studies.
- Changed how people think about animal diets
- Helped establish a field-based genomics laboratory
- Integrated food-web monitoring with long-term experiments
- Built one of the most extensive plant DNA barcode libraries in the world
But the program extends well beyond a single site. We maintain partnerships across Kenyan conservancies and protected areas to study dietary ecology across gradients of climate, management, and conservation status.
→ Follow news & updates about our work in and around Mpala Research Centre.
→ Download bioinformatic pipelines & data developed for this system.
→ Use the field & molecular protocols we employ in these studies.
Linking Diet to Ecosystem Function: The UHURU Experiment
At Mpala, we collaborate on the UHURU experiment — a large-scale, long-term manipulation of megafauna and other large herbivores — originally established by Rob Pringle, Jake Goheen, and Todd Palmer.
By selectively excluding herbivore guilds, UHURU disentangles:
Integrating this kind of large-scale manipulative experiment with genomic diet was the original driving motivation behind our efforts to develop dietary DNA metabarcoding capabilities. As with many things in long-term ecology, effectively integrating these two approaches has required time and patience. But now it has become a defining feature of our program — and a model we are extending to other ecosystems including current work in Yellowstone National Park (USA) and Fray Jorge National Park (Chile).
By selectively excluding herbivore guilds, UHURU disentangles:
- Direct trophic effects of consumption
- Indirect effects such as habitat modification
- Long-term consequences for vegetation structure and biodiversity
Integrating this kind of large-scale manipulative experiment with genomic diet was the original driving motivation behind our efforts to develop dietary DNA metabarcoding capabilities. As with many things in long-term ecology, effectively integrating these two approaches has required time and patience. But now it has become a defining feature of our program — and a model we are extending to other ecosystems including current work in Yellowstone National Park (USA) and Fray Jorge National Park (Chile).
Scaling Across Species and Landscapes
Our work on the ecology and conservation of African savannas work now spans some of East Africa’s most iconic and threatened species.
Giraffes Across Kenya
We recently published a study on the diets and microbiomes of all three species of free-ranging giraffe that occur in Kenya. The work revealed landscape-scale variation in diet and gut microbiomes, guiding research planning by collaborators at the Giraffe Conservation Foundation and earning international media.
[Read the Paper] [See Coverage in Forbes]
Black Rhino and Grevy’s Zebra
Collaborative analyses of critically endangered black rhino and Grevy’s zebra diets across Kenyan conservancies demonstrated that diet switching correlates with reproductive output — and that these patterns vary by landscape. These findings link foraging ecology directly to conservation outcomes.
[Read the Paper] [See the Story Behind the Paper]
Elephant Families and Foraging Strategy
Together with Save the Elephants in Samburu and Buffalo Springs, we led a study of elephant family groups revealing striking behavioral variation: some families forage cohesively, selecting similar foods, while others forage more individualistically — even in the same habitats. The work received major TV and radio media attention, for highlighting how behavioral ecology intersects with diets.
[Read the paper] [See Coverage by BBC] [See Coverage in Newsweek]
Giraffes Across Kenya
We recently published a study on the diets and microbiomes of all three species of free-ranging giraffe that occur in Kenya. The work revealed landscape-scale variation in diet and gut microbiomes, guiding research planning by collaborators at the Giraffe Conservation Foundation and earning international media.
[Read the Paper] [See Coverage in Forbes]
Black Rhino and Grevy’s Zebra
Collaborative analyses of critically endangered black rhino and Grevy’s zebra diets across Kenyan conservancies demonstrated that diet switching correlates with reproductive output — and that these patterns vary by landscape. These findings link foraging ecology directly to conservation outcomes.
[Read the Paper] [See the Story Behind the Paper]
Elephant Families and Foraging Strategy
Together with Save the Elephants in Samburu and Buffalo Springs, we led a study of elephant family groups revealing striking behavioral variation: some families forage cohesively, selecting similar foods, while others forage more individualistically — even in the same habitats. The work received major TV and radio media attention, for highlighting how behavioral ecology intersects with diets.
[Read the paper] [See Coverage by BBC] [See Coverage in Newsweek]
Beyond Species Lists: Functional, Nutritional, and Behavioral Ecology
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Savanna ecosystems are where we began to push the field to use dietary DNA in ways that move beyond generating lists of resources.
Our work now investigates:
Multiple high-impact publications have emerged from this program, which has been supported by the National Science Foundation and The Nature Conservancy. |
Multiple dimensions of dietary diversity in large mammalian herbivores. Kartzinel & Pringle (2020)
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Support & Contribute
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Savanna ecosystems are changing rapidly under pressure from climate variability, defaunation, and land-use change. Our work provides the mechanistic understanding needed to sustain biodiversity and support evidence-based conservation.
We kindly invite partnerships and contributions that directly support our efforts to:
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This kind of support directly helps advance the work of current lab member, Dr. Mary Burak, who has received a prestigious a Fulbright scholarship and Voss Postdoctoral Fellowships to directly translate information about animal diets into on-the-ground conservation decision-making.
Your contribution can help sustain a time-tested platform, built in East Africa to generate meaningful conservation impact.
Your contribution can help sustain a time-tested platform, built in East Africa to generate meaningful conservation impact.