Understanding the Serengeti Ecosystem

The video explores Tony Sinclair's journey in the Serengeti, focusing on the dramatic changes in wildlife populations, particularly wildebeest, due to the eradication of rinderpest. It examines how these changes transformed the Serengeti into a living laboratory for understanding ecosystems. The video highlights the role of wildebeest migration in regulating their population and its impact on the ecosystem, ultimately identifying wildebeest as a keystone species that influences the entire Serengeti ecosystem.

What was the primary reason for the dramatic increase in buffalo and wildebeest populations in the Serengeti?

• Introduction of new predators

• Eradication of rinderpest

• Increase in rainfall

• Expansion of the park area

What is the term used to describe the maximum population size that an ecosystem can support?

• Ecological threshold

• Carrying capacity

• Sustainability index

• Population limit

Which factor primarily regulates the wildebeest population during the dry season?

• Predation by lions

• Availability of food

• Water scarcity

• Disease outbreaks

What is a key advantage of wildebeest migration in the Serengeti?

• Avoiding human settlements

• Accessing fresh food year-round

• Finding new breeding grounds

• Escaping from other herbivores

Why do migratory wildebeest experience lower predation rates compared to resident populations?

• They are larger in size

• They have better camouflage

• Predators cannot follow them

• They move faster

What unexpected ecological change occurred in the Serengeti due to the increase in wildebeest population?

• Expansion of grasslands

• Increase in tree cover

• Decrease in bird species

• Reduction in elephant numbers

How did the increase in wildebeest population affect the frequency of fires in the Serengeti?

• Fires became more intense

• Decreased fire frequency

• No change in fire frequency

• Increased fire frequency

What role do wildebeest play in the Serengeti ecosystem according to Tony and his colleagues?

• Apex predators

• Keystone species

• Primary producers

• Invasive species

Which principle explains why some animal populations grow quickly at low density?

• Density-dependent growth

• Top-down regulation

• Bottom-up regulation

• Carrying capacity

What is a key lesson from the Serengeti about ecosystems worldwide?

• They are all affected by human activity

• They are all regulated by predators

• They follow similar ecological principles

• They all have the same species