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Biomass and production of large African herbivores in relation to rainfall and primary production

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Summary

Standing crop biomass, energy expenditure and production by large mammalian herbivores in the African savannas show a high degree of correlation with mean annual precipitation and predicted above ground primary production. These relationships possess the potential for predicting carrying capacity and protein production from simple meteorological data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Animal Ecology Research Group, Department of Zoology, Oxford

    M. J. Coe & J. Phillipson

  2. Department of National Parks and Wildlife, Salisbury, Rhodesia

    D. H. Cumming

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  1. M. J. Coe
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  2. D. H. Cumming
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  3. J. Phillipson
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Coe, M.J., Cumming, D.H. & Phillipson, J. Biomass and production of large African herbivores in relation to rainfall and primary production. Oecologia 22, 341–354 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00345312

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