Scavengers play an important role in nutrient recycling and disease control, and this role may be particularly critical after mass mortality events, such as those caused by epidemics, culling, or natural disasters. Current work on scavenger ecology has focused on use of single carcasses, but behaviors are likely to be different at mass mortality events, in which high resource abundance can prolong the spatial and temporal availability of carcasses. Little is currently known about how scavengers respond to large die‐offs and understanding scavenger use and succession patterns at mass mortality events has important implications for disease ecology. We used photographic time series and river‐side surveys of scavengers using carcasses to investigate scavenger use and succession on wildebeest carcasses that resulted from annual mass drownings in the Mara River, Kenya. In addition, we used telemetry data for tagged avian scavengers to assess individual use of mass drownings. Density of avian scavengers per carcass was almost two orders of magnitude lower at mass drownings than has been documented previously for single carcasses on land. Scavengers demonstrated patterns of temporal resource partitioning, with large‐bodied avian scavengers more common initially, followed by small‐bodied avian scavengers, and then by insectivorous birds and non‐avian scavengers. Avian scavengers also differed in daily activity patterns, with marabou storks more common in the morning and late afternoon and white‐backed and Rüppell’s vultures more common mid‐day. Telemetry data indicated that approximately half of tagged vultures used mass drowning events but only spent a small proportion of their time there, suggesting that competition still plays an important role in scavenger dynamics at mass mortality events and that the rewards of such abundant resources may be offset by the risk of foraging in the river. Further research on scavenger behavior during mass mortality events is needed to better understand the role of scavengers in decomposition of carcasses and disease control during these events.

中文翻译：

---

河流大量死亡事件发生后，清道夫对牛羚体的时间资源分配

清除剂在营养物质的循环利用和疾病控制中起着重要的作用，在大规模死亡事件（例如由流行病，扑杀或自然灾害引起的死亡）之后，该清除作用尤其重要。当前关于清除剂生态学的研究集中在单个single体的使用上，但是在大规模死亡事件中，行为可能会有所不同，在这些事件中，高资源丰度可以延长car体的时空可用性。目前，关于清除剂如何应对大量死亡的了解甚少，而了解大规模死亡事件中清除剂的使用和继任模式对疾病生态学具有重要意义。我们使用摄影时间序列和使用car体的清除剂在河边的调查，调查了肯尼亚马拉河每年大量溺水造成的牛羚car体的清除剂使用和继承。此外，我们将遥测数据用于标记禽类清道夫，以评估大规模溺水的个人使用情况。大规模溺水时，每个car体的清道夫禽的密度比陆地上单个single体的记录低了近两个数量级。拾荒者表现出时间资源分配的模式，最初比较常见的是大型禽类拾荒者，其次是小型禽类拾荒者，然后是食虫鸟类和非禽类拾荒者。鸟类清道夫的日常活动方式也有所不同，鹳鹳在早上和下午较晚时更常见，而白背鹦鹉和鲁皮尔的秃ul在中午更常见。遥测数据表明，大约有一半的被标记秃鹰使用过溺水事件，但只在那儿度过了很短的时间，这表明竞争在大规模死亡事件中的清除动力学中仍起着重要作用，而这种丰富资源的回报可能被抵消在河里觅食的风险。为了更好地了解清除剂在这些事件中屠体分解和疾病控制中的作用，需要对大规模死亡事件期间的清除剂行为进行进一步研究。遥测数据表明，大约有一半的被标记秃鹰使用过溺水事件，但只在那儿度过了很短的时间，这表明竞争在大规模死亡事件中的清除动力学中仍起着重要作用，而这种丰富资源的回报可能被抵消在河里觅食的风险。为了更好地了解清除剂在这些事件中屠体分解和疾病控制中的作用，需要对大规模死亡事件期间的清除剂行为进行进一步研究。遥测数据表明，大约有一半的被标记秃鹰使用了溺水事件，但只在那里度过了很短的时间，这表明竞争在大规模死亡事件中的清除动力学中仍起着重要作用，而这种丰富资源的回报可能被抵消在河里觅食的风险。为了更好地了解清除剂在这些事件中屠体分解和疾病控制中的作用，需要对大规模死亡事件期间的清除剂行为进行进一步研究。