Researchers are exploring whether these ubiquitous fluorinated molecules might worsen infections or hamper vaccine effectiveness.
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In the recent article by le Roux et al. (1), the authors elegantly interlink several aspects of savanna ecology, one of which is a theoretically predicted positive relationship between herbivore body size and fecal N:P ratio. Their South African dataset supports this relationship, but our data from four other countries—including two other African savannas—show different patterns (Fig. 1 and Table 1). We therefore question the generality of the predicted positive relationship claimed for mammalian terrestrial herbivores and argue that body size–fecal N:P patterns are controlled by at least three factors operating simultaneously.
Fig. 1.
Fecal N, P, and N:P ratio in relation to herbivore body size (kilograms) from refs. 6 and 8 at (A) Mpala, Kenya (9), (B) Saadani, Tanzania (10), (C) Kennemerduinen, The Netherlands (6), and (D) Zwarte Beek, Belgium (6). Different feeding strategies are indicated by color. Points in B indicate dung collected during the dry season (February, July, …
↵1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: judith.sitters{at}vub.be.
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Body size–fecal nutrient patterns of mammalian herbivores
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