Hello World,
Writing my final blog post, I sit in Houston reflecting on my time in Tanzania. The iconic mega fauna were just that. Seeing them in the wild was otherworldly. Many of the herbivores such as zebras, wildebeest, impala, gazelles, and even ostriches herded together in large communities for protection. The idea is that there are many eyes to keep a lookout for the group. Something that surprised me was that many of the mega fauna blended into the landscape extraordinarily well. Despite having spots, stripes or being massive in size, giraffes, zebras and elephants can disappear fast. We saw that giraffes are mainly found in heavily wooded areas with acacia trees, so when they’re still their skinny legs resemble trees. Another magical animal we experienced was the elephant. The elephants are also found in closed ecosystems with lots of small trees and bushes. Due to elephants having wide foot pads they walk quietly, and can wander away without you noticing.
The coexistence of such animals with humans was an interesting sight. The most prevalent event I can think of is that of giraffes and the local Maasai. On the drive to Olduvai Gorge down the Ngorongoro crater wall, there was a large herd of giraffes browsing amongst the acacia trees as Maasai herders were walking their cattle through the area. The interaction was peaceful. The giraffes nor the Maasai seems to be threatened or bothered by one another. Many interactions between humans and mega fauna are unfortunately not so positive, but I did not witness negative interactions on this trip.
A very specific observation I made concerning the effects of environmental conditions on wildlife involves a stick bug. While driving through a densely wooded area near Tarangire National Park, the car brushed against an acacia tree, and a green stick bug fell into the car. The stick bug spent the rest of the day with us. On the flip side, while eating dinner in Olduvai Gorge there was a brown stick bug on the picnic table. Based on the type of vegetation in the area due to precipitation, certain animals are more fit for a particular environment than others. The brown stick bug had better camouflage in the arid region of Olduvai versus the green stick bug that blended into the brush of the game reserve.
While reconstructing paleoenvironments with Dr. Manuel in Olduvai Gorge, it was clear to see how important the environmental conditions are when shaping the ecological community present. Current communities of organisms can give us insight into the communities of the past. For instance, we known that open (treeless) environments are conducive to high levels of competitive predation based on present observations. While looking at 1.5 million year old long bones, most of the breaks on the bones were due to carnivores which indicates an environment that was open. In addition to the openness of the environment, we can tell whether there was water in the area based on the fossils left behind. Some current animals that are water dependent are elephants, waterbuck, and reedbuck. If fossilized water-dependent fauna are found in an area like the one we were excavating then there must have been a water source present nearby.
Human evolution was largely dependent on the changing African savanna ecosystem. The increasing aridity led to the development of grasslands which pushed the transition between tree-dwelling apes and bipedal apes. In addition, open grasslands are thought to have led to cooperation between early humans for food in the form of hunting. Understanding how the past savanna environment has changed overtime can help us better understand our origins as a species by informing us of the selection pressures at the time. By having a grasp on the environments past humans were grappling with, the appearance of current traits within the human population begin to make sense.
To sum up my thoughts of the class is a big task, but I will start with my expectations versus reality. I was expecting to have some challenges with the archeology portion of the class as that is not my field of study, but I ended up enjoying the change of pace halfway through the class. The methods being used during the teeth surveys were hard to wrap my head around, but overall it was intriguing. I hoped to gain confidence in the research methods being employed during the trip which I would say was a success. Reading about these research methods in books does not compare to the learning of hands-on experiences. My last hope for the trip was that I would find a love for East Africa and gain new friends. To that I say double check! My favorite parts of the course were seeing the mega fauna, waking and setting with the sun, the diversity of accommodations, and the new friendships I have made. My least favorite parts of the course include the exhaustion that came with new environments and long travel days, cold showers, endless sand in all the crevices, logistics concerning uploading blog posts, and car troubles due to rough roads. These “least favorite” parts of the course added character.
I will end this blog with 3 things I learned during the course that I will carry with me. First, if confronted by a cape buffalo lay face-down on the ground and hope for the best. Second, elephants have to source salt deposits (such as the elephant caves) to supplement the lack of sodium in their diets. Lastly, local community involvement and education in conservation efforts will ensure the presence of East African savannas for generations to come.
Thank you for tuning in!
Signing off,
Anna Evans
