In many regions of the world, populations of large mammalian herbivores have been displaced by cattle breeding, for example in Kenya the hippos by large herds of cattle. This can change aquatic ecosystems due to significant differences in the amount and type of dung input. Researchers from the University of Eldoret in Kenya, the University of Innsbruck and the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) have therefore taken a closer look at the dung of hippopotamus and cattle.