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The Effects of Captivity on the Mammalian Gut Microbiome
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Domaines: Sciences de l’environnement, Biodiversité et Ecologie
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The Effects of Captivity on the Mammalian Gut Microbiome
Overview: The impact of constructed environments and captivity on the microbiomes of people and other animals is becoming more and more evident in recent studies. Given the importance of symbiotic microorganisms to many biological processes (such as the immune and digestive systems), it’s critical to comprehend how host lifestyle variations can affect the microbiome and, in turn, host health. Numerous factors, including dietary modifications, medical interventions, and decreased interaction with other people, animals, and species, as well as shifting environmental substrates that serve as sources of bacterial variety, might affect an animal’s gut flora when it is kept in captivity.As of right now, preliminary findings from earlier research indicate that bacterial diversity appears to be declining in caged animals. The range of species that have been studied in these investigations is, nevertheless, somewhat constrained. In order to look into generalizable trends regarding the impact of captivity on mammalian gut bacteria, we provide here a dataset comprising paired wild and captive samples from mammalian species spanning six Orders. Our findings show that, when comparing the wild and captive conditions, the alpha diversity of gut bacterial populations stays stable in certain mammalian hosts (such as anteaters, giraffes, bovids, and aardvarks), decreases in certain hosts (such as canids, primates, and equids), and rises in one host taxon (rhinoceros). With the exception of even-toed ungulates (giraffes and bovids), differences in gut bacterial beta diversity were found for the majority of the taxa examined in both the captive and wild states. Furthermore, feed type, gut fermentation physiology, and host taxonomic group all had a significant impact on the variation in beta diversity. Bacterial taxa that demonstrated larger shifts in relative abundance between the captive and wild states included members of the Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. Overall, the patterns that we observe will inform a range of disciplines, from veterinary practice to captive breeding efforts for biological conservation. Furthermore, bacterial taxa that persist in the captive state provide unique insight into symbiotic relationships with the host.