Conservation and captivity status influence the diversity of the mammalian gut microbiome

Abstract

Animal biodiversity is decreasing globally despite large-scale animal conservation efforts, such as providing care in captivity, captive breeding, and reintroduction programs. Just as in humans, the animal gut microbiome influences host health. Thus, there is a need to study the link between conservation status, captivity, and the gut microbiome to provide insight into improving current conservation strategies. In this study, we used a dataset of 16S rRNA gene sequences collected by McKenzie et al. to determine the effects of conservation status, diet type, diet breadth, and captivity on the mammalian gut microbiome. Our findings revealed significant differences in microbial communities between conservation status groups. Additionally, we found that diet type, diet breadth, and captivity significantly contributed to gut microbial diversity. Specifically, differences in gut microbial diversity between low- and high-risk conservation groups were statistically significant in both captive and wild mammals. Captive mammals shared more microbial genera between low- and high-risk conservation groups compared to wild mammals. Notably, high-risk mammals in captivity displayed fewer differentially abundant bacterial genera associated with pathogenicity than their wild counterparts. These results indicate that both conservation and captivity status affect mammalian gut microbial diversity, illuminating the significance of the gut microbiome in regulating species survival and the impact of human intervention on mammalian health via conservation activities.