Abstract
Bacterial communities are frequently found in symbiotic associations with most animal species. The characteristically moist amphibian skin provides a good environment for the growth of some species of bacteria; among these a few can act as a first line defense mechanism against infections. Amphibians in the wild have relatively high exposure to bacteria through environmental transmission and through interactions with different conspecifics, whilst in captivity animals interact with fewer individuals, as well as experiencing a less complex environment through which to obtain their bacterial community. Here we compared the skin microbiota of captive and wild Mantella aurantiaca to investigate whether the captive environment was affecting individuals’ skin associated bacteria. This could have survivorship implications if captive animals had a different skin microbial community in comparison to wild counterparts and they were to be used in a reintroduction program. The microbial community were characterized through 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing methodology. Analyses showed that captive individuals had significantly lower diversity of bacterial species and lower relative abundant microbiota when compared to wild populations; this could result in captive frogs released back to the wild probably has greater susceptibility to infections due to inadequate skin microbiota.
Highlights
The global amphibian crisis has resulted in increased use of captive breeding as a conservation tool [1]
Two hundred and seventy-two Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) were found from Ambatovy samples, 206 OTUs were found from the Mangabe population and only 100 OTUs from frogs kept at Chester Zoo (Fig 1)
We found that golden mantella frogs kept in captivity presented significantly different skin microbiota composition in comparison to wild conspecifics
Summary
The global amphibian crisis has resulted in increased use of captive breeding as a conservation tool [1]. Maintaining captive populations is important in terms of species conservation for potential reintroduction into the wild [2]. There is evidence that the captive environment can have negative impacts on different aspects of amphibians’ ecology and behaviour, such as affecting their vocalizations [3], anti-predator responses [4] and skin microbiota [5], which could potentially affect the survival of released animals. Bacterial communities are commonly found in symbiotic associations with most animal species [6,7]. The bacterial community provides some sort of advantage to the host such as protection against pathogens [8], and in return, receives nutrients and a suitable.
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