Abstract
BackgroundHabitat disturbance affects the biology and health of animals globally. Understanding the factors that contribute to the differential responses of animals to habitat disturbance is critical for conservation. The gut microbiota represents a potential pathway through which host responses to habitat disturbance might be mediated. However, a lack of quantitative environmental data in many gut microbiome (GM) studies of wild animals limits our ability to pinpoint mechanisms through which habitat disturbance affects the GM. Here, we examine the impact of anthropogenic habitat disturbance on the diet and GM of the Critically Endangered black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata editorum). We collected fecal samples and behavioral data from Varecia occupying habitats qualitatively categorized as primary forest, moderately disturbed forest, and heavily disturbed forest.ResultsVarecia diet and GM composition differed substantially across sites. Dietary richness predicted GM richness across sites, and overall GM composition was strongly correlated to diet composition. Additionally, the consumption of three specific food items positively correlated to the relative abundances of five microbial strains and one microbial genus across sites. However, diet did not explain all of the GM variation in our dataset, and differences in the GM were detected that were not correlated with diet, as measured.ConclusionsOur data suggest that diet is an important influence on the Varecia GM across habitats and thus could be leveraged in novel conservation efforts in the future. However, other factors such as contact with humans should also be accounted for. Overall, we demonstrate that quantitative data describing host habitats must be paired with GM data to better target the specific mechanisms through which environmental change affects the GM.
Highlights
Habitat disturbance affects the biology and health of animals globally
Dietary richness was greatest in the undisturbed site, and there was little overlap in the plant species consumed across sites (Fig. 4, Table 2)
The relationships that we identified between Varecia diet and gut microbiome composition provide an important foundation for understanding the response of the Varecia microbiome to habitat change
Summary
Habitat disturbance affects the biology and health of animals globally. Understanding the factors that contribute to the differential responses of animals to habitat disturbance is critical for conservation. Anthropogenic habitat disturbance can alter food availability and diet, disrupt social structure and dispersal patterns, and increase exposure to humans, domestic animals, and associated pathogens [6] These factors can directly influence host physiology, for instance, by increasing stress [2, 3, 12], reducing food availability [1, 13], and altering infectious disease landscapes [14, 15]. The reduced GM diversity associated with reduced dietary diversity for several primate species in degraded habitats suggests a loss of microbial function instead of a change or gain [16, 30, 31]. An increased understanding of these dynamics could facilitate the use of the GM as a biomarker for understanding primate responses to habitat disturbance and/or a novel target for the development of interventions [32,33,34]
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