Distinct fecal microbiome between wild and habitat-housed captive polar bears (Ursus maritimus): Impacts of captivity and dietary shifts

Understanding the gut microbiome of polar bears can shed light on the effects of climate change-induced prolonged ice-free seasons on their health and nutritional status as a sentinel species. The fecal microbiome of habitat-housed captive polar bears who had consumed a high protein diet long-term w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2024-11, Vol.19 (11), p.e0311518
Main Authors: Lu, Jing, Petri, Renee, McCart, Dylan, Baxendell-Young, Amy, Collins, Stephanie Anne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Animal populations
Animals
Animals, Wild - microbiology
Animals, Zoo - microbiology
Aquatic mammals
Bacteria - classification
Bacteria - genetics
Bacteria - isolation & purification
Biology and Life Sciences
Captivity
Climate change
Climate effects
Composition
Diet
Diet - veterinary
Ecology and Environmental Sciences
Ecosystem
Energy
Fecal microflora
Feces
Feces - microbiology
Female
Food
Food availability
Food habits
Food sources
Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Habitat changes
Habitats
Health aspects
High protein diet
Ice
Intestinal microflora
Male
Medicine and Health Sciences
Microbiomes
Microbiota
Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms)
Microorganisms
Nutritional status
Physiology
Polar bear
Polar bears
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics
rRNA 16S
Seasons
Seaweeds
Ursidae - microbiology
Ursidae - physiology
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Summary:Understanding the gut microbiome of polar bears can shed light on the effects of climate change-induced prolonged ice-free seasons on their health and nutritional status as a sentinel species. The fecal microbiome of habitat-housed captive polar bears who had consumed a high protein diet long-term was compared with that of the wild population. Individual differences, season, year and dietary inclusion of a brown seaweed (Fucus spiralis; part of the natural diet of wild polar bears), as a representation for nutritional change, were investigated for their effects on the fecal microbiome of captive polar bears. Microbial variations among fecal samples from wild and captive polar bears were investigated using 16s rRNA gene based metataxonomic profiling. The captive bears exhibited more diverse fecal microbiota than wild bears (p
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0311518