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

ABSTRACT: 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

SUBMITTER: Lu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11578516 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature