“Previous work has found that Mobiluncus is associated with a range of reproductive health problems in a variety of non-rhinoceros species. “On the other hand, we only saw significant enrichment of Mobiluncus microbes in reproductively unsuccessful adults,” Burnham says. “This is of interest because Rikenellaceae has previously been theorized to play a role in helping southern white rhinos break down dietary plant compounds – including phytoestrogens that are associated with limiting reproductive success. “One of the microbial families we found at significant levels in reproductively successful adults was Rikenellaceae,” Burnham says. The researchers also found that each group of adults was playing host to microbial species that have previously been associated with reproductive health. The researchers found that reproductively successful females had less diversity in the types of microbial species present in their gut microbiome, when compared to the microbiome of reproductively unsuccessful females. And it’s important here because it casts the differences we found between reproductively successful adults and reproductively unsuccessful females in stark relief.” This sort of microbiome ‘succession’ is fairly common in many animal species. This likely reflects, among other things, changes in the diet and behavior of the animals. “In other words, microbial communities in the gut microbiome change predictably as animals age from juveniles to subadults to adults. “We found differences between rhinos in each age group,” says Erin McKenney, co-author of the study and an assistant professor of applied ecology at NC State. The researchers extracted and sequenced DNA from the fecal samples, which allowed them to identify the diversity and abundance of bacteria in the gut of the study animals. “We wanted to have a robust sample size that would allow us to assess the gut microbiome of females in this species while accounting for age, the time of year and reproductive status,” Burnham says.
The study population consisted of two juveniles two “subadults” who are no longer nursing but are not yet of reproductive age two adults who have reproduced successfully and two adults who have not reproduced successfully. To that end, the researchers collected multiple fecal samples from eight female southern white rhinoceroses over a six-month period. We wanted to know how the gut microbiome may influence the reproductive ability of these rhinos.” It is critical we understand why, as the managed rhinos serve as important assurance populations in case wild rhino numbers continue to fall. “There is a significant population of southern white rhinos under human care in the United States, but there have been challenges in getting many of these animals to reproduce successfully. “Our work focuses on the southern white rhinoceros ( Ceratotherium simum simum), because while it is not yet endangered, species numbers are declining in the wild due to poaching,” says Christina Burnham, first author of a paper on the work and a former graduate student at NC State.
The work raises questions about the role that a particular genus of gut microbes may be playing in limiting captive breeding of this rhinoceros species. It’s fitting for this large, ponderous animal that can crash through just about anything in its way! The Safari Park has the largest crash of rhinos and the most successful captive breeding program for rhinos anywhere in the world.Matt Shipman at North Carolina State University have identified significant differences in the gut microbiome of female southern white rhinos who are reproducing successfully in captivity, as compared to females who have not reproduced successfully in captivity.
Of the five rhino species, the white rhino is the largest: it can weigh 5,000 pounds (2,300 kilograms). Northern white rhinos are extinct in the wild, and only two adult females are left on Earth. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species lists black rhinos as Critically Endangered and southern white rhinos as Near Threatened. Other names used for these two species are broad-lipped and hook-lipped. The more narrow, prehensile lip of the black rhino is great for pulling leaves and shrubs into its mouth. The wide mouth of the white rhino is perfect for grazing on grasses. Black rhinos and white rhinos are the same color-a brownish gray! Both live in eastern and southern Africa but eat different foods.
0 kommentar(er)
