Captive environment influences the composition and diversity of fecal microbiota inIndo-Pacificbottlenose dolphins,Tursiops aduncus

Captive environments impact the microbiota of captive animals; however, the comparison of microbiota between wild and captive dolphins has been poorly investigated. To explore the impact of a captive environment, we characterized the fecal microbiota of nine wild and four captive Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins,Tursiops aduncus, using a next-generation sequencing and revealed differences in the fecal microbiota between the analyzed groups. Statistical differences in abundances of the phyla Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were found between the wild and captive dolphins. Thirty-six genera (22.9% of the total genera detected in all dolphins) were shared between the groups, whereas 79 (50.3%) and 42 (26.8%) genera were found only in the wild or captive dolphins, respectively. Several pathogenic bacterial genera, includingMorganellaandMycoplasma, were detected only in the captive dolphins, and the genusLactobacilluswas found only in the wild dolphins. LefSe and SIMPER analyses revealed that the genusClostridiumsensu stricto 1 was significantly more abundant in the captive dolphins than in the wild ones and contributed the most to the dissimilarity of fecal microbiota between the groups. Our results indicate that the captive environment impacts the fecal microbiota of dolphins and reinforces the importance of monitoring potentially pathogenic bacteria in captivity.

Automated summary

The fecal microbiota of wild and captive dolphins differ, with captive dolphins showing a higher abundance of potentially pathogenic bacteria such as Morganella and Mycoplasma. Monitoring the fecal microbiota and potentially pathogenic bacteria in captive environments is crucial for the health of dolphins.