Scientists from Duke University have discovered a brand new way of telling which individual lemur species are most vulnerable from deforestation. According to the new research, the most at risk lemur species can be determined based on the trillions of bacteria that inhabit their guts.
The team of researchers worked on a new study where they compared the gut microbes of the dozen lemur species that inhabit the island of Madagascar. The said area has a tallied count of over thousands of acres of forest that are being cleared each year. This deforestation is being done so that the land can be used for agricultural purposes.
In their study, the team found out that some of the lemur species are harboring microbes that are more specialized than others for the forests there that they inhabit. These microbes help lemurs to digest their main food source which is composed mostly of leaves.
The ability of the lemur species to digest the specific mix of plants that grow in the area where they live makes it more difficult for the said lemurs to adapt to a fragmented forest or new locales.
There have been studies showing that an animal's gut microbiome affects the health of the said living organism. This tidbit of fact has prompted the researchers to tease apart the influence of various factors that shape the balance of microbiomes in the gut of an animal.
Lydia Greene, the author of the study stated that gut microbes perform crucial functions. Greene conducted the research as part of her Ph.D. dissertation.
Greene worked with Christine Drea, a professor of evolutionary anthropology and another author of the study, in comparing the microbiomes found in the guts of the 12 lemur species that represented the two branches of the lemur family tree, namely, sifaka lemurs, and brown lemurs. The two groups are both plant-eating species.
Most brown lemurs eat fruits, while sifakas thrive on leaves that are full of fiber and tannins. According to their research, most of the gut microbiomes in the intestines of sifakas are friendly bacteria that help the creatures break down the leaves they ingest. The said species are able to stay healthy as they turn plant fiber into nutrients.
Another process in this research entailed the scientists to analyze stool samples. through this step, the scientists were able to uncover that fruit-eating brown lemurs have similar collections of gut microbes even if they lived on a different island. Meanwhile, the microbial makeup inside the guts of a leaf-eating species from varying places differs.
Green explained that the lemurs have a specialized diet and are completely dependent on having the right microbes.
