Animals’ microbiomes are important to individual health and population viability. Failure to incorporate microbiomes into conservation actions may have profound consequences. In a changing world, whether microbiomes of wild populations are shaped by endogenous (e.g. host) or exogenous (e.g. environment) drivers requires disentangling. This remains a challenge. To identify the dominant driver, we propose a comparative framework that uses population comparisons to systematically assess host and environmental drivers. In the same way that there has been a revolution in understanding microbiomes in human health, applying this framework will facilitate a more holistic approach to the conservation of animals and their microbes. Taking a precautionary approach to wildlife conservation, we should be protecting microbiomes before it is too late to understand the implication of changes to microbiomes.
Morris et al. (Sat,) studied this question.