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April 10, 2026Royal Society Open ScienceOpen Access

Livestock exposure, seasonal diet shifts, host individual and time correlate with wild African savannah elephant gut microbiome diversity

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Authors

JPJenna ParkerCWCandace Lareine WilliamsHDHeather Leigh Deel

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Overview

Longitudinal analysis reveals factors influencing gut microbiome diversity in African savannah elephants, suggesting significant ecological impacts.

Key Points

  • This research aims to explore how livestock exposure, seasonal dietary changes, and individual variations influence the gut microbiome diversity of African elephants.
  • Collected dung samples from wild African elephants over 13 months
  • Characterized the gut microbiome using 16S rRNA sequencing
  • Assessed variations in microbiome diversity based on individual factors and community exposure to livestock
  • Analyzed seasonal dietary shifts from browsing to grazing
  • Identified considerable overlap in core microbiome taxa between different studies
  • Seasonal shifts to a grass diet correlated with decreased alpha diversity and altered community structure
  • Distinct variations in microbiome composition were noted with different individual elephants
  • Increased livestock exposure led to changes in gut microbiome, boosting genera linked to livestock while reducing beneficial genera like Roseburia

Cite This Study

Parker et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69d895796c1944d70ce067fahttps://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.251569
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Also Consider

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  1. 1Age‐Associated Differences and Rearing Strategy‐Related Alterations in the Gut Microbiome of Captive African Elephants ( Loxodonta africana )2026
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  3. 3Characterization of gut microbiota in wild Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) from five forests across Thailand2026 · 1 citations
  4. 4A metagenomic survey of the fecal microbiome of the African savanna elephant (<i>Loxodonta africana</i>)2024 · 2 citations
  5. 5Exploring the gut microbiota of healthy captive Asian elephants from various locations in Yunnan, China2024 · 5 citations