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Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons

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University of Massachusetts Amherst

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Microbiome

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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

The Impacts Of Environment And Host Evolutionary Relationships On Lemur Microbiota, Rachel B. Burten Mar 2024

The Impacts Of Environment And Host Evolutionary Relationships On Lemur Microbiota, Rachel B. Burten

Doctoral Dissertations

Recent studies have shown that the mammal microbiome is modified by environmental conditions, and that reduced microbiome functionality is associated with host health issues. Microbiome data in wild and captive primate populations can therefore be used to assess their health as they encounter a variety of environments. Comparative studies of the microbiome can also inform disease ecology, conservation, and captive management strategies tailored to different primate species. Therefore, this study examines how the hair, oral, and gut microbiota of nine wild and captive lemur species are determined by host phylogenetic relationships and host environment. I found that host species identity …


Factors Influencing Primate Hair Microbiome Diversity, Catherine Kitrinos Sep 2021

Factors Influencing Primate Hair Microbiome Diversity, Catherine Kitrinos

Masters Theses

Primate hair is both a substrate upon which essential social interactions occur and an important host-pathogen interface. As commensal microbes provide important immune functions for their hosts, understanding the microbial diversity in primate hair could provide insight into primate immunity and disease transmission. While studies of human hair and skin microbiomes show differences in microbial communities across body regions, little is known about the nonhuman primate hair microbiome. In this study, we collected hair samples (n=159) from 8 body regions across 12 nonhuman primate species housed at 3 US institutions to examine 1) the diversity and composition of the primate …