Conservation biology needs a microbial renaissance: a call for the consideration of host-associated microbiota in wildlife management practices

TLDR

Conservation biology seeks to mitigate human impacts on biodiversity, yet recent research shows that host‑associated microbiota—whose diversity is altered by anthropogenic activities—play a crucial role in animal health and are not yet fully integrated into conservation practice. The authors argue that conservation practitioners must adopt an interdisciplinary approach that explicitly considers the disruption of host‑associated microbiota as a serious threat to wildlife health and population viability. They review literature on anthropogenic impacts on microbial diversity and propose integrating microbiome‑maintenance strategies into wildlife management to achieve conservation goals.

Abstract

The central aim of conservation biology is to understand and mitigate the effects of human activities on biodiversity. To successfully achieve this objective, researchers must take an interdisciplinary approach that fully considers the effects, both direct and indirect, of anthropogenic disturbances on wildlife physiology and health. A recent surge in research has revealed that host-associated microbiota—the archaeal, bacterial, fungal and viral communities residing on and inside organisms—profoundly influence animal health, and that these microbial communities can be drastically altered by anthropogenic activities. Therefore, conservation practitioners should consider the disruption of host-associated microbial diversity as a serious threat to wildlife populations. Despite the tremendous potential for microbiome research to improve conservation outcomes, few efforts have been made to truly integrate these fields. In this review, we call for the microbial renaissance of conservation biology, where biodiversity of host-associated microbiota is recognized as an essential component of wildlife management practices. Using evidence from the existing literature, we will examine the known effects of anthropogenic activities on the diversity of host-associated microbial communities and integrate approaches for maintaining microbial diversity to successfully achieve conservation objectives.