Diet contributes to microbiome and niche differentiation among three sympatric cervids
- 1Heilongjiang Wildlife Institute
- 2College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University
Abstract
Background: Niche differentiation is a fundamental mechanism facilitating the coexistence of sympatric species, yet the extent to which dietary partitioning is associated with gut microbial differentiation remains poorly understood in wild cervids.
Methods: Here, we investigated winter dietary composition and fecal microbiome communities of three sympatric cervid species—moose ( Alces alces ), red deer ( Cervus elaphus ), and roe deer ( Capreolus pygargus )—in Youhao National Nature Reserve, northeastern China. A total of 55 fresh fecal samples were collected in January 2024, including 19 moose, 7 red deer, and 29 roe deer samples. Dietary composition was characterized using rbcL DNA metabarcoding, while microbiome communities were assessed using full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing.
Results: Our results showed the three cervid species exhibited distinct dietary patterns, moose showed a relatively narrow woody-plant-dominated diet, whereas red deer and roe deer exhibited higher dietary diversity, and roe deer exhibited broader use of shared plant resources; microbiome communities also differed significantly among host species, with moose showing the clearest separation from red deer and roe deer in community composition and predicted microbial metabolic potentials; Procrustes analysis revealed significant concordance between dietary composition and microbiome community, and redundancy analysis also indicated that dietary plant composition explained a significant proportion of variation in microbiome community.
Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that trophic differentiation among sympatric cervids is accompanied by coordinated variation in gut microbial community structure and predicted functional potential. The results support a close ecological association between dietary niche differentiation and host-associated microbiome variation, while causal and directional mechanisms require confirmation through longitudinal, experimental, and direct functional studies.
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BibTeX
@article{liang2026diet,
title = {{Diet contributes to microbiome and niche differentiation among three sympatric cervids}},
author = {Yuxiang Liang and Wentao Zhang and Feifei Yang and Yilin Zhang and Ruitao Wei and Chenbing Chu and Jiale Sun and Heng Bao and Weiping Li},
journal = {Frontiers in Microbiology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2026.1980313},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1980313/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Diet contributes to microbiome and niche differentiation among three sympatric cervids
AU - Yuxiang Liang
AU - Wentao Zhang
AU - Feifei Yang
AU - Yilin Zhang
AU - Ruitao Wei
AU - Chenbing Chu
AU - Jiale Sun
AU - Heng Bao
AU - Weiping Li
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
JO - Frontiers in Microbiology
DO - 10.3389/fmicb.2026.1980313
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1980313/full
AB - Background: Niche differentiation is a fundamental mechanism facilitating the coexistence of sympatric species, yet the extent to which dietary partitioning is associated with gut microbial differentiation remains poorly understood in wild cervids. Methods: Here, we investigated winter dietary composition and fecal microbiome communities of three sympatric cervid species—moose ( Alces alces ), red deer ( Cervus elaphus ), and roe deer ( Capreolus pygargus )—in Youhao National Nature Reserve, northeastern China. A total of 55 fresh fecal samples were collected in January 2024, including 19 moose, 7 red deer, and 29 roe deer samples. Dietary composition was characterized using rbcL DNA metabarcoding, while microbiome communities were assessed using full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Results: Our results showed the three cervid species exhibited distinct dietary patterns, moose showed a relatively narrow woody-plant-dominated diet, whereas red deer and roe deer exhibited higher dietary diversity, and roe deer exhibited broader use of shared plant resources; microbiome communities also differed significantly among host species, with moose showing the clearest separation from red deer and roe deer in community composition and predicted microbial metabolic potentials; Procrustes analysis revealed significant concordance between dietary composition and microbiome community, and redundancy analysis also indicated that dietary plant composition explained a significant proportion of variation in microbiome community. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that trophic differentiation among sympatric cervids is accompanied by coordinated variation in gut microbial community structure and predicted functional potential. The results support a close ecological association between dietary niche differentiation and host-associated microbiome variation, while causal and directional mechanisms require confirmation through longitudinal, experimental, and direct functional studies.
SN - 1664-302X
ER -