Warming effects on lizard gut microbiome depend on habitat connectivity

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Microbiology
• Climate Change Biology

Background:

• Climate warming and landscape fragmentation are known threats to biodiversity.
• The interplay between warming and fragmentation on organismal responses, particularly gut symbionts, is under-explored.
• Gut symbionts are crucial for host functions and traits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally investigate the combined effects of climate warming and habitat connectivity on lizard gut bacterial communities.
• To understand how these stressors influence microbiome diversity and host-symbiont interactions.
• To assess the role of habitat connectivity in mitigating climate change impacts on biodiversity.

Main Methods:

• Experimental manipulation of climate warming (2°C increase).
• Manipulation of habitat connectivity in common lizard (Zootoca vivipara) populations.
• Analysis of gut bacterial communities over three years.

Main Results:

• Warming decreased gut microbiome diversity in isolated lizard habitats.
• Habitat connectivity offset or reversed warming effects on microbiome diversity.
• Host dispersal behavior and microbiome diversity were associated with these interplay effects.

Conclusions:

• Preserving habitat connectivity is vital for mitigating climate change impacts on gut microbiome diversity.
• Combined anthropogenic stressors require further investigation for predicting species persistence.
• This study highlights the importance of connectivity for maintaining biodiversity under global change.